CLIMATE CHANGE

GEC 007
WEEK 17
 Understanding the concept
• Climate is not similar with weather which is
constantly changing.
• Climate refers to the long term weather
patterns prevailing over a given area of the
planet.
• The term comes from “klinein” (to slope) and
later evolved into “klima” connoting a zone or
region of the Earth characterized by its
atmospheric conditions.
 Causes of Climate Change
• The causes of climate change could be natural
or by human activities:
– Volcanic Eruptions
– Orbital Changes
– Human Activities
 Volcanic Eruptions
• When volcanoes erupt, it emits different
natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxides, salt crystals, volcanic ashes or dust,
and even microorganisms like bacteria and
viruses all of which are greenhouse gases;
• Can cause a cooling effect to the lithosphere
because its emitted aerosol can block a
certain percentage of solar radiation;
 Volcanic Eruptions
• Volcanoes located near the equator are more
likely to cause global cooling because of the
wind pattern
• Volcanoes located near to north or south
poles are less likely to cause cooling
 The Mount Pinatubo Case
• When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the
Philippines June 15, 1991, an estimated 20
million tons of sulfur dioxide and ash particles
blasted more than 12 miles (20 km) high into
the atmosphere. The eruption caused
widespread destruction and loss of human
life. Gases and solids injected into the
stratosphere circled the globe for three
weeks.
The Mount Pinatubo Case
The Mount Pinatubo Case
 Orbital Changes
• Also known as the Earth’s movement around
the sun
• Earth’s orbit can also cause climate change, this
was proposed by the Milankovitch theory
• As the Earth travels through space around the
Sun, cyclical variations in three elements of
Earth-Sun geometry combine to produce
variations in the amount of solar energy that
reaches Earth
 The elements involved in the interaction
between the Earth and the sun:
• Aphelion – refers to the point in the orbit of
the Earth farthest from the sun.
• Perihelion - is the point in the orbit of the
Earth closest to the sun.
• Earth’s axial tilt – is the inclination angle of
the Earth’s rotational axis in relation to a line
perpendicular to its orbital plane.
 The elements involved in the interaction
between the Earth and the sun:
• Precession – is the change of the orientation
of the rotational axis of the Earth.
• Equinox – refers to the time the sun at noon is
directly over the equator. It happens twice a
year and causes an almost equal length of day
and night.
 The elements involved in the interaction
between the Earth and the sun:
• Solstice – happens when the sun at noon sits
above the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of
Capricorn. The summer solstice has the longest
period of daylight in the year and the winter
has the shortest period.
• Precession of the equinoxes – refers to the
motion of the equinoxes relative to the
precession of the Earth’s axis of rotation. It
happens over thousands years.
 Milankovitch Hypothesis
• Explaining what causes dramatic changes in
the day to day weather and climate was
adressed by Slovak scientist Milutin
Milankovich.
• He investigated the deeper issues regarding
weather patterns by asking the following
questions:
 Milankovitch Hypothesis
– Do weather and climate come ultimately from
the sun so that it is the sun and its relation to
the Earth that accounts for the change in the
climate?
– Is it possible that as the distance of the sun to
the Earth changes , the Earth is affected enough
to cause climate change?
 Milankovitch Hypothesis
• The theory also known as the Milankovitch
hypothesis subscribe to the idea that wiggles
and wobbles in Earth's orbit serve as a
pacemaker that determines when the planet
plunges into a glacial period and when it
thaws out of one.
 Milankovitch Hypothesis
• The orbit has an effect on climate by
determining the amount of incoming sunlight.
• The cycle of ice ages are linked to changes in
the earth's orbit, so they are important to the
long-term climate variability of the earth.
• Earth's orbit around the sun is due to the
gravitational attraction between the earth and
the sun.
 Milankovitch Parameters
The three elements that have cyclic variations
are:
– Eccentricity is a term used to describe the
shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun.
– Obliquity is the variation of the tilt of
Earth's axis away from the orbital plane.
– Precession is the change in orientation of
Earth's rotational axis.
 Human Activities
• The largest known contribution comes from
the burning of fossil fuels, which releases
carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere;
• Human activities result in emissions of four
principal greenhouse gases:
– carbon dioxide
– Methane
– nitrous oxide
– Halocarbons
 Four principal greenhouse gases
• Deforestation releases carbon dioxide and
reduces its uptake by plants;
• High methane emission is related to agriculture,
natural gas distribution, and landfills;
• High nitrous oxide is also emitted by human
activities such as fertilizer use and fossil fuel
burning;
• Halocarbons released by human activities
destroy ozone in the stratosphere and have
caused the ozone hole over Antarctica
 Effects of Climate Change on Society
• It directly affects the basic elements of
people’s lives like water, food, health, use of
land, and the environment.
• Declining crop yields due to drought,
especially in Africa, are likely to leave
hundreds of millions without the ability to
produce or purchase sufficient food.
• It will increase worldwide deaths from
malnutrition and heat stress.
 Effects of Climate Change on Society
• Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to
climate change.
• Ocean edification will have major effects on
marine ecosystems, with possible adverse
consequences on fish stocks.
• Melting or collapse of ice sheets would raise sea
levels
• It will increase flood risks during the wet season
and it will strongly reduce dry-season water
supplies.
 Fighting Climate Change
• There have been two major attempts to fight
climate change collectively by concerned
countries around the globe. Among such
actions were:
– Kyoto Protocol
– Paris Agreement
 Kyoto Protocol
• The Kyoto Protocol is an international
agreement linked to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change,
which commits its Parties by setting
internationally binding emission reduction
targets.
 Kyoto Protocol
• Recognizing that developed countries are
principally responsible for the current high
levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as
a result of more than 150 years of industrial
activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden
on developed nations under the principle of
"common but differentiated responsibilities."
 Kyoto Protocol
• The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto,
Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into
force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules
for the implementation of the Protocol were
adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh, Morocco, in
2001, and are referred to as the "Marrakesh
Accords." Its first commitment period started
in 2008 and ended in 2012.
 Paris Agreement
• The Paris Agreement builds upon the
Convention and – for the first time – brings all
nations into a common cause to undertake
ambitious efforts to combat climate change
and adapt to its effects, with enhanced
support to assist developing countries to do
so. As such, it charts a new course in the
global climate effort.
 Paris Agreement
• The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to
strengthen the global response to the threat
of climate change by keeping a global
temperature rise this century well below 2
degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature
increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.