scientific evidence points to earth's greater fragility

EVIDENCE OF PLANET EARTH’S FRAGILITY

27 May 2014

LATEST EVIDENCE

May 27, 2014

ANTARCTICA’S THWAITES GLACIER

ICE SHELF BEGINS TO BREAK UP

Ian Joughin, a glaciologist at the

University of Washington in Seattle

WEST ANTARCTICA:THWAITES

ICE SHELF IS BREAKING UP

THWAITES GLACIER

• Thwaites Glacier is losing

several meters (tens of feet) of

ice elevation every year.

WARNING

Planet Earth may be at greater

risk than ever before if global

climate change proves to be a

long-term threat

Source: SCIENCE, May 2014

• Two teams of scientists say the

long-feared collapse of the West

Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun,

kicking off what they say will be a

centuries-long, "unstoppable"

process that could raise sea levels

by as much as 4 m (15 ft).

Source: SCIENCE, May 2014

• They estimate that Thwaites

Glacier will probably disappear

entirely in somewhere between 200

and 1,000 years.

• That loss alone would raise global

sea level by nearly 2 feet (60

centimeters).

Source: SCIENCE, May 2014

• The glacier serves as a linchpin

for the rest of the West

Antarctic Ice sheet, which has

enough frozen mass to cause

another 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4

meters) of sea level rise.

IF PLANET EARTH

CONTINUES WARMING UP,

- - -

MANY LOCATIONS WILL HAVE ENVIRONMENTS AT HIGHER RISK AS TEMPERATURE INCREASES AND SEA

LEVEL RISES, AS HYPOTHESIZED

CITIES (PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND INFRA-

STRUCTURE) MAY BE AT HIGHER RISK

IMPACT: NORTHEAST USA: 1

METER RISE IN SEA LEVEL

IMPACT:FLORIDA: 1 METER

RISE IN SEA LEVEL

IMPACT: LOUISIANA: 1 METER

RISE IN SEA LEVEL

MONITORING, MITIGATION,

AND ADAPTATION

MEASURES:

WAYS TO COPE WITH

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

CURRENT NEEDS

Planet Earth’s

changes in

exposure and risk

over time have

created a need for:

Technology to

monitor global

climate change,

warn people, and

protect property,

and infrastructure.

EVIDENCE OF GLOBAL

WARMING CITED IN THE

PAST

KANAI FJORD, ALASKA

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES,

CANADA

GREENLAND

WENGEN, SWITZERLAND

MT KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

GREAT BARRIER REEF,

AUSTRALIA

ANTARCTICA: WILKINS ICE

SHELF DISINTEGRATION

SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND

DALIAN, CHINA

Natural Phenomena that Change

our Environment

Planet Earth is

warming up, as

shown by:

Advance of

deserts

1/6 OF WORLD’S POPULATIONS

AFFECTED BY DESERTIFICATION

Natural Phenomena that Change

our Environment

Planet Earth is

warming up,

causing:

Droughts

DROUGHT IN CHINA: 2007

Natural Phenomena that Change

our Environment

Planet Earth is

warming up,

which causes:

Rivers to dry

up.

COLORADO RIVER BASIN,

WESTERN USA

LOS ANGELES RIVER: SUMMER

2007

.

ELBE RIVER, GERMANY:

SUMMER, 2007