What changes climate?Changes in:

1. Sun’s output2. Earth’s orbit3. Drifting continents4. Volcanic eruptions

Could the warming be natural?Is it real?

1. Effects: Snow and ice2. Effects on precipitation3. Effects on ecosystems

How do we know?1. Present day observations2. Computer models

How sure are scientists?1. The IPCC2. 2007 Conclusions3. Warming of the climate system is

unequivocal4. Very high confidence that global

average net effect of human activities since 1750 one of warming

5. Human-caused warming over last 30 years has likely had a visible influence on many physical and biological systems

6. Continued GHG emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming and induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century that would very likely be larger than those observed during the 20th century.”

What next—what can we do?1. Produce more fuel-efficient vehicles2. Reduce vehicle use3. Improve energy-efficiency in

buildings4. Develop carbon capture and

storage processes

5. Triple nuclear power6. Increase solar power7. Decrease deforestation/plant

forests8. Improve soil carbon management

strategies 9. Individual actions

AtmosphereLayers of the atmosphereThere are 4 layers in the atmosphereThey are the

1. troposphere, 2. mesosphere, 3. thermosphere4. stratosphere

1. TroposphereThis is the layer that is closest to the surface of the earthIt’s elevation ranges from 0 to 10 km2. StratosphereThis layer sits on top of the troposphereIts elevation ranges from 10 km to around 25 km. This layer contains the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful sunlight3. MesosphereThis layer is above the stratosphereIt’s elevation ranges from 25 to 100 km4. ThermosphereThis is the highest layer of the atmosphereIt’s height ranges from 100 to 400 kmThis is where most small meteorites burn up and is also the location in the atmosphere that the northern lights occur (aurora borealis)Composition of Air

There are many different types of gasses in the atmosphere

They include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and other noble gasses

The gas that is most abundant is nitrogen

THE EARTH’S HYDROSPHERE• The Earth’s liquid water constitutes

the hydrosphere. • The vast majority of Earth’s water is

in the oceans (salt water), with smaller, but geologically important, quantities of fresh water in lakes, rivers, and ground water.

• The components of the hydrosphere, as well as the cryosphere (frozen water), the atmosphere, and the biosphere, participate in the global hydrologic cycle.

• Earth’s water supply has had, since Earth was created, major influences on Earth’s climate, its landscape and mineralogy, the composition of its atmosphere, and on the origin and evolution of life.

• The total mass of Earth’s water is about 300 times the mass of the atmosphere.

• Without water, which facilitates the formation of carbonate rock, the atmospheric content of CO2 would be far higher than it is.

THE EARTH’S HYDROSPHERE:Distribution of Water on Earth o OCEAN 1,350 x 1015 m3 97.3o CRYOSPHERE 29 x 1015 m3 2.1

(Glaciers & Polar Ice)o UNDERGROUND 8.4 x 1015 m3 0.6

(Aquifers)o LAKES & RIVERS 0.2 x 1015 m3

0.01o ATMOSPHERE 0.013 x 1015 m3

0.001 o BIOSPHERE 0.0006 x 1015 m3

4 x 10-5 Distribution of Water on Eartho THE EARTH’S HYDROSPHERE• The hydrosphere, along with the

atmosphere and cryosphere, are primarily responsible for weathering and erosion of land surfaces.

o THE EARTH’S CRYOSPHERE• Earth’s supply of frozen water, the

cryosphere, is second only to the oceans in water content.

• The cryosphere consists mainly of the permanent ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, with much smaller amounts in Arctic and mountain glaciers.

ICE AGES AND GLOBAL WARMING• The most recent “ice age” ended about

12,000 years ago, which was prior to the advent of civilized human history?

• It is still unknown as to what causes the advent of ice ages, and the extent that they occur in cycles independent of human activities.

• At the current time, we are experiencing a slow global warming, but it is not known to what extent this is part of a natural cycle as distinct from human-induced (by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases”, due to combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities).

What is weather? Refers to the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. The one thing that you can talk to anybody about If you don’t like the weather just wait around it will change in Texas What are some of the factors that affect the weather?

Air TemperatureTemperature is the measure of the average amount of motion in particles.

Winda natural movement of air of any velocity; especially : the earth's air or the gas surrounding a planet in natural motion horizontally

HumidityThe amount of water vapor present in the air

Relative Humidity -is a measure of the amount of water vapor present in the air compared to the amount needed for saturation at a specific temperature

Oceanographyo “The application of science to the

study of phenomena in the oceans”.Oceanography is a broad Scienceo 4 Disciplines

Geological Oceanographyo Structure of the sea floor

Chemical Oceanographyo Chemical composition and

properties of seawaterPhysical Oceanographyo Waves, tides, currents

Biological Oceanographyo Oceanic life forms

Why Study Oceanography?o Oceans comprise 71% of the

Earth’s surfaceo Oceans contain 97.2% of the water

on or near the Earth’s surfaceo Source of Foodo Transportation and Travelo Weathero Shoreline-Interface between land

and oceanThe 5 Oceans

Pacific Ocean– Largest and deepest ocean– Mariana Trench: 11 km.,

36,000 ft. (Mt. Everest 29,000 ft.)

F Atlantic Ocean– About ½ the size of the

PacificF Indian Ocean

– Southern hemisphereF Arctic Ocean

– ¼ as deep, much smaller, sea ice

F Southern Ocean– South of 50 deg. South

latitude

What is Oceanography Today?o Geological Oceanography

(Marine Geology)Study of rocks and sediments & processes responsible for their formation.

o Marine GeophysicsStudy of rock structure in the ocean basin, properties of rocks such as magnetism, occurrence of earthquakes.

o Physical OceanographyHow and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by the wind.

o Chemical OceanographyComposition of sea water and the processes controlling and altering its composition, including marine pollution.

o Biological OceanographyOrganisms that live in the oceans and their relationships to the environment.

o Ocean EngineeringDesign and installation of oceanographic instrumentation and vehicles EARTHQUAKES

o � There are over a million (106) earthquakes

o each year – most of these are insignificant.

o About 3,000 of these produce �noticeable

o effects (e.g. tremors, ground shaking).

o About 20 each year cause major �damage

o and destruction.o On average, about 10,000 people �

die each o year because of earthquakes.

Earthquake o (also known as a quake, tremor, or

temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.

There are different types of earthquakes: o TECTONIC earthquakes. These

occur when rocks in the earth's crust break due to geological forces created by movement of tectonic plates. Another type,

o VOLCANIC earthquakes occur in conjunction with volcanic activity.

o COLLAPSE earthquakes are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines, and

o EXPLOSION earthquakes result from the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices. We can measure motion from large tectonic earthquakes using GPS because rocks on either side of a fault are offset during this type of earthquake.

Tidal Waveo is directly impacted by the

atmosphere. o The correlating factors between the

sun, moon, and Earth cause a disturbance in the sea, and a ‘shallow water wave’ is formed.

Shallow water waveso imply that the development of a

tidal wave is much closer to the shoreline of a land mass that will ultimately be in its path.

Tsunamio is much deeper. It is caused by

a deep disturbance along the ocean floor.

o This disturbance usually comes from an underwater earthquake, or even an underwater landslide.

Constellationso are totally imaginary things that

poets, farmers and astronomers have made up over the past 6,000 years (and probably even more!). The real purpose for the constellations is to help us tell which stars are which, nothing more. On a really dark night, you can see about 1000 to 1500 stars. Trying to tell which is which is hard

Meteorology o is the study of weather and the

atmosphere. The study of the atmosphere, processes that cause weather, and the life cycle of weather systems

o The word "meteorology" is from Greek μετέωρος metéōros "lofty; high (in the sky)" (from μετα- meta- "above" and ἀείρω aeiro "I lift up") and -λογία -logia "-(o)logy".