CryoSat Earth Explorers
European Space Agency (ESA)
(General to Advanced Audience)
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Modelling the Effects of Global Warming on Hurricane Frequency and Intensity
Using Remote Sensing Data
Justin Fogarty
(General to Advanced Audience)
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The Science of Abrupt Climate Change
Dr. Jeffrey M. Masters, Chief Meteorologist,
The Weather Underground, Inc.
(General Audience)
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global warming and hurricanes
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA),
U.S. Department of Commerce [ 23 March 2006 ]
(General to Advanced Audience)
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Scientists Confirm Historic Massive Flood in
Climate Change
Looking at Earth, Life on Earth,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
[ 28 February 2006 ]
(General Audience)
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Fine-tuning the Steps in the Intricate
Climate Change Dance
News Release,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
[ 7 December 2005 ]
(General Audience)
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New evidence of global warming in Earth’s past supports current models
of how climate responds to greenhouse gases
Tim Stephens, Currents Online,
University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC)
[ 27 October 2003 ]
(General Audience)
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Global warming, a potential consequence of the greenhouse
effect, is one of the “hottest”, most controversial
topics in both science and world politics today. Due to the political
agendas of entities ranging from Greenpeace to the auto, energy and mining
industries, the waters regarding the subject have been muddied considerably.
Some people, including a number of prominent scientists and researchers,
deny the possibility of global warming altogether. The evidence, while
previously in conflict, now speaks clearly; global warming is a
reality. In my eyes, therefore, the issues requiring attention
are:
- Worldwide recognition of the problem by scientific, political and
civilian communities at large;
- Identification of causes;
- Accurate prediction of types of changes and speeds at which they
may occur;
- Determination as to what, if anything, can be done to reverse or
mitigate the process;
- Prediction and resolution of environmental, social, economic and
political impacts of resultant changes.
The greenhouse effect exists because certain gases, known collectively as
greenhouse gases, have accumulated in our atmosphere.
These gases, by virtue of their molecular structure, enable most solar
radiation (short wave infrared) to penetrate the atmosphere, but absorb
thermal energy radiated from the Earth’s surface (long wave infrared).
These gases prevent some surface heat from radiating into space, trapping
it within the atmosphere much as the glass in a greenhouse traps heat to
keep plants warm (albeit by a completely different process).
The greenhouse effect is essential for our survival; without it,
Earth would be a much colder place, incapable of sustaining life as we know
it. However, if the quantity of heat retained increases over time due
to an overabundance of greenhouse gases, the atmosphere and even the oceans
may begin to warm on a global scale. Heating of the air and oceans
would cause glaciers and polar ice to melt, raising sea levels worldwide.
In fact, we are witnessing the occurrence of such events now.
It appears that the debate over whether global warming is actually taking place
has been resolved, though there are still doubters. Global warming
is real, not imagined, and it is affecting our lives today.
Debate continues to rage over the causes of global warming,
since numerous greenhouse gases are produced by combustion and the burning
of fossil fuels. Is global warming a natural or man-made
phenomenon? When entertaining this debate, it is important to remember
that greenhouse gases are also produced by many natural processes that have
taken place throughout Earth’s geologic history.
Possible outcomes of global warming include food shortages, loss of natural
habitat, changes in ocean currents, and submergence of coastal and island
land mass; if abrupt, these changes could result in starvation, mass
migrations (of both animals and people), extinctions, world economic
catastrophe and, of course, wars fought over dwindling resources and
territory.
Emphasis must be given to resolving the debate over whether global warming
is a natural or man-made phenomenon; it is only through
resolution of this question that we can move forward. If global warming
is a natural process, it may very well be too large for mankind to
influence; we must then focus our efforts on how to adapt to its
consequences. If, on the other hand, global warming proves to be man-made,
we must determine what the effects of global warming are likely to be,
what can be done to moderate these effects, and whether the process has
already progressed too far to be influenced in a significant manner.
Finally, is global warming the end game? Will Earth simply
continue to warm; will our atmosphere reach a new, warmer equilibrium
state; or will global warming ultimately unleash physical changes that
result in dramatic atmospheric cooling effects, possibly plunging our
planet into a new Ice Age?
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 14 April 2003, updated 5 April
2005.
Research into the causes and effects of global warming is essential if
we are to understand why it is happening, whether it will continue, what
can be done to mitigate its effects, how we can adapt to a warmer Earth,
and whether global warming might initiate a more dire planetary outcome
such as global cooling and a new Ice Age. View links to the right to
learn more about current research and computer modeling in climatology
and global warming. Check Related Links and the
Climate
Change SiteMap for additional topics of interest relating to
climatology, climate change and global warming. View the
Weather
& Meteorology SiteMap for a complete list of our meteorology
and weather-related topics.
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