Transcript Met 10 - Weather Underground

MET 12 Global Warming: Lecture 10
Solutions: Adaptation
Shaun Tanner
Outline:
 Issues
 Impacts
 Adaptation methods
1
Action
When confronted with reports from scientists that
global warming is happening and will intensify, there
are various choices of action
1. Deny the science or simply choose to do
nothing.
2. Mitigate – reduce causes of global warming.
(reduce radiative forcing)
3. Adapt – develop strategies to deal with impacts.
4. Do Nothing – Understand science but choose
not to act.
2
Key Findings (US Global Change
Research Program - 2009)
1. Global warming is unequivocal and primarily humaninduced.
2. Climate changes are underway in the United States
and are projected to grow.
3. Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring
now and are expected to increase.
10. Future climate change and its
impacts depend on choices
made today.
3
What are likely impacts
in the future?
Climate change impacts in the US
 What impacts have been observed?
– Higher nighttime and daytime temperatures
– More heavy downpours
– Rising sea level
– Rapidly retreating glaciers and thawing permafros
– Earlier snowmelt and alternations in river flows
– Lengthening growing seasons
 These changes are projected to grow.
6
Ongoing and future risks
 Crop and livestock production
 Threats to human health
– Heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality,
extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by
insects and rodents.




Periodic coastal flooding
Drought
Forest fires
Fresh water resources
– Western state most at risk – Sierra snowpack

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes
7
More adverse than beneficial impacts on biological and
socioeconomic systems are projected
9
Adaptation strategies
 Identify communities at highest risk
 Build infrastructure to best cope – for example
 Sea walls (Netherlands)
 Larger reservoirs
 Alternative irrigation networks
 Modify building codes
 Modify health management
10
11
12
Which of the following would be an adaptation
strategy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Reducing emissions of CO2
Improving flood protection
Energy efficient autos
Designing heat tolerant crops
1 and 2
1 and 3
2 and 3
2 and 4
1, 2, 3 and 4
As a result of warming, plant species
would be expected to migrate
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
North in the Southern Hemisphere
North in the Northern Hemisphere
South in the Northern Hemisphere
South in the Southern Hemisphere
To higher altitudes
To lower altitudes
1 and 6
2 and 5
14
If ice melt was to stop even though average
temperatures continue to warm, how would
sea level respond
1. Sea level would continue to rise
2. Sea level would immediately reach
an equilibrium
3. Sea level would decrease