Climate Modeling

Trying to predict what the climate is going to do in future is a big project. Climate models are a main approach that is used when trying to predict the climate of the future. The process to create a climate model is no easy task and does not just happen overnight.The link below is a good resource to explore to learn the basics to the more in depth areas of climate modeling. The image below is an example of climate models. The back path is the current path of the Earth, while the colored paths are different outcomes that could be seen on the Earth depending on what choice are made about climate change. 

Climate Modeling

http://people.oregonstate.edu/~shellk/SPM-5.jpg

Different View on When Humans Began to Alter Global Climate

William Ruddiman is a respected climate scientist. He has come out with a claim that climate change was kicked into gear way before we started burning coal and fossil fuels. Ruddiman suggests that the farming practices of our ancestors was the starting point for global warming. The link below will bring you to the article in the Scientific American

http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v292/n3/images/scientificamerican0305-46-I2.jpg

 How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate?

Here is a short video of Ruddiman presenting his hypothesis to faculty and students at Colgate University. 

Social Consensus on Climate Change?

This paper written by Andrew J. Hoffman is an interesting and informative way to see how climate change is viewed by people in America. It gives examples of how and why people may view the topic one way or another. I think it gives a lot of insight into why people may be hesitant towards the topic. The graph below is used in the paper to show the outlook on the topic from the different political parties and how the divide on the topic has grown throughout the years. In the paper Hoffman talks about how political influence has an affect on how individuals may view climate change.

Climate Science as Culture War

World Energy Projections

This video is made by BP and depicts world energy projections for 2030 according to them. Most of the information that was included was interesting to see since they are a conventional energy provider. The graphics that are used to show the different aspects of the projections are very visual.

Animals Effected by Climate Change

The Polar Bear is the poster child for the animal affected by climate change and global warming but they are not the only ones that will be feeling the pressure from the change. 

Sea turtles are another animal that are going to be feeling the effects of rising climate. The main effects that they will be feeling are in the loss of coast area. Many of the nesting areas for sea turtles eggs are in low lying coast area, which would be lost when the sea level rises. There would also be an issue with the with the temperature of the sand. The temperature of the sand would be too warm for optimal incubation. Lastly, the increase in sand temperature would bias the sex of the turtles since the temperature during incubation is how the sex of the turtle is determined. 

Other animals that are affected by climate change are: 

The Right Whale 

Source: http://theowlsmonocle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/right-whale.jpg

Penguins

Source:https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBd510PK3r1kXhW2k7Ch3KnSIVYIue_RaeVZQHEoX13IYCCXsL

Seals

Source:http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/006/cache/monk-seal_632_600x450.jpg

Lobsters

Source:https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQrdOHO9iCvq3QMHBK0Gs7gGYW6N1TaHX9CObitjQlq0ycUlXrH

Animals Effected by Climate Change

Temperature Reconstruction

Data has been collected from 73 different site around the world and compiled to reconstruct the Earth's temperature over the past 11,300 years. The data reveals that the temperature on Earth today is warmer than it has been during 70-80% data collected. The graph below shows the main findings from the project. The project was  based out of Oregon State University and was was headed by Shaun Marcott. 

Source: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS51Ym7_jBBb-w9eUeStjrFvil8p4a_O7YKykUDk20CpUWRWxs4

                                 New York Times article about the reconstruction project

The Little Ice Age and Medieval Warming

The Little Ace Age and The Medieval Warm are perfect examples of why the Earth is not just going though a natural cycle of warming. It has been found that during the medieval warming period that the Earth had an increase in solar activity and a decrease in volcanic activity, both of which stimulate warming. Radiative forcing is what is said to cause warming. This would not be consider a cycle that the Earth goes through. Similarly to the warming, the Little Ice Age is seen to have similar causes. Although the Earth does go through glacial and interglacial periods, the current warming that we are seeing is not a direct effect of an interglacial period, but more of a warming due to the forcing effects that humans have on the Earth.

 Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png/275px-2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png

The Medieval Warming

The Little Ice Age