There are a number of feedback processes important to Earths climate system and, in particular, its response to external radiative forcing. This lesson focuses on the specific feedback of ice albedo. All of these climatic events would make it especially hard for Earth's climate system to return to its original, stable state. As previously mentioned, the ocean and forests act as a reservoir, or sink, for carbon dioxide. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Example: let's say the discount rate is 3% so the percent value of $1 trillion in 100 years would be $52 billion, which is less than spending $100 billion today so we would prefer to spend $1 trillion in 100 years.. What are the differences between "time discounting" and "growth discounting"? In Activity 4, they discover how light-colored surfaces, such as snow, ice, and some clouds, have a cooling effect on Earth's temperature. A positive feedback is an increase in warming and a negative feedback is a decrease in warming. Affects weather patterns around every 2-8 years, can increase the eastern Pacific by 2-5 degrees Celsius, and influences weather around the world. Describe how each of the following climate feedbacks operate: ice albedo, water vapor, permafrost melting, rock weathering, and clouds. Species and natural areas: Loss of habitat and species, cryosphere: diminish glaciers. Therefore, as global ice cover decreases, the reflectivity of Earths surface decreases, more incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the surface, and the surface warms. - Deficiency, Antibodies & Blood Test, Natural Killer Cells: Definition & Functions, Fundamentals of Genetics: Reproduction & Heredity, What is Gene Therapy? Introduce feedback by showing the NASA video "This World is Black and White" (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center). That raises a classic economic dilemma called the tragedy of the commons." Additionally, oceans release aerosols that facilitate cloud formation in the atmosphere. EI = Energy Intensity (Joules per GDP) - efficiency and use. 1909 Bear Glacier: From the Glacier Photograph Collection. Activate students' prior knowledge about greenhouse gases and global warming. Some governing body had to step in and set the rules, force everyone to live by them. Scientists have long assumed that as air temperature rises, the air can hold increasingly more water vapor. Cloud Feedback Another important negative feedback mechanism involves the formation of clouds. Each studentwill complete a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning document. A climate sensitivity of 2.5C is assumed. The chemical part of weathering often involves the consumption of carbonic acid (formed from water and carbon dioxide) in dissolving minerals in rocks. Solar radiation consists of visible light, infrared radiation (heat), and ultraviolet radiation. Goods- Watch the animation and take note of which surfaces are absorbing and reflecting radiation as sea ice melts. As temperatures increase and conditions begin to exceed the optimal temperature range for both photosynthesis and soil respiration, the rate of photosynthesis would decline. Ask:Why is there more variation (a wider spread) between the models at later dates than at closer dates? 1. Tell students they will be investigating how much greenhouse gas concentrations need to be reduced to prevent major warming of Earth's atmosphere. Factors that facilitate climate feedback mechanisms, both positive and negative, include the following: (1) clouds, (2) precipitation, (3) forest growth, and (4) ice. This is known as theice-albedo feedback. The numbers in the boxes are the amounts of thermal energy stored in the atmosphere and surface reservoirs (the surface, in this case, is mainly the surface water of the oceans). Introduce and discuss the use of computational models. There are examples of each explained beginning at 2:32 min. Increased cloud cover also means less heat is trapped near the earth's surface, thereby slowing down the warming of Earth's climate. Climate feedbacks:A feedback that increases an initial warming is called a "positive feedback." This melting leads to more available ocean water that will absorb sunlight rather than redirecting it back into space. This process of weathering is thus a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is an important greenhouse gas. Based on the information so far, complete the graphic organizer of a positive feedback loop for the effects of changing albedo on sea ice. Thus, ice albedo is one feedback loop that has a powerful influence on whether or not Earth could reach its climate tipping point. 358 0 obj <> endobj However, there are additional feedbacks that exert a destabilizing, rather than stabilizing, influence (see below), and these feedbacks tend to increase the sensitivity of climate to somewhere between 0.5 and 1.0 C (0.9 and 1.8 F) for each additional watt per square metre of radiative forcing. Encourage students to discuss the scientific evidence with each other to better assess their level of certainty with their predictions. This video explains albedo - the concept that the brightness of the Earth system (atmosphere, ocean, land surfaces) determines how much incoming solar energy is immediately reflected back to space. In the case of low clouds, such as marine stratus clouds, the dominant radiative feature of the cloud is its albedo. The higher the albedo, the more reflective the surface is. What happens to sea ice in the summer? while denialism is denying a statement because it goes against their beliefs. This heat can be re-radiated into space. -geoengineering (add iron to the oceans, put mirrors in space) Carbon tax is where the central authority sets a tax on the carbon content of fossil fuels. This quantity is expected to remain approximately constant as Earth warms or cools. In this case, the initial change triggered a set of processes that countered the initial change this is called a negative feedback (even though it may have beneficial results) because it works in opposition to the change that triggered it. That is, the dissolved gas creates carbonic acid which reacts with carbonate ions in the water to form bicarbonate. Name some "reasons for concerns" as identified by the IPCC (AR5-WGII), Unique and threatened systems: ecosystems, cultures " evidence has suggested that the sun may have gotten slightly brighter over the past 250 years, particularly early in the twentieth century, and provided a positive radiative forcing estimated to be +0.05 w/m^2). They can affect the climate for "a couple of years" to decades. 12 inches of snow fall on December 12th. This is why the forecast for near-term events is better than forecasts of longer-term events, both in storm forecasting and in climate forecasting.). What does "RCP" stand for and what information is needed to develop emissions scenarios? Extreme weather events: heat waves, extreme precipitation, coastal flooding The difference between time discounting and growth discounting is that time discounting is the preference to consume now vs. later. What might have caused medieval warming and Little Ice Age cooling? The view of the climate system depicted in the adjacent figure is one of stability energy flows in and out, in perfect balance, so the temperature of the earth should stay the same. The Study of Earth as an Integrated System, Positive Feedback - Arctic Albedo - Student Pages, Positive Feedback - Arctic Albedo - Teacher Key. Positive feedback mechanisms tend to lead to runaway change some small initial change is thus accentuated into a major change. Atmospheric Scientist -Atmospheric scientists study the weather and climate and examine how those conditions affect human activity and the earth in general. Each group will look at a different representation of data. There are tree types of positive feedback loops. The remaining sections describe each category in more detail. Water vapor is another naturally occurring greenhouse gas, and all of them help support biological life by providing the warm temperature that organisms need to grow and survive. explain why light-colored surfaces have a cooling effect on Earths' temperature, describe the positive feedback loop between temperature and ice cover, describe the negative feedback loop between cloud cover and temperature, describe the uncertainty about the feedbacks of temperature, water vapor, and cloud cover that complicate scientists' ability to predict future climate conditions, Tech Setup: 1 computer per classroom, 1 computer per learner, 1 computer per small group, Projector. Question 13. Clouds are visible accumulations of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the Earths atmosphere. Reflected shortwave energy and land albedo products demonstrate the seasonal and geographic variability of this critical climate process. Not only does cloud cover impact sky conditions and inform precipitation predictions, it also helps regulate the temperature that occurs in a region. Tiny airborne particles originating from aerosols, dust, smoke, and soot (also called black carbon) -- Sulfate aerosols originate from coal burning and volcanic eruptions, and they cool the earth. When solar radiation encounters Earth's atmosphere and surface, it can be reflected (sent back into space) or absorbed. Aerosols can play a major role in determining the number and size of cloud droplets and ice crystals, which can have substantial effects on the reflectivity of clouds, the formation of . The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Tell students they will be working through a series of pages of models with questions related to the models. Why is it colder on clear nights than on cloudy nights? Give examples of how these could cost societies. This means that if this trend continues, the arctic sea ice minimum extent will continue to decrease in size each year during the summer months. That water vapor spurs the development of clouds. Under the assumption that there is a liquid water surface in equilibrium with the atmosphere, this relationship indicates that an increase in the capacity of air to hold water vapour is a function of increasing temperature of that volume of air. Cloud feedback - Wikipedia If they need background information on albedo, show the NASA Climate Bits video below. Scientists have tentatively identified these possible causes of the Little Ice Age: orbital cycles, decreased solar activity, increased volcanic activity, altered ocean current flows,[70] the inherent variability of global climate, and reforestation following decreases in the human population. There are positive feedback loops and negative feedback loops, during which the former exacerbate the planet's surface warming event and the latter reverse it. feedbacks of ice and clouds answer key Amy Pallant, Principal Investigator, The Concord Consortium During photosynthesis, the plants also absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. Is the category for this document correct. Second, if more CO2 were added to the atmosphere and taken up by the oceans, bicarbonate ions (HCO3) would multiply and ocean acidity would increase. Climate feedback loops are mechanisms by which the Earth's system reacts to changes in climatic conditions (e.g. Examples: ocean , ice, vegetation, atmosphere. However, as each of these gases accumulate in the earth's lower atmosphere, they change the planet's radiative energy balance.
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