UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: A Primer on Earth Systems Science Dr. Jeffrey R. Corney, Managing Director of the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve E ARTH S YSTEMS S CIENCE IPCC NASA

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES The Concern! IPCC

E NERGY F LOW Where It All Begins… NASA

E NERGY F LOW Photons Are Generated

E NERGY F LOW A Long Journey from the Sun’s Core

E NERGY F LOW Then, On to Earth… (93 Million Miles in about 8 Minutes) European Space Agency

1-A) The fact that we have seasons—Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer—in the Northern Hemisphere (and Southern for that matter), but not on the Equator is because: a. Earth is closer to the Sun during Summer, farther from it during Winter b. The Equator is always under a low pressure air mass c. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away or toward the Sun as it orbits d. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres move slower than the Equator

1-B) The fact that it is considerably warmer throughout the year at the Equator than in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of Earth is because: a. The Arctic and Antarctic are always covered in ice and snow b. The Equator is always under a low pressure air mass c. The Equator is covered with tropical rain forests that retain heat d. The Sun’s rays strike the Equator more directly throughout the year than the Poles

E NERGY F LOW Earth’s Tilt, Orbit and the Seasons

E NERGY F LOW Earth’s Sphere Intercepting Energy Univ. of Idaho

E NERGY F LOW 100%75%50% TROPICAL (0 o Lat.)TEMPERATE (45 o Lat.)ARCTIC (60 o Lat.) EIU Latitudinal Solar Energy per Area

E NERGY F LOW Annual Mean Solar Insolation intercepting top of Earth’s atmosphere Wikipedia Earth’s Gross Solar Insolation

E NERGY F LOW How Much Energy Makes It to Us?

E NERGY F LOW Wikipedia Annual Mean Solar Insolation intercepting surface of Earth Net Solar Insolation at Surface

E NERGY F LOW Energy Measured as Temperature

E NERGY F LOW Earth’s “Heat Engine” EO Earth

E NERGY F LOW Oceans Transport Energy & Moisture

E NERGY F LOW Water Absorbs a Lot of Solar Energy NASA Pearson Education Water has a high specific heat index—it absorbs a lot of heat before it begins to get hot.

E NERGY F LOW Oceans Absorb then Transport Energy Windows2Universe

E NERGY F LOW Solar Energy Drives the Water Cycle

E NERGY F LOW Where Water Ends Up on Land

E NERGY F LOW Energy Enters the “Life” Cycle MSU

E NERGY F LOW Solar Energy Builds Cells & Organisms Carbon, Oxygen & Mineral Cycles with Water Drives… How Stuff Works

E NERGY F LOW Energy & Water Affect Productivity NASA

1-C) Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, retain heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. At what level of the atmosphere is most of the heat retention occurring? a. Thermosphere (near edge of space) b. Stratosphere (where most cloud layers are) c. Troposphere (near surface where we live)

1-D) The ultimate source of heat in Earth’s atmosphere is solar energy. How exactly does the warming of Earth’s atmosphere occur? a. Ultraviolet rays from the Sun directly hit atmospheric molecules and excite them b. Ultraviolet rays from the Sun directly hit Earth’s surface and bounce back up c. Earth’s surface absorbs ultraviolet energy that slowly warms up Earth’s core d. Earth’s surface absorbs ultraviolet energy and reradiates it as infrared energy

E NERGY F LOW Earth’s Energy Budget Jason Project 51% A BSORBED 51% R E -R ADIATED 49% R EFLECTED

E NERGY F LOW Atmospheric Layers

E NERGY F LOW Surface to Atmosphere Energy Transfer

E NERGY F LOW Energy Forms Air Masses TAMU Earlham

E NERGY F LOW Air Masses Form Cells & Streams NOAA

E NERGY F LOW Cells & Earth’s Rotation Produce Prevailing Winds

E NERGY F LOW Air Masses Over Ocean & Land Produce Climates

E NERGY F LOW Wikipedia Climate Close to Home

1-F) The Earth’s major tropical rain forest and temperate rain forest biomes are both characterized by having a lot of trees and other plants, though they do not share the same types of trees and plants. The primary factor these two biomes have in common that allows for so many trees and plants to grow successfully in both is: a. The same general latitude b. Direct sunlight throughout the year c. High average annual temperature d. High average annual precipitation

1-E) Heat energy from the Sun is first absorbed by Earth by slowly transferring the heat to the ground (soil, rocks, plants and parking lots). The heat then re-radiates out of the ground and begins to warm the air near the surface of Earth. What happens to that air as it warms up: a. The air gets more dense and sinks, causing an area of low pressure beneath it b. The air gets more dense and sinks, causing an area of high pressure beneath it c. The air becomes less dense and rises, causing an area of low pressure beneath it d. The air becomes less dense and rises, causing an area of high pressure beneath it

1-G) The Earth’s major desert biomes all tend to form along the 30 th Parallels (latitude) in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres primarily because: a. Cool, dry air masses descend, causing a high pressure area b. Warm, moist air masses rise and cool, causing a low pressure area c. Cool and warm air masses are meeting, alternating high and low pressure areas d. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away or toward the Sun as it orbits

1-H) The Earth’s major temperate grassland and temperate deciduous forest biomes all tend to form in the Northern Hemisphere between 30 and 60 degrees latitude primarily because: a. Cool, dry air masses descend, causing a high pressure area b. Warm, moist air masses rise and cool, causing a low pressure area c. Cool and warm air masses are meeting, alternating high and low pressure areas d. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away or toward the Sun as it orbits

E NERGY F LOW Earth’s Energy Budget Jason Project 51% A BSORBED 51% R E -R ADIATED 49% R EFLECTED

E NERGY F LOW Energy Moves Back thru Atmosphere

E NERGY F LOW CARBON DIOXIDE NITROUS OXIDE METHANE WATER Atmospheric Composition Windows2Universe

E NERGY F LOW Atomic Absorption of Energy Skeptical Science

E NERGY F LOW Molecular Transfer of Energy

E NERGY F LOW Energy Absorbed & Re-absorbed Windows2Universe

E NERGY F LOW Energy “Held” in the Atmosphere Eventually, all energy flows back out of Earth’s system and into Space.

E NERGY F LOW Energy’s Full Circle...Lost in Space! Digital Recordings

E NERGY F LOW

S USTAINABILITY I SSUES The Concern! IPCC

E NERGY F LOW U.S. Dept. of Energy The Carbon Cycle (pre-Industrial) S USTAINABILITY I SSUES The Carbon Cycle (pre-Industrial)

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Carbon Stored & Cycled in the Present How Stuff Works CCESR

2-A) Where is most of Earth’s actively cycling carbon stored; i.e. most effective carbon “sink”? a. In the atmosphere b. In the plants and animals c. In the coal, oil and natural gas d. In the oceans

2-B) Which of the following describes the most abundant active cycling or “flow” of carbon in to and out of Earth’s atmosphere? a. Between the plants, soil and the atmosphere b. Between the ocean surfaces and the atmosphere c. Between the coal, oil and natural gas sources and the atmosphere d. Between outer space and the atmosphere

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Global Flows of Carbon (pre-Industrial) Gigatons

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Carbon Stored 300 Million Years Ago (Released Today)

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES The Carbon Cycle Today U.S. Dept. of Energy

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Global Flows of Carbon Today * Gigatons Net increase of 2 ppm Carbon in atmosphere per year

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Ocean Acidification Impacts

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Chemistry of Ocean Acidification

2-C) How exactly does an increase in carbon dioxide actually contribute to warming Earth’s atmosphere? a. Thickens the layer of molecules in the upper atmosphere that block heat from escaping, similar to how glass works in a greenhouse b. Increases the odds that outgoing heat is recaptured and retained by the molecules for a bit longer c. Erodes the ozone layer so the Sun’s energy can enter the atmosphere directly through the ozone hole d. Actually, heat generated from all of the combustion engine and deforestation burning is slowly warming the atmosphere, not the carbon dioxide directly

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES A B C Windows2Universe More Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere Same timeframe for each scenario.

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Energy “Held” Near Surface Longer Net global increase: of 1.5 W/m 2 Energy or 0.5 o C Temperature

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES RADIATIVE FORCING CHANGES “Warming” Sources (W/m 2 ) Greenhouse Gases 2.4 Ozone 0.3 Water Vapor 0.07 Solar Irradiance 0.12 Misc. 0.1 TOTAL 2.9 “Cooling” Sources (W/m 2 ) Land Use (albedo) 0.2 Aerosols 0.5 Cloud Albedo 0.7 TOTAL 1.4 NET Radiative Forcing 1.5 CLIMATE SENSITIVITY = ~0.5 o C/(W/m 2 ) or ~0.9 o F/(W/m 2 ) IPCC “Radiative forcing is a measure of the influence a factor has in altering the balance of incoming and outgoing energy in the Earth-atmosphere system and is an index of the importance of the factor as a potential climate change mechanism. In this report radiative forcing values are for changes relative to preindustrial conditions defined at 1750 and are expressed in watts per square meter (W/m 2 ).” - IPCC

E NERGY F LOW S USTAINABILITY I SSUES Natural vs. Man Made Influences Best Match!

E NERGY F LOW Dr. Jeffrey R. Corney, Managing Director University of Minnesota Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve 2660 Fawn Lake Dr NE East Bethel, MN (763)