Today’s Plan Logistics Finish Field notes on a Catastrophe Ch. 5, 6, 7 Go over grades Reading Assignment for Monday: Catastrophe Ch. 8, 9, 10, Afterward Finish Field notes on a Catastrophe Ch. 5, 6, 7 Recap what covered last time (wedges) Did you do wedge group activity? Today’s Discussion/Activity At end take-home essay test (one-week to do)
Catastrophe: Group Follow-up Thermohaline Circulation (N. Atlantic) (worldwide) 8,200 years ago thermohaline disruption? Comma Butterfly of England Golden Toad (Monteverde Cloud Forest) Wyeomyia smithii Mosquito Video Polar Bears vs. Mosquitoes—who is doing better and why? Phenotypic Plasticity vs. Natural Selection
Time Machines? In groups of 4 Identify different methods presented in the text so far for estimating past conditions What systems states in the past have been analyzed? What methods have been used?
Catastrophe: Time Machines How do we know about ancient atmosphere, temperatures, weather, fauna? Greenland Ice Cores (also Antarctic Ice Cores) Atmosphere: trapped air bubbles Temperature: isotopic composition of the ice (isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen different ratios depending on temperature) Lakebed sediment pollen samples What kind of plants were growing at a particular location in the past Ocean and lakebed sediments for wind blown substances (e.g. dolomite)
Chapter 5 Climate models Heat Forcing Water vapor feedback P. 102 climate cells NetLogo modeling program Heat Forcing 2.5 w/m2 Water vapor feedback Collapse of societies based on drought Effect of global warming on US drought conditions Survive 3 to 5 days without water depending on temperature Survive weeks without food
Chapter 6 Amphibious homes (http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/08/29/amphibian-houses-rising-water/) Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference (DAI) 400ppm, 450pm, 500ppm? CO2 levels near peak for last 3.5 billion years Temp near peak in last 420 K years
Today’s Plan AT END Handout Essay Exam Go over questions Go over practice exam question The first major report to definitively and unequivocally conclude that continued increases in carbon dioxide emissions would result in climate change was released by the National Academy of Sciences in 1979. Why do you think it has taken so long for politicians and the general public to become both aware and suitably alarmed about this issue? What particular aspects of the global warming problem might have contributed to this delay? How confident are you that the problem will be adequately addressed in the future? Differences between writing a stand-alone essay and answering an exam essay question.