Climate Change: The Move to Action (AOSS 480 // NRE 480) Richard B. Rood Cell: Space Research Building (North Campus) Winter 2012 February 2, 2012

Class News Ctools site: AOSS_SNRE_480_001_W12AOSS_SNRE_480_001_W and 2010 Class On Line:2008 and 2010 Class – /Climate_Change:_The_Move_to_Actionhttp://climateknowledge.org/classes/index.php /Climate_Change:_The_Move_to_Action

The Current Climate (Released Monthly) Climate Monitoring at National Climatic Data Center.Climate MonitoringNational Climatic Data Center – State of the Climate: Global Plant Hardiness

Some Project Ideas Education –Strategies when policy requires teaching “denial” –Incorporation into engineering curriculum –Earth science in K-12; admission to college Cities (esp Great Lakes) Adaptation Climate in the Keystone Pipeline Great Lakes Seasonal forecast information / Long-term projections / Use of information / Effectiveness of communication efforts

Today Scientific investigation of the Earth’s climate: Foundational information –Feedbacks Incremental Arctic / Ocean –Internal / Natural Variability

The Earth System ATMOSPHERE LAND OCEAN ICE SUN Solar variability Water vapor feedback accelerates warming Ice-albedo feedback accelerates warming Increase greenhouse gases reduces cooling rate  Warming Changes in land use impact absorption and reflection Cloud feedback? Aerosols cool? Cloud feedback?

Abrupt Climate Change Most scenarios of abrupt climate change are related to a phase change in some way or another. Does the albedo change quickly? Is there a change in the fresh water in the ocean? Is there a release of gas stored in something that is frozen? It is also possible to define rapid changes in ocean (land?) ecosystems, that leads to composition changes in the atmosphere. Biology – sensitive to temperature, water, salinity, ph, etc. Lamont-Doherty: Abrupt Climate Change

Let’s look at just the last 1000 years Surface temperature and CO 2 data from the past 1000 years. Temperature is a northern hemisphere average. Temperature from several types of measurements are consistent in temporal behavior. Note that on this scale, with more time resolution, that the fluctuations in temperature and the fluctuations in CO 2 do not match as obviously as in the long, 350,000 year, record. This is a span of time with very “stable” climate, by historical records. Stable meaning, low variability. Also it has been warm. {

Sources of internal variability This is natural variability. –Solar variability –Volcanic activity –Internal “dynamics” Atmosphere - Weather Ocean Atmosphere-ocean interactions Atmosphere-ocean-land-ice interactions That does not mean that these modes of variability remain constant as the climate changes.

Conservation equation Could you write the conservation equation, at least symbolically, for surface temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Energy doesn’t just come and go The atmosphere and ocean are fluids. The horizontal distribution of energy, leads to making these fluids move. That is “weather” and ocean currents and the “general circulation.” “General circulation” is the accumulated effect of individual events.

Transport of heat poleward by atmosphere and oceans This is an important part of the climate system One could stand back far enough in space, average over time, and perhaps average this away. This is, however, weather... and weather is how we feel the climate day to day –It is likely to change because we are changing the distribution of average heating

While Building the Radiative Balance Figure Redistribution by atmosphere, ocean, etc. SURFACE 2) Then it is redistributed by the atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, life. Top of Atmosphere / Edge of Space ATMOSPHERE CLOUD RS 1) The absorbed solar energy is converted to terrestrial thermal energy.

Another important consideration. Latitudinal dependence of heating and cooling SURFACE ATMOSPHERE CLOUD Equator (On average heating) North Pole (Cooling) South Pole (Cooling) Because of tilt of Earth, Solar Radiation is absorbed preferentially at the Equator (low latitudes). Top of Atmosphere / Edge of Space After the redistribution of energy, the emission of infrared radiation from the Earth is ~ equal from all latitudes.

Transfer of heat north and south is an important element of the climate at the Earth’s surface. Redistribution by atmosphere, ocean, etc. SURFACE Top of Atmosphere / Edge of Space ATMOSPHERE CLOUD heat is moved to poles cool is moved towards equator This is a transfer. Both ocean and atmosphere are important! This predisposition for parts of the globe to be warm and parts of the globe to be cold means that measuring global warming is difficult. Some parts of the world could, in fact, get cooler because this warm and cool pattern could be changed. What is a scenario for record cold temperatures in northern Mexico?

The Thermohaline Circulation (THC) (Global, organized circulation in the ocean) (The “conveyer belt”, “rivers” within the ocean) Where there is localized exchange of water between the surface and the deep ocean (convection) Warm, surface currents. Cold, bottom currents. Green shading, high salt Blue shading, low salt

Ocean Surface Currents (From Steven Dutch, U Wisconsin, Green Bay)Steven Dutch Good Material at National Earth Science Teachers AssociationNational Earth Science Teachers Association

Hurricanes and heat: Sea Surface Temperature

Weather Moves Heat from Tropics to the Poles HURRICANES

Mid-latitude cyclones & Heat

Projected Global Temperature Trends: temperatures relative to Special Report on Emissions Scenarios Storyline B2 (middle of the road warming). IPCC 2001

Wave Motion and Climate

Internal Variability? Weather – single “events” – waves, vortices There are modes of internal variability in the climate system which cause global changes. –El Nino – La NinaEl Nino – La Nina What is El Nino –North Atlantic OscillationNorth Atlantic Oscillation Climate Prediction Center: North Atlantic Oscillation –Annular ModeAnnular Mode –Inter-decadal Tropical Atlantic –Pacific Decadal OscillationPacific Decadal Oscillation

Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction: El-Nino

Changes during El Nino

Times series of El Nino (NOAA CPC) OCEAN TEMPERATURE EASTERN PACIFIC ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE DIFFERENCE EL NINO LA NINA

Some good El Nino Information NOAA Climate Prediction: Current El Nino / La NinaNOAA Climate Prediction: Current El Nino / La Nina NOAA CPC: Excellent slides on El Nino –This is a hard to get to educational tour. This gets you in the middle and note navigation buttons on the bottom.

GISS Temperature El Nino

January 2011 Temperature Anomalies

Internal Variability? Weather – single “events” – waves, vortices There are modes of internal variability in the climate system which cause global changes. –El Nino – La NinaEl Nino – La Nina What is El Nino –North Atlantic OscillationNorth Atlantic Oscillation Climate Prediction Center: North Atlantic Oscillation –Annular ModeAnnular Mode –Inter-decadal Tropical Atlantic –Pacific Decadal OscillationPacific Decadal Oscillation

North Atlantic Oscillation Positive Phase U.S. East, Mild and Wet Europe North, Warm and Wet Canada North & Greenland, Cold and Dry Negative Phase U.S. East, Cold Air Outbreaks, Snow (dry) Europe North, Cold; South, Wet Greenland, Warm

North Atlantic Oscillation Phase (from Climate Prediction Center)Climate Prediction Center

January 2011 Temperature Anomalies

Internal Variability? Weather – single “events” – waves, vortices There are modes of internal variability in the climate system which cause global changes. –El Nino – La NinaEl Nino – La Nina What is El Nino –North Atlantic OscillationNorth Atlantic Oscillation Climate Prediction Center: North Atlantic Oscillation –Annular ModeAnnular Mode –Inter-decadal Tropical Atlantic –Pacific Decadal OscillationPacific Decadal Oscillation

Does the Pacific Decadal Oscillation operate regularly lasting years, and does southern California experience droughts during that period? The Pacific Decadal Oscillation is one of several “oscillations” that are important to weather and climate. Some attributes of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

Pacific Decadal Oscillation: Basics Better version of figure from JISAO Colors: Sea Surface Temperature difference from long term average. Arrows: Stress on the ocean surface caused by winds Warm here Cool here

Some information on Pacific Decadal Oscillation Joint Institute for Study of Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO):JISAO –Pacific Decadal OscillationPacific Decadal Oscillation Climate Prediction Center (CPC):CPC –90 Day Outlook Summary90 Day Outlook Summary –Weather and Climate LinkageWeather and Climate Linkage National Climatic Data Center (NCDC):NCDC –Decadal OscillationsDecadal Oscillations Review Paper from Rood Class References –Mantua and Hare (2002) J of OceanographyMantua and Hare (2002) J of Oceanography

Bumps and Wiggles Rood’s Series on Bumps and Wiggles

Lean and Rind, Next 20 yearsNext 20 years

A Scientific Challenge

GISS Temperature El Nino An interesting time to study?

A couple of papers Bengstsson_20th_Century_Climate_JClim ate_2004Bengstsson_20th_Century_Climate_JClim ate_2004 Johannssen_Arctic_20th_Century_Tellus_ 2004Johannssen_Arctic_20th_Century_Tellus_ 2004

An Example at the End of Ice Age

What is a stable climate? NOAA Paleoclimate Schlumberger LIQUID - ICE

Younger Dryas POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF CHANGE IN OCEAN CIRCULATION WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Does Raise the Question of Abrupt Climate Change

The predictions and observations so far are either in the sense of: –Relatively small changes in the dynamic balance of the climate system –Incremental changes to the stable climate. What about “abrupt” climate change? Abrupt climate change

Note to professor: Force students to think and speak What might cause something to change abruptly in the climate system? Lamont-Doherty: Abrupt Climate Change NAS: Abrupt Climate Change Wunderground.com: Abrupt Climate ChangeWunderground.com: Abrupt Climate Change

Scientific investigation of Earth’s climate SUNEARTH EARTH: EMITS ENERGY TO SPACE  BALANCE PLACE AN INSULATING BLANKET AROUND EARTH FOCUS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE SURFACE