1. Lesson # 4: Physical Effects of Climate Change (8.2 of Textbook)

2. Effects in the Atmosphere
Heat Waves
More frequent
More “extreme heat alerts” with cooling stations needed
More air conditioning, which leads to more greenhouse gas emissions, leading to more warming, etc.
Warm air leads to warm land - permafrost is thawing which causes soil to be come looser and house foundations no longer safe

3. Atmosphere Droughts Especially bad in desert areas
Cause crop and food shortages

4. Atmosphere Wildfires Dry heat and wind can cause small fires to spread
Camping and park restrictions on fires more frequent

5. Atmosphere Storms More severe and more frequent
Includes hurricanes and tornados

6. Atmosphere Floods Warm air leads to warm water and snow melts quickly
Damages homes and farmland

7. Effects in the Hydrosphere
Melting Ice
Sea and glacier ice is melting with warmer water. Leads to:
Flooding land above sea level
Changing habitats of shoreline animals
Loss of shoreline property
Changing coastlines and changing shape of continents
Reducing amount of fresh water available for drinking
Changes salinity of oceans which can affect organisms

8. Hydrosphere (continued)
Ocean Warming
Warm water expands causing higher sea levels
Less CO2 absorbed – less of a carbon sink
Less plankton growth (they perform photosynthesis) to start the aquatic food chain
More intense hurricanes
Ocean Current Changes
Change in heat transfer - speed and direction
Could global warming lead to global cooling?

9. Effects on Wildlife Range Shifts A range is where an organism lives
Organisms are being found living in different areas
Grey Jays (birds) are now found more north so that their stored food can last longer before going bad
Many bird migration patterns have changed – they don’t need to fly as south as they used to and some lose their groups along the way
Ticks, which can carry Lyme diseases, are now being found in northern areas where they were not found before

10. Wildlife (continued) Threatened Species Organisms that Benefit
Between 40-70% of all species are at risk of extinction if the global temperature increases only by 3.3°C.
Corals are threatened with increasing CO2 emissions (increasing acidity) and ocean warming
Pacific salmon fish stock declining – reduces jobs and food
Polar bears finding it harder to hunt seals with limited ice to stand on, and starving
Frogs, toads, salamanders decreasing – why these species?
Organisms that Benefit
Large jellyfish now can live worldwide with warmer temperatures – increased population

11. Homework Page 319 # 2-7, 9-17 Watch Videos on
Wildlife & Climate Change
Climate Change & Bees
Climate Change & Oceans
Climate Change & Heat Waves