1. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Chapter 12: Climate and Glaciation Lonnie Thompson trekks to Himalaya, the Andes, and beyond to study ice. Do you know why ? What is he studying ?

2. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Chapter 10: Climate and Glaciation No scientist has taken bigger risks above 18000 ft, risking blood clots, temporary blindness, frostbite, and hurricane- force winds. Risks to gather measurements and help us understand current climate trends. Lonnie Thompson reconstructed a meticulous calendar of temperatures and dates from isotope measurements in ice. He found that the Earth's frozen ice stores a history of climate changes as far back as 750,000 yrs.

3. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Earth's Climate What is climate ? Climate is described by the average weather conditions at a point on the Earth's surface daily, yearly or longer.

4. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Earth's Climate The climate includes many components of the Earth's system and interactions between them.

5. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Earth's Climate The atmosphere is layered with different temperature values in each Temperatures in other Earth systems such as ocean water, biosphere, lithosphere, & crysophere all contribute to an average surface temp.

6. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glaciers The cryosphere comprises all of the ice on the Earth.

7. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glaciers Most of the Earth's ice is found in Antarctic continental glacier. Where are some other continental glaciers ?

8. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Greenland is the second largest glacier on Earth and with Antarctica cover 10% of the Earth's land mass. These glaciers store 75% of the world's fresh water. While Greenland has 2.6 mill cubic km of ice, it is dwarfed by Antarctica which has 30 mill cubic km (90%) of the Earth's cryosphere. Antarctica's ice is ~4000 m thick! Glaciers

9. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glaciers Snow melt is the source of much of the fresh water in the hydrosphere. Snowfall is 60-70% of all annual precipitation which melts in spring into rivers and streams.

10. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glaciers The cryosphere includes sea ice which grows in volume in the winter and shrinks in the summer. This satellite picture (left) shows sea ice flowing through the Bering Strait in May 2002.

11. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Solar energy input to Earth’s surface is 342 W/m 2. Heat flowing out of Earth’s deep interior is only 0.06 W/m 2. Therefore, heat radiating from Earth must balance solar input.

12. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Earth reflects radiation not absorbed by the atmosphere & surface Strong greenhouse gases reflect this radiation back to the Earth and prevent it from leaving the atmosphere. Heat and Radiation from the Sun

13. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Balance of Heat Flow into/out of the Earth Water vapor gives positive feedback, that is, it is a greenhouse gas and its presence prevents escape of the Earth's excess radiation. Albedo gives positive feedback. Albedo measures the Sun's reflected energy from the cryosphere. As the Earths' temp rises, and glaciers melt, the albedo decreases. This process reduces reflected radiation escape. Radiation damping can give negative feedback. Infrared energy escape is increased if temperatures rise. This process slows large temperature fluxuations and keeps the oceans from freezing or boiling off. Plant growth gives negative feedback. Conversion of CO2 into organic matter reduces greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and allows for more escape of radiative energy.

14. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company What Would our Planet be like Without Greenhouse Gases ? The Earth rotates (1 day) much faster than the Moon (30 days) which evens out its temperature The Moon's temp changes from 130 C in the day to -170 C at night! This would be very uncomfortable! The Earth's glaciers increases its albedo to 31% where the Moon's albedo is only 7%. However without any greenhouse gases, the Earth's surface temp would be very cold, -19 C (-2 F) and would freeze all our oceans. Some greenhouse gases are necessary to moderate strong fluctuations in surface temperature from Solar radiation

15. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Local Climate Variations

16. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Antarctic Ice Sheet Today many scientists work to study ice cores in Anarctica

17. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Russian scientists at Vostok station carefully remove an ice core at 3500m altitude (T is about -55C !) Below inspection of the core is done in a cold lab.

18. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Past Glaciation from Ice Cores

19. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Temperature relative to present climate (°C) ‏ Thousands of years before present Relative carbon dioxide andmethane concentrations High Low Key: Temperature CO 2 Methane There is a decline in both temperature and greenhouse gas concentrations during glacial periods… …and a rapid rise during deglaciation. Climate has been relatively warm and stable during the last 10,000 years.

20. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glacial and Temperature Cycles White shows evidence indicating the extent of the Wisconsin glacier in the Great Lakes during it's maximum about 18000 yrs ago and was ~3 km thick.

21. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company GEOLOGIC RESERVOIRS Fossil organic carbon Rock carbonates Fossil- fuel burning (5.3 Gt/yr) ‏ OCEAN Cement production (0.1 Gt/yr) ‏ Land-use change: deforestation, agriculture (1.7 Gt/yr) ‏ Land uptake By new plant growth (1.9 Gt/yr) ‏ Ocean uptake by air-sea gas exchange (1.9 Gt/yr) ‏ Terrestrial biosphere LAND ATMOSPHERE Human activities release a total of 7.1 Gt of carbon into the atmosphere each year. New plant growth and air-sea gas exchange remove 3.8 Gt/yr,… …yielding a net atmospheric increase of 3.3 Gt/yr.

22. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Years Temperature CO 2 concentration Global temperature anomaly (°C) ‏ A recent warming trend correlates with the increase in CO 2. CO 2 concentration (ppm) ‏

23. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Years Temperature CO 2 concentration The 20th-century is clearly anomalous when compared with the last millennium. Northern Hemisphere temperature anomaly (°C) ‏ CO 2 concentration (ppm) ‏

24. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Arctic sea ice 1995-2007 (National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder)‏

25. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Arctic sea ice 2005-2007 (National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder)‏ 4.3 million sq km

26. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Receding Glacier South Cascade Glacier, Washington

27. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Meteorites found in Arctic Glaciers The easiest place to locate dark, rocky meteorites is in Antarctic Ice Sheet A small number of meteorites appear to have come from the Moon and Mars Several of these appear to have come from Mars martian meteorite lunar meteorite

28. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Global Warming Global warming is a physical measurement that the Earth's surface temperatures are rising beyond normal fluctuations. Global warming can have many effects on our environment: - increase atmospheric temperature - melt glacial ice - prevent escape of the Sun's excess radiation - harm habitat environments like polar bears - create drastic changes in our climate (extreme hot and cold seasons)‏ - and remove our only evidence of past climate history ! What can we do about this at home ?

29. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company The Global Energy Challenge Roel Snieder Photo: USFWS/Susanne Miller

30. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Developing countries

31. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company … and our energy use

32. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company How do Geologist Find Old Glaciers Boundaries ? Glaciers leave clues...

33. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glacial striations on a rock from stones grinding at the base of a heavy ice sheet leave these shiny linear marks on the bedrock below.

34. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glacial Characteristics Glaciers flow downhill as a solid mass that creates channels, and walls made of ground up rock debris known as a merraine.

35. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Erosional Landscapes Erosional landforms produced by valley glaciers include: –U-shaped valleys –Hanging valleys Smaller tributary glacial valleys left stranded above more quickly eroded central valleys

36. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company U-shaped valleys Hanging valleys Erosional Landscapes

37. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Glacial Deposits Sediment-laden streams emerging from ends of glaciers have braided channel drainage patterns Outwash landforms include drumlins, eskers, kettles and kames Drumlins give can tell us what direction a glacier moved.

38. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company

39. The History of Energy Consumption in the US over past 150 yrs How much oil is available in the world for our use ? Is it infinite ?

40. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Peak oil N.B. based on USGS estimates, these are among the most optimistic (Energy Information administration)‏

41. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Declining production (1)‏ resource depleted Time Production supply

42. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Declining production (2)‏ production gap! Time Production demand supply

43. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Oil Peak, Oil Panic ? (Study by Amos Nur - Stanford)‏ U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, UK, are the biggest consumers of oil reserves worldwide.

44. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Oil Consumption World wide by country The US uses more oil than all other countries combined

45. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company

46. Countries with highest per capita income seeking oil from countries holding the oil wells/reservoirs (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Venezuala).

47. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company New find in Gulf of Mexico (Jack No. 2 test well)‏ up to 3-15 billion barrels of oil US consumption 20 million barrels/day 5 months - 2 years reservoir is 8 km under sea level

48. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Non-convenional reserves (excluding gas and coal)‏ Produced (gone)‏ Proved Reserves Undiscovered(?)‏ EOR Extra Heavy Oil & Tar Sands Shale Oil 0 1 2345678910 Trillions of Barrels Recoverable Years Supply at 2005 Production Unconventional petroleum resources: (more difficult & dirty, and therefore expen$ive)‏ Conventional (“easy”)‏ 0 25 50 (Courtesy of Joe Stefani)‏

49. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Non-conventional oil from National Geographic, June 2004 Tar Sand Heavy Oil shale 2 tons of tar sands produce 1 barrel of bitumen (~asphalt)‏

50. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Other Energy Resources The metal uranium is used to power nuclear power generators –Found with organic matter in sedimentary rocks –Accounts for 10% of U.S. energy production –Leaves radioactive waste as by-product Hydroelectric power provides about 4% of U.S. energy needs –Renewable and non-polluting Geothermal power provides about 0.2% of U.S. energy needs Other renewable, non-polluting energy sources are wave/current power, solar power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells –As fossil fuel supplies dwindle, these sources become more important

51. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Other Energy Resources The metal uranium is used to power nuclear power generators –Found with organic matter in sedimentary rocks –Accounts for 10% of U.S. energy production –Leaves radioactive waste as by-product Hydroelectric power provides about 4% of U.S. energy needs –Renewable and non-polluting Geothermal power provides about 0.2% of U.S. energy needs Other renewable, non-polluting energy sources are wave/current power, solar power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells –As fossil fuel supplies dwindle, these sources become more important

52. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company First solar 2 MW array Ft. Carson, CO

53. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Research: efficient solar cells http://gcep.stanford.edu/research/solar.html

54. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company Alternative Energy Sources: Wind power

55. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company What can I do as consumer? LightingTransportationAppliances

56. Jordan, The Essential Earth 1e © 2008 by W. H. Freeman and Company What can I do as citizen? Ask: what is our energy plan? Start a discussion in your community. Demand that the United States becomes a world-leader in responsible use of energy. “That which we are, we shall teach, not voluntarily but involuntarily.” [Emerson] z