Geography 1500F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Climatic Research Unit Email Controversy, Urban Heat Island, Mountain Pine Beetle
17 Dec 2016
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Intergovernmental panel on climate change assessment reports: physical science basis, impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, mitigation of climate change, synthesis report. Ipcc composed of experts around the world, synthesize publications on climate change, peer- reviewed policy makers. What can cause climate change: change in amount of solar radiation reaching earth. Change in earth"s orbit or the sun itself. Past ice ages related to change in orbit. Less summer sunshine in the north means snow accumulates (tilt: change in amount of solar radiation reflected. Albedo: the proportion of solar energy a surface reflects. Light surfaces (snow) reflect more (high albedo); dark ones (open water) reflect less (low albedo) Infrared radiation: change in amount of radiation re-emitted to space. Earth"s atmosphere traps infrared radiation, more greenhouse gases trap more infrared radiation heats earth: ipcc 2014. Human influence on climate change is clear; highest greenhouse gas emissions. Atmosphere and ocean have warmed, snow and ice have melted and sea levels have increased.
