The Arctic Te Meltdown University of Michigan北极融化密歇根大学.pptVIP

The Meltdown? J. Aretakis - J. Fenner - K. Frost Why should we care? World is warming rapidly Anthropogenic causes Arctic feeling affects the most Arctic is an indicator of changes to come Question: Outline Global Issues Arctic Issues Implications Solutions Conclusion Global Issues The world is warming 0.6 degrees Celsius in the 20th century Not natural fluctuation Short time scale Anthropogenic causes Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased by 31%, 150% and 17% Fossil fuel combustion Greenhouse gas emissions Arctic Issues Permafrost Melt Arctic Issues Arctic Glacier and Ice Cap Melt Glaciers in western Canada and Alaska have dumped 900 Trillion gallons of water into the ocean in the last 50 years Sea Ice equal to the size of Texas has melted over the North pole Arctic Issues Ecosystem shift Species cannot move further north because there isn’t any land. Shrubs decrease albedo. Implications Climate change is accelerated in the Arctic Presence of positive feedback loops Changes will directly effect the entire globe Indicator of the changes to come for the rest of the world Solutions Short term: Adaptation to current situation Aid, innovation, and information Long term: Adaptation to expected effects Mitigation Global Cooperation Conclusion Changes in the Arctic serve as “canary” for the world Accelerated climate change in the Arctic requires forward-thinking policy Overall goals: adaptation and mitigation on appropriate scales Sustainable growth Global effort for global issue References Armstrong, Franny. Baked Alaska. Spanner Films Ltd. 2003. Braithwait, R. 2005. Mass-balance characteristics of arctic glaciers. Annals of Glaciology. 42: 225-229. Brewer, T.L. 2005. US public opinion on climate change issues: implications for consensus-building and policymaking. Climate Policy 4 (4): 359-376. Bruderheim REA. Global Warming Explained. 26 Sep 2002. Online. 24 Oct 2006. /REA/warming4.htm. Chapin, F