Why study GLOBAL WARMING? stories/s412.htm.

Why study GLOBAL WARMING?

www.noaanews.noaa.gov/ stories/s412.htm

Photograph by Peter Essick

• Species distributions are changing

• Some animals are moving toward the poles

• Some are moving up mountains

• Many are losing habitat, migration routes

As Habitats Change

Plants and Disease

• Agricultural crops may be affected as local weather and seasons change

• Insect population explosions

• Invasive species• Disease distributions:

malaria, cholera, etc

http://www.mindfully.org/Air/Global-Warming-Health20aug00b.GIF

www.uaf.edu/.../2004/ ninilchik-beetles.html

Increased severe weather: droughts, floods, hurricanes

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature3/zoom5.html

“More than a hundred million people worldwide live within three feet of mean sea level.” ~National Geographic fact

http://www.ourbangla.com/bangladesh/pg/flood/FLOOD_JESSORE_17_8AP_JWH_s0.jpg

Causes: Greenhouse gases

• Burning fossil fuels

• Forest fires

• Volcanoes

• Deforestation

www.ctv.ca/.../ 1038431872899_41?s_name=&no_ads=

www.unexplainable.net/.../ article_581.shtml

•Collapsing ground from melting permafrost

http://climchange.cr.usgs.gov/info/assessment/tok.jpeg

•Melting sea ice

http://www.phenology.org.uk/standard/home/why/images/polalbearsicemelt.jpg

http://www.ciel.org/Pictures/ice_arch.jpg

REDUCE COREDUCE CO22 Emissions! Emissions!

• Clean Electricity / Clean Electricity / Alternative EnergyAlternative Energy

• Smart Transportation Smart Transportation and Land Useand Land Use

• Healthy Farms and Healthy Farms and ForestsForests

• Promote Conservation / Promote Conservation / RestorationRestoration

• Make Greener ChoicesMake Greener Choices

So how do ecosystems respond to elevated CO2?

• Study site: Cheyenne, WY

• Treatments:– Elevated CO2

– Heating– Changing rainfall

patterns

• CO2 sink or source?

CO2 uptake and respiration

500

510

520

530

540

550

560

570

580

590

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Time (seconds)

CO2 (ppm)

What is happening belowground?

Pulse 1 Ecosystem respiration

Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8

Ecosystem respiration (umol/m^2/s)0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16A1E1C1

NEE Pulse 1

Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8Net Ecosystem Exchange (umol/m^2/s)

-0.6

-0.5

-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

A2 E2 C2

NEE Pulse 2

Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8Net Ecosystem Exchange (umol/m^2/s)

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

A2 E2 C2

CO2 fluxes…. Responses to rainfall