Can you have this done in two day?
P.S. need to use google earth for some questions, will need to send file outside of this platform.
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
)igXrH _ 6tHSV nHHGHG tR anal\]H tKH iFH H[tHnt Gata tR YiVXali]H SattHrnV SlaFH a linH RI EHVt ¿t
and calculate the slope of that line.
Author: Bradley Deline
Source: Original Work
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Part A – Original Data
First, we want to take a closer look at the data presented in the original article
³$QWDUFWLF6HD,FHIRU0DUFK6LJQL¿FDQWO\*UHDWHU7KDQ´ and interpret the
data. Feel free to read the article, but it isn’t needed to complete the assignment or
understand the patterns it is presenting. The data, which is included to the left of
the graph below, is the extent of Antarctic sea ice in millions of square kilometers
as measured in 0arch of 19 and 21. This data is accurate and is consistent
Page | 129
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
with data that can be downloaded from NSIDC. To do this, follow the instructions
in Figure 6.6. In this case, steps two and three are the same and you can easily calculate slope using the original data.
1. Based exclusively on the data provided and your graph, what conclusion would
you make regarding climate change?
a. Sea ice is expanding, which indicates an increase in temperature
b. Sea ice is expanding, which indicates a decrease in temperature
c. Sea ice is contracting, which indicates an increase in temperature
d. Sea ice is contracting, which indicates a decrease in temperature
2. :hat is slope of the line of best ¿t for this data?
a. 0.008 million square kilometers per year
b. 0.05 million square kilometers per year
c. -0.05 million square kilometers per year
d. 0.017 million square kilometers per year
e. -0.17 million square kilometer per year
f. 0.033 million square kilometer per year
Page | 130
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
3. Even though the above data is accurate, give and explain two reasons why this
dataset might lead you to an incorrect conclusion regarding global climate change.
Part B – South Pole Sea Ice Extent
Below is an expanded dataset showing Antarctic sea ice Figure 6. extent measured during
0arch 190 through 2012 again downloaded
from NSIDC. Only the even numbered years are
presented, but the addition of odd years does not
alter the trend in the data. Following the instructions in Figure 6.6, graph the data, draw a line of
best ¿t, and calculate the slope of the line.
Figure 6.7 | Map of Antarctica showing
the extent of the polar ice cap and the
H[WHQWRIWKHÀRDWLQJLFHVKHOYHV
Author: USGS
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: Public Domain
Page | 131
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
4. :hat is the slope of the line of best ¿t you estimated for this data set? 0ake
sure to show your work.
. :hat conclusion about climate change could you make from this dataset? +ow
does your result for the extended dataset compare to the results from the data
presented in the article Part A ?
Part C – North Pole Sea Ice Extent
Next, we will examine the ice extent patterns of the northern Arctic polar ice
sheet that is located around *reenland Figure 6. . The ice extent data is from
0arch 190 through 2012, for even numbered years, again downloaded from
NSIDC. Following the instructions in Figure 6.6, graph the data, draw a line of best
¿t, and calculate the slope of the line.
Figure 6.8 | Map of Greenland showing the extent of
the polar ice cap.
Author: Eric Gaba
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Page | 132
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
6. :hat is the slope of the line of best ¿t you estimated for this data set? 0ake
sure to show your work.
7. :hat conclusion on climate change could you make from this dataset? +ow
does your result for the North Pole compare to that of the South Pole Part B ?
6.5 HEAT TRANSPORT AND OCEAN CURRENTS
As was mentioned earlier in the lab, the tropics are warmer than the poles because of dĭerences in the angle at which solar radiation impacts the Earth Figure
6.1). Very little solar radiation reaches higher latitude areas because the solar radiation comes in almost parallel to the Earth’s surface. Therefore, most of the thermal energy at higher latitudes comes from the movement of heat from the tropics.
Heat is transported across the Earth’s surface through wind currents, storms, and
ocean currents. In particular, large circular ocean currents, called gyres, appear
to have a signi¿cant impact on the geographic distribution of heat on Earth and
large-scale climate change in Earth’s history. These currents are particularly ĕecPage | 133
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
tive in melting polar ice in that they melt the sea ice from below. In addition, an
examination of ocean current patterns will assist in explaining the patterns of sea
ice extent you graphed earlier as the earth is warming Part B and C).
6.6 LAB EXERCISE
Materials
A visuali]ation of the ocean currents can be seen by downloading the ¿le
³oceanBcurrents.kml´ either from your course’s website or directly from the Science on a Sphere page from NOAA sos.noaa.govkml). Once you download the
¿le you can open it within *oogle Earth. Once the ¿le loads which may take a few
minutes), click on the wrench in the upper left corner of the screen to the left of
the NOAA logo Figure 6.9). Check the ³loop animation´ box and slide the cursor
for animation speed to an intermediate position, then click
OK. Then click the toggle animation icon Figure 6.9) to
start the animation. :atch the
movement of the currents as
they Àow, making sure to examine the Àow in dĭerent Figure 6.9 | Directions to visualize ocean currents in Google
Earth. 1: Wrench icon to apply the correct settings. 2: Toggle
parts of the world and zoom animation icon to start the animation.
out to get a broad prospective Author: Google
of the Àow of the ocean cur- Source: Google Earth
License: Fair Use
rents around the world.
If you have di̇culty loading the ¿le you can also access the visualization at
http://sos.noaa.gov/Datasets/dataset.php?id=130#. To access the visualization of
the ocean currents click on ³Interactive Sphere´ and hit play, make sure to spin the
globe to see the currents in the dĭerent oceans.
Part D – Ocean Currents and Heat Transport
8. Examine and describe the ocean currents Àowing in the Atlantic Ocean from
the equator to the North Pole starting from Brazil 6 08 4.S 3 8 24.09:).
Do these currents reach the northern polar ice sheet? If the tropics become
warmer, how would this ăect the northern ice sheet?
Page | 134
INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
9. Examine and describe the ocean currents Àowing in the Paci¿c Ocean from the
equator to the South Pole starting from Somalia 0 32 32.23N 44 09 1.47E).
Do these currents reach the southern polar ice sheet? If the tropics become
warmer, how would this ăect the southern ice sheet?
10. Based on your answer to questions eight and nine, explain why we see dĭerent
trends in the sea ice extent in the south Part B) and north poles Part C).
11. How might the changes you saw in the previous exercises relate to global
albedo, sea level, ocean salinity, and temperature?
Part E – Conclusions
0aking conclusions, let alone policy decisions, regarding any complex system
such as climate and how it is changing is di̇cult.