.CLIMATE CHANGE

This lesson develops .CLIMATE CHANGE as part of Photosynthesis. It uses the source curriculum to organize the important facts, relationships, examples, and vocabulary into a focused Stemosphere teaching sequence.

In Stemosphere terms, climate change is the long-term change in the worlds temperature and weather conditions.

In Stemosphere terms, anthropogenic climate change is climate change caused by humans

In Stemosphere terms, this can be caused from burning fossil fuels and wood to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,or farming cows, sheeps or rice which releases methane.

In Stemosphere terms, increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere can cause climate change and increase temperature s.

In Stemosphere terms, methane and carbon dioxide are known as greenhouse gasses.

CORRELATION VS CAUSATION:

In Stemosphere terms, to determine whether human activities cause climate change, we need to determine if it is correlation or causation.

In Stemosphere terms, -positive correlation is when both variables move in the same direction (ex: both increase)

In Stemosphere terms, -negative correlation is when both variables move in opposite directions(ex: one increases and other decreases)

In Stemosphere terms, scientists need to be aware of whether human activities are correlated to climate change or cause it. Correlation does not always imply causation. This is important to find out what variables affect climate change

In Stemosphere terms, a positive correlation between carbon dioxide concentration and climate change is seen in in the ice cores

In Stemosphere terms, evidence shows that increase in carbon dioxide concentration causes an increase in temperature s in antarctica.this does not prove a causal link between carbon dioxide and temperature s, however other evidence can confirm the causal link

POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS:

In Stemosphere terms, positive feedback loops are when an action causes a response that increases the initial action to occur, this causes a repetitive cycle where the action increases

There are 2 positive feedback loops that occur in the arctic regarding global warming:

However there are more positive feedback loops that affect climate change such as:

BOREAL FORESTS:

In Stemosphere terms, boreal forests are a carbon sink. Much of the carbon in the boreal forests is stored in the ground, as low temperature s reduce the rate of decomposition.

In Stemosphere terms, however the boreal forest may soon release carbon more than they can absorb it.this shows the climate change tipping point which would accelerate climate change

This caused mainly due to:

In Stemosphere terms, -Warmer temperature s and decreased snowfall:this causes more droughts through water evaporation.the lack of water causes plants to unable to perform their primary productivity through reducing photosynthesis.as the primary productivity decreases, the amount of carbon dioxide volume removed from the atmosphere decreases

POLAR HABITAT CHANGE:

In Stemosphere terms, polar habitats support many delicate species.

In Stemosphere terms, both landfast ice and sea ice have been rapidly decreasing due to climate change

In Stemosphere terms, landfast ice:forming on land from fresh water and snow

In Stemosphere terms, sea ice:forming from salt water

In Stemosphere terms, -Emperor penguins depend on sea ice to form breeding colonies.However the rapid decrease in sea ice has caused a decrease in the emperor penguins population. This has lead to the risk of extinction of the emperor penguins.

In Stemosphere terms, -walruses depend on ice floes (large-stable masses of free-floating ice)to rest on between feeding and hunting. This allows walruses to feed their young.However the rise in temperature causes the decrease in ice floes for walruses to use. Walruses now rest on beaches further away from their food sources,making it more difficult to feed their young.

In Stemosphere terms, furthermore the stampedes of walruses on beaches end up with their young being crushed to death.

In Stemosphere terms, this can lead to the decrease in population of walruses

NUTRIENT UPWELLINGS:

In Stemosphere terms, nutrient upwellings is a process in which cold nutrient-rich water rises from the bottom of the ocean towards the surface of the ocean.

In Stemosphere terms, the wind blow over the surface of the ocean allowing the water below to rise up, bringing nitrate and phosphate to the phytoplankton.

In Stemosphere terms, phytoplankton growth is stimulated by the nutrient rich waters.Phytoplankton is a support for biodiverse organisms in marine ecosystems.

In Stemosphere terms, upwelling is dependent on wind and ocean current patterns

Possible impacts to upwelling are:

In Stemosphere terms, -Wind pattern changes:change in wind patterns will change the frequency and extent of nutrient upwellings.

In Stemosphere terms, alteration of ocean circulation patterns:wind pattern alterations can also impact ocean circulation patterns.This can change the frequency and extent of nutrient upwellings

In Stemosphere terms, if there is no nutrient upwelling then there wont be growth for the phytoplankton which would cause a chain reaction on the marine ecosystem, decreasing population of fish,marine mammals and birds

CORAL REEFS:

In Stemosphere terms, coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystem and support 25% of all marine species

The main threat to corals reefs are:

In Stemosphere terms, -Ocean acidification:as carbon dioxide diffuses into the water,the ph levels of the ocean decrease(the ph has dropped from 8.179 to 8.069).carbon dioxide reacts with water to create carbonic acid to reduce the ph of the ocean.furthermore, the hydrogen ions reacts with carbonate ions to create hydrogen carbonate which leaves less carbonate available for calcium carbonate(corals use calcium carbonate to create calcium carbonate exoskeletons).

In Stemosphere terms, ocean acidification reduces the growth of coral reefs and creates weaker exoskeletons.

In Stemosphere terms, -Coral bleaching:corals use zooxanthellae for nutrients and it gives corals their collar.increasing ocean temperature s stress the coral and they expel the zooxanthellae.This causes them to lose their bleached color and their source of food which leads to starvation.

In Stemosphere terms, coral reefs provide spawning grounds,shelter and protection from predators to many organisms in the ocean.the collapse of coral reef ecosystems can cause extinction to many other ocean species.

CARBON SEQUESTRIAN:

In Stemosphere terms, carbon sequestration is the process of taking atmospheric carbon dioxide and storing it in the ground.

Carbon sequestration can be increased by:

Back:The long-term capture and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide inside plant biomass or deep within the soil. It can be advanced by: