Climate Change Faster Than Expected
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by: PaulRoth | Total views: 177 | Word Count: 292
An increasingly large amount of peer-reviewed research, published since the IPCC 4th Assessment Report was released in 2007, shows that global warming is happening right now, and that it is quicker than predicted just 2 years ago.
The evidence for this statement comes from many areas. The most important ecosystems currently undergoing change include:
-Multiple plants and animals, in widespread sites, are already showing evidence of climate change. Examples include the timing of plant flowering, animal breeding, and lake thawing.
-Higher ocean surface temperatures in Pacific & Atlantic hurricane-formation zones leading to stronger cyclones are definitely related to anthropogenic warming.
-Ocean acidification is occurring quickly, due to CO2 in massive amounts dissolving in salty water. This will have major impacts on marine ecosystems and subsequently food supplies for many countries.
-Probable sea-level rise over the next 100 years will be higher than that calculated in 2007. It will probably increase at least 100cm, based on newly released scientific studies.
-The increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet which began in the summer of 2004 has been definitely related to global warming.
-The West Antarctic Ice Shelf has undergone rapid melting over the last 10 years and has suffered 10 major ice shelf collapses over that time.
-Sea-ice in the Arctic is disappearing much quicker than previously estimated, and it is almost a given that this area will be ice-free in summer within a few decades.
-Permafrost in the Arctic Circle is thawing much quicker than recently thought, and is releasing larger amounts of greenhouse gases than predicted.
The global warming that is now occurring is going to extend for multiple centuries even after all human-released greenhouse gas escape ceases. This is due to the significant inertia that exists in the climate and the delayed decay of carbon dioxide from within the environment.
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