- 5 reads
A recent report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that climate change due to human activities is evident going back to the start of the industrial revolution in 1750. Human behavior has caused more greenhouse gases to be produced, resulting in changed temperature, atmosphere, precipitation, storms, sea levels, and ocean acidification, the report says.
Centuries later, scientists are starting to understand why these changes have occurred. Over the past century, temperatures have risen nationally in the United States, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. Temperatures have risen at an average of 0.56ºF per decade from 1979-2005. Alaska and the Southeast experienced the largest temperature difference during these years, rising 3.3ºF per century in Alaska, and cooling of -0.04ºF in the Southeast. NOAA and NASA have also reported the eight warmest years on record since 1880 have occurred since 2001, with 2005 being the warmest year.
Land warms faster than oceans, and the winter season warms faster than the summer season, according to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Temperatures in the Arctic region have increased substantially in the past 100 years, causing ice caps to melt and many wildlife species to become endangered or extinct. Much of this problem is very likely due to humans over-working the climate, according to IPCC, as well as the amount of radiation from the sun.
Worldwide sea levels have also drastically changed in the last century, according to IPCC. Tide measurements and satellite altimetry have been measured at approximately 4.8-8.8 inches. The rising sea levels have been attributed to temperature changes of the atmosphere and ocean.
There are several factors leading to sea level changes. Warmer sea temperatures are causing glaciers and ice caps to melt, adding to the volume of ocean waters. Warm sea temperatures are also causing the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Ice Sheet to melt. Overall, ocean water is expanding due to warmer ocean temperatures. Sea levels have been rising worldwide over the past century, particularly along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Australia, Africa, Europe and Japan.
Not only are sea levels increasing, but oceans are becoming more acidic due to carbon dioxide emissions associated with human activity. Ocean acidification has increased 0.1 units from pre-Industrial Revolution levels, the EPA says. Ocean acidification affects calcium carbonate infiltration causing shells and skeletons to be less available which affects the health of corals and other organisms. Future ocean acidification could most likely obstruct the development of shells and skeletons and furthermore affect many marine organisms.
All of these factors have added to climate change, and now that we are starting to understand why, we may be able to do something about it.
