Questions tagged [climate-change]
Questions about changes of the climate system, including questions about global warming.
579
questions
3
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2answers
88 views
What on Earth are we doing and can be done to prevent the projected (massive) water shortages?
I have heard it from many, many places that the big cities are drawing too much water from their aquifers, and then climate change will exacerbate that problem amongst a very many others. My city, ...
2
votes
0answers
20 views
Are their any tools or code available to evaluate cmip6 models (r or matlab preferred)?
I would like to carry out a superficial analysis of a small number of CMIP6 models I downloaded from the ESGF. I'm thinking that a spatial correlation or Mean Square error between climatologies of ...
1
vote
0answers
44 views
Could climate change make air unbreathable? [duplicate]
A lot of the press discussion, IPCC information and scientific inquiry about climate change refers to changes in the temperature of the atmosphere. I have not seen debates about changes in the ...
1
vote
0answers
49 views
Is Russia going to benefit from climate change? [closed]
There are clear ways climate change can and does harm Russia: more frequent forest fires, floods, thawing permafrost. On the other hand, winter, says the latest IPCC report, is going to warm at a ...
0
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0answers
43 views
Alternative natural explanations for rise in atmospheric CO2? [duplicate]
I am in no way a climate-change skeptic, nor a denier. Motivated by this question and some articles I read online:
Are there any known natural processes beside human activities that are able to ...
4
votes
2answers
195 views
How to explain the remarkable regularity of the increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide?
The Keeling curve is very well approximated with an exponential function with an offset $256$ [ppm]
$$256+A\cdot e^{\alpha\cdot t}$$
where $A=1.095\cdot10^{-12}$ and $\alpha=0.0161$ ($t$ is in years ...
3
votes
0answers
38 views
Why is draining wetlands not a good idea, climate-wise?
Suppose we say, "We have a climate emergency going on, there's no way we're going to decarbonize our economies fast enough, to hell with biodiversity, we are going to drain the swamps". What ...
4
votes
1answer
185 views
What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up estimates?
I find the IPCC report hard to read. It's peppered with unexplained terms and is generally cumbersome (no offence to its authors). Here's one example. What is the difference between top-down and ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
How are they holding COP26 if the IPCC hasn't yet finished the report?
How are they holding COP26 if the IPCC hasn't yet completed its latest Assessment Report? I'm reading it at the moment, and more often than not there are descriptions to figures without the figures ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
1.5° above what?
We know all about how the Earth's temperature needs to stay below "1.5° above pre-industrial levels". But what were they?
Every news article and policy statement seems to hand-wave it away. ...
4
votes
1answer
54 views
Does carbon dioxide preferentially accumulate in one layer of the atmosphere?
Just as Ozone concentration peaks at around 20 km in the stratosphere, having a distribution around higher and lowers layers of the atmosphere, does the same happen for carbon dioxide or other ...
2
votes
1answer
426 views
Looking for the mathematics so I can run climate change simulations
Sorry for the stupid question, but I have been unable to answer it even after wasting time googleing for a while... I know there are several climate-changes scenarios, and I know the several climatic ...
9
votes
4answers
113 views
Why does the Arctic warm so fast despite being so white?
It may be a silly question but why does the Arctic warm so fast despite being so white ("albedo" is the word, I believe)? Isn't all that whiteness supposed to deflect all those pesky sun ...
4
votes
0answers
32 views
Carbon emission from estuaries
I've heard that estuaries like Chesapeake Bay produce a lot of methane during anoxic conditions. Is there a chance of these estuaries emitting significant amounts of CH4 in the future (because of the ...
2
votes
0answers
35 views
Do greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit photons or reflect them diffusely? Or both? (CO2, CH4, H2O, N20, HFC-134a, etc.)
Also, would it matter if a particular type of greenhouse gas molecule reflected rather than absorbed and then re-emitted light? Would its GWP be higher or lower?
Perhaps this is more of a pure ...
7
votes
2answers
66 views
Are wetlands a net source or net sink of GHGs?
Are wetlands a net source or net sink of GHGs? On the one hand, they store a lot of carbon. On the other hand, they emit methane, a potent green house gas.
5
votes
0answers
53 views
Is cutting down boreal forest good or bad for our climate?
I read in the latest IPCC report that felling trees growing in Northern areas lays bare snow cover that, since it's white, reflects sun rays so it's kinda good (or at least, has a substantial positive ...
6
votes
1answer
97 views
Would home heat pumps provide large benefits against climate change?
Some facts I have learnt
The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the ...
21
votes
5answers
10k views
Why is the Arctic melting, but the Antarctic doing great?
Why is the Arctic melting, but the Antarctic doing great? That's what the latest IPCC report says (p. 2-192 of the Physical Science Basis provides a time series), but it says nothing, unless I missed ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
What is the difference between surface specific humidity and surface relative humidity?
What is the difference between surface specific humidity and surface relative humidity (it's wetter and dryer respectively)? The trends, according to the latest IPCC report, are opposite for the two, ...
2
votes
1answer
36 views
What happens if a cyclone can reach the warm waters of the Persian Gulf?
Historically cyclones were very very rare along the southern coast of Iran, maybe one in a century. But in recent years two cyclones hit Iran and northern Oman: Cyclone Gonu in 2007 and recently ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
Is anthropogenic global warming unavoidable under modern civilisation? [closed]
Which are the reasons to believe that the climate crisis can be solved within our type of civilisation, that is, without putting in jeopardy the important advances of humanity that have been achieved ...
4
votes
2answers
731 views
Why can't we increase cloud coverage of the Earth to reduce mean temperature by flooding basins to increase evaporation?
There are millions of square kilometers of below sea level dry land, mostly in desert areas. Reducing the mean temperature of the earth by 2 °C requires increasing cloud cover of stratus clouds by ...
1
vote
0answers
76 views
How serious is the issue of vast quantities of methane release from an ice-free Arctic?
A bunch of climate scientists claim that humans will go extinct by 2026, when humanity crosses the major tipping point known as "Arctic Blue Ocean Event (BOE)".
According to the climate ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Does increased water vapour in atmosphere increase the risk of hypoxia?
I recently found that each degree of warming increases water vapour by 7% and I've also learned that the atmosphere contains (on average) between 1-5% water vapour when saturated, this confused me a ...
6
votes
5answers
132 views
Does global warming inhibit transport of moisture?
This northern summer, 2021, there were wildfires in Southern Europe and floods in Germany nearly at same time, also, floods and wildfires in different parts of Turkey, and floods in Far East of Russia ...
4
votes
1answer
60 views
Why are the CMIP6 model outputs for Relative Humidity not scaled to between 1-100%?
I have been looking at the CMIP6 model outputs for 'hur' (Relative Humidity/RH) and I see that they are not scaled to be between 1 and 100 (the units are percent).
Why is this? Is it just an oversight ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
How can I calculate the relative change in Precipitation using CMIP models without producing unrealistic results in Dry areas?
I am calculating changes in precipitation using the Delta method, wherein the relative changes are calculated thus:
Delta change = (modelled Future climatology (2050s) - modelled historical ...
17
votes
1answer
1k views
Why is the energy transition start not reflected in the CO2 concentration graphs?
This is a graph from a reputable source of CO2 concentrations in atmosphere the last decades:
I would expect that, as we have been using clean energy for some years now, the graph would start to ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Do satellites decrease the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth?
According to this website, there were 3,372 active satellites in orbit at the beginning of 2021. Furthermore, SpaceX is planning to launch 12,000 satellites to provide cheap internet for everybody, ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
When would the next glaciation appear? Worst case
Suppose that the IPCC's best estimate of climate sensitivity (3 K) is relevant and that the Keeling curve will increase as now, with a certain procent more emission next year than previous year, into ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Does deforestation increase global temperatures or just local temperatures?
Did human-caused deforestation impacted climate and rainfall patterns in the past?
I'm asking this because I don't know much about the impact of forest cover loss and evapotranspiration on global ...
2
votes
2answers
181 views
How much does earth's core temperature affect earth's global surface temperature
Has anyone managed to read the (latest) full IPCC-report and do you know whether they have taken into account the Earth's core temperature in their models. Besides the IPCC-report, do we know how much ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Are there climatic projections for past conditions in Northern Europe?
I'm looking for projections of past climatic conditions during the last two millennia for northern Europe. I know there are initiatives studying tree rings, but I want to know whether there are ...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
Was there a period of global warming before the start of the last ice age?
I am curious to know if there was a period of global warming that took place before the start of the last ice age and I would like to know how long this period of global warming lasted.
-2
votes
1answer
145 views
If ocean water was pumped into a desert would it help cool the planet?
Water pumped into a desert would evaporate and increase formation of clouds which would in turn increase the albedo of the Earth. Would this help to cool the planet more efficiently than trying to ...
6
votes
1answer
103 views
Is it true that methane is responsible for nearly one-third of all warming?
BBC says that the latest IPCC report says methane is responsible for 0.3°C out of 1.1°C of all cumulative warming since pre-industrial times.
According to the IPCC, around 0.3C of the 1.1C that the ...
1
vote
2answers
114 views
Can we run out of air because of global warming?
Can it be that our air will be unbreathable in a few years due to CO2 emission? I think I may suffer from global warming anxiety and I accuse CO2 for my shortness of breath. Is it rational?
22
votes
6answers
4k views
How does global-warming-triggered ice melting cause global sea levels to rise?
Apologies for asking a silly question like this. But I want to offer some points which I could not counter, as follows:
Ice is less dense than water, that is why it floats. For the same unit mass, if ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Have there been any studies on how vehicles directly contribute to a rising global temperature?
I've tried searching for this myself, but Google is saturated with the Greenhouse Gases angle of Rising Global Temperatures.
What I'm interested in is the following:
Greenhouse gases aside, to what ...
5
votes
1answer
409 views
Do perfumes and deodorants contribute to global warming?
If perfumes and deodorants cause air pollution, does that mean they also heat the planet?
2
votes
1answer
227 views
Would freezing the ocean and storing the ice in the poles reduce effects of climate change or sea level?
Disclaimer
I've read this question already on sending water to the north pole, south pole and glaciers, and I thought I'd give it my own take and see how technically possible it could be.
Question
As ...
4
votes
2answers
148 views
How much would 5 gigatons of methane warm the atmosphere compared to 5 gigatons of CO2 if both were released in one go?
I don't know much about science, I'm just curious about how much warming a certain amount of CH4 would cause compared to a similar amount of CO2 (both 5 GtC).
I'm sorry if the question sounded a bit ...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Simple model that exhibits a climate tipping point
I am trying to understand climate tipping points better and I am looking for a place to ask the following question. If Earth Science SE isn't the right place, a recommendation of a better place would ...
9
votes
2answers
5k views
I just read news that Antarctica had set a new record high temperature, above 18 °C. How can this be the case if it is currently winter there?
Currently it is winter in Antarctica. According to news I read, Antarctica has set a new record high temperature, above 18 °C. How did this temperature records occur?
3
votes
1answer
87 views
Wouldn't 'fertilizing' the ocean to increase cyanobacteria, algae and other phytoplankton populations actually INCREASE CO2 levels in the air?
From the July, 2021 Scientific American:
The Carbon rocks of Oman:
"...fertilizing the ocean would increase the growth of phytoplankton that naturally absorb CO2 through photosynthesis'. (page ...
7
votes
1answer
248 views
What exactly is "Land-Use Change and Forestry"?
What exactly is "Land-Use Change and Forestry" and why is it sometimes hugely positive (Indonesia) but sometimes hugely negative (China)? Isn't it supposed to be a type of source not sink (...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
Are small reductions in CO2 emissions better than no reductions, in terms of mitigating climate change?
My understanding of climate change is that a large increase in human-caused CO2 emissions is likely to lead to large change in the Earth's climate through a global warming effect. Scientific consensus ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
If we send ocean waters into glacier of north pole/south pole to reduce sea level, will it help global warming?
this is my first time posting in Earth Science, please be gentle to me.
I am Science Enthusiast, though numbers are my enemies for now so I can't come up with formulas or any form of calculations. ...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Best realistic-case scenario, what does our climate look like in 30 years...50 years...a 100 years?
Let's assume, humanity can decide to care more about the survival of our species, our duty to our descendants, than getting rich now. How long would it reasonably take to get to net-zero carbon ...
