Questions tagged [climate-change]
Questions about changes of the climate system, including questions about global warming.
561
questions
9
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2answers
1k views
What is the consensus among geologists about climate change being caused by humans?
I'm terribly frustrated with the way that climate change has been debated in Europe. I live in the Netherlands and members of one of the biggest parties here, the Party for Freedom (PVV), frequently ...
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, ...
20
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
46 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, ...
0
votes
1answer
121 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
33 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
716 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
How is causality between past CO$_2$ levels and fossilized plant spore proxies established?
According to Mann and Kump (2015),
Geologic proxies are characteristics of sedimentary rocks that we can
use to infer ancient environmental conditions. Climate scientists
study proxies because there ...
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
93 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
33 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
146 views
Will a new glacial age take place on Earth or Holocene will become a new climatic epoch?
Pleistocene shows a switch between glacial and interglacial ages.
However, humanity is burning fossil fuels and increasing atmosphere's $\ce{CO2}$ content.
Should we expect a new glacial age after ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
What are the risks of developing geoengineering?
Wikipedia page for geoengineering entry list a lot of proposals to decrease global temperature:
Solar radiation management methods[5] may include:
Surface-based: for example, surface-based mirror ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Why are CO2 sensors so expensive when CO sensors aren't?
Please excuse me if Earth Science is not the correct place to ask this question.
I read a New York Times article about increasing $\small\mathsf{CO_2}$ levels in the atmosphere: "Carbon in Atmosphere ...
4
votes
1answer
47 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 ...
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 ...
20
votes
4answers
5k views
Do fossil fuels insulate the crust from the Earth's interior?
I was doing a project for my English class, and I came upon the article Energy conservation in the earth's crust and climate change. I can't view the full text of the article, but the abstract piqued ...
9
votes
1answer
473 views
Carbon's role in ocean acidification
This might seem like a basic question, but I'm a little confused about the effects on ocean acidification of different carbon compounds.
I have heard that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the ...
1
vote
1answer
33 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 ...
13
votes
0answers
192 views
Will global climate change alter the interannual and/or intraseasonal variance of temperature and/or precipitation?
A quick skim of the regional chapters in AR5 shows predicted changes to average temperature and precipitation. If I understand (in rough terms) the modelling methodologies used, a variety of models (...
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
97 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
106 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
90 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
Time for water vapor to generate more greenhouse effect than latent heat?
I have an argument with a climate change denier.
He says the rise of water vapor in the atmosphere causes a "much larger" cooling effect by taking vaporisation heat from the ground than the ...
3
votes
1answer
53 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 ...
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 ...
-2
votes
1answer
124 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
59 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.
9
votes
2answers
158 views
How can half a degree of average temperature result in such devastating impact on coral reefs?
Yesterday I read a number of news stories about the new IPCC's (International Panel on Climate Change) report regarding the current state of global warming. It reported that we are on track for ...
4
votes
0answers
88 views
Biomes that existed during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Max (PETM)
I understand that you could fill multiple books with descriptions of the PETM and the mechanisms that incited the event. I have always wondered what regions of the world were covered in what types of ...
6
votes
1answer
98 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
97 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?
1
vote
1answer
414 views
The Medieval Climatic Anomaly
Trying to understand this question, posted to me by a lecturer at University:
"The Medieval Climatic Anomaly was distinctive in terms of the
prevailing climates and forcing mechanisms operating ...
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
393 views
Do perfumes and deodorants contribute to global warming?
If perfumes and deodorants cause air pollution, does that mean they also heat the planet?
10
votes
7answers
5k views
Does climate change cause increase in CO2?
My main question is how do we know that increase in global temperature does not CAUSE an increase in CO2 concentration?
I am trying to develop my mental model of what's going on for the climate ...
2
votes
1answer
224 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
60 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 ...
15
votes
3answers
5k views
How will sea level rise be distributed across the globe?
Sea level rise from melting glaciers will not be uniformly distributed across the globe. However, it isn't clear to me what places will have the most and least extreme changes in sea level rise. I ...
14
votes
1answer
302 views
Where does the biggest land-based ice cap reside?
I'm thinking biggest in volume, regarding which area of the planet will contribute more to a raising in sea level - were the ice in those regions to melt.
I can basically think of two candidates, ...
9
votes
1answer
167 views
Dataset for expected sea level rise in case of massive meltdowns (Greenland/Antarctica)
Around the time climate change became a 'public issue' (let's say shortly after An inconvenient truth came out), figures started getting published about the expected (global) sea level rise in case of ...
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?
4
votes
2answers
169 views
Equations for Milankovitch Factors?
Are there equations for the radiative forcings of the three Milankovitch factors at any given time? Or a database of values?
3
votes
1answer
85 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
181 views
Why is carbon dioxide a more important greenhouse gas than nitrous oxide?
I admit that this is not a genuinely earth sience question, but since there is no stack exchange site genuinely devoted to general ecology, I dare to ask it here:
From a table in the German Wikipedia ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
Trying to calculate the percentage of carbon emissions that is offset by 45,000 acres?
In my problem there is an average net ecosystem production rate of:
0.25 kg$^o$C/m2/yr
Am asked:
a. What percentage of 140,000 tons/yr would be offset from reforesting 45,000 acres?
b. With ...
4
votes
1answer
76 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 ...
14
votes
1answer
1k views
What is a reasonable forecast of sea level in 2100?
The IPCC 2013 Physical Science Basis Report says 0.4m - 0.6m. That is somewhat dated and now http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/15/20059/2015/acpd-15-20059-2015.html seem to have contested it. ...
7
votes
1answer
246 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 (...