Chapter 12

Objectives The ocean and the atmosphere are one interconnected system. The surface processes on planet Earth are the result of H2O moving through this water cycle which is being driven by energy from the Sun. The ocean's energy and water exchange with the atmosphere produce atmospheric circulation cells, pressure belts, and wind belts. The idealized circulation patterns are modified by the continents' own particular effects on heating, cooling, and precipitation. The result is an intriguing mix of weather and climate, producing somewhat predictable but widely variable atmospheric and oceanographic phenomena that are the topics covered in this chapter. After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe the causes of uneven solar heating on Earth. Understand why Earth has seasons and how seasonal changes in solar energy affect atmospheric temperature, pressure, and density. Explain the nature, origin, and consequences of the Coriolis effect in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Discuss the locations and characteristics of Earth's major atmospheric circulation cells, pressure belts, wind belts, and boundaries. Know the difference between weather (meteorology) and climate (climatology). Indicate the conditions required for the formation of tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and explain what types of destruction are caused by them. Describe the cause of Earth's greenhouse effect and why it has increased in the recent past. Insolation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Not to be confused with Insulation (disambiguation). Insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in watts per square meter (W/m2) or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day (kWh/(m2day)) (or hours/day). In the case of photovoltaics it is commonly measured as kWh/(kWpy) (kilowatt hours per year per kilowatt peak rating). The object or surface that solar radiation strikes may be a planet, a terrestrial object inside the atmosphere of a planet, or any object exposed to solar rays outside of an atmosphere, including spacecraft. Some of the solar radiation will be absorbed, while the remainder will be reflected. Usually the absorbed solar radiation is converted to thermal energy, causing an increasing in the object's temperature. Some systems, however, may store or convert a portion of the solar energy into another form of energy, as in the case of photovoltaics

or plants.

The

proportion

of

radiation

reflected

or

absorbed

depends

on

the

object's reflectivity oralbedo.

[edit]Projection effect The insolation into a surface is largest when the surface directly faces the Sun. As the angle increases between the direction at a right angle to the surface and the direction of the rays of sunlight, the insolation is reduced in proportion to the cosine of the angle; see effect of sun angle on climate.

Figure 2 One sunbeam one mile wide shines on the ground at a 90 angle, and another at a 30 angle. The one at a shallower angle distributes the same amount of light energy over twice as much area. In this illustration, the angle shown is between the ground and the sunbeam rather than between the vertical direction and the sunbeam; hence the sine rather than the cosine is appropriate. A sunbeam one mile (1.6 km) wide falls on the ground from directly overhead, and another hits the ground at a 30 angle to the horizontal. Trigonometry tells us that the sine of a 30 angle is 1/2, whereas the sine of a 90 angle is 1. Therefore, the sunbeam hitting the ground at a 30 angle spreads the same amount of light over twice as much area (if we imagine the sun shining from the south at noon, the north-south width doubles; the eastwest width does not). Consequently, the amount of light falling on each square mile is only half as much. This 'projection effect' is the main reason why the polar regions are much colder than equatorial regions on Earth. On an annual average the poles receive less insolation than does the equator, because at the poles the Earth's surface are angled away from the Sun.

Solar Radiation Map of Africa and Middle East

A pyranometer, a component of a temporary remote meteorological station, measures insolation on Skagit Bay,Washington. [edit]Earth's insolation Direct insolation is the solar irradiance measured at a given location on Earth with a surface element perpendicular to the Sun's rays, excluding diffuse insolation (the solar radiation that is scattered or reflected by atmospheric components in the sky). Direct insolation is equal to thesolar constant minus the atmospheric losses due to absorption and scattering. While the solar constant varies with the Earth-Sun distanceand solar cycles, the losses depend on the time of day (length of light's path through the atmosphere depending on the Solar elevation angle),cloud cover, moisture content, and other impurities. Insolation is a fundamental abiotic factor[1] affecting the metabolism of plants and the behavior of animals. Over the course of a year the average solar radiation arriving at the top of the Earth's atmosphere at any point in time is roughly 1,366 watts per square meter[2][3] (see solar constant). The radiant power is distributed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, although most of the power is in the visible light portion of the spectrum. The Sun's rays are attenuated as they pass through the atmosphere, thus reducing the insolation at the Earth's

surface to approximately 1,000 watts per square meter for a surface perpendicular to the Sun's rays at sea level on a clear day. The actual figure varies with the Sun angle at different times of year, according to the distance the sunlight travels through the air, and depending on the extent of atmospheric haze and cloud cover. Ignoring clouds, the average insolation for the Earth is approximately 250 watts per square meter (6 (kWh/m2)/day), taking into account the lower radiation intensity in early morning and evening, and its near-absence at night. The insolation of the sun can also be expressed in Suns, where one Sun equals 1,000 W/m 2 at the point of arrival, with kWh/(m2day) displayed as hours/day.[4] When calculating the output of, for example, a photovoltaic panel, the angle of the sun relative to the panel needs to be taken into account as well as the insolation. (The insolation, taking into account the attenuation of the atmosphere, should be multiplied by the cosine of the angle between the normal to the panel and the direction of the sun from it). One Sun is a unit of power flux, not a standard value for actual insolation. Sometimes this unit is referred to as a Sol, not to be confused with a sol, meaning one solar day on, for example, a different planet, such as Mars.[citation needed] [edit]Distribution of insolation at the top of the atmosphere

Spherical triangle for application of the spherical law of cosines for the calculation the solar zenith angle for observer at latitude and longitude from knowledge of the hour angle h and solar declination . ( is latitude of subsolar point, and h is relative longitude of subsolar point).

, the theoretical daily-average insolation at the top of the atmosphere. The calculation assumed conditions appropriate for 2000 A.D.: a solar constant of S0 = 1367 W m2, obliquity of = 23.4398, longitude of perihelion of = 282.895, eccentricity e = 0.016704. Contour labels (green) are in units of W m2. The theory for the distribution of solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere concerns how the solar irradiance (the power of solar radiation per unit area) at the top of the atmosphere is determined by the sphericity and orbital parameters of Earth. The theory could be applied to any monodirectional beam of radiation incident onto a rotating sphere, but is most usually applied to sunlight, and in particular for application in numerical weather prediction, and theory for the seasons and the ice ages. The last application is known as Milankovitch cycles. The derivation of distribution is based on a fundamental identity from spherical trigonometry, the spherical law of cosines:

where a, b and c are arc lengths, in radians, of the sides of a spherical triangle. C is the angle in the vertex opposite the side which has arc length c. Applied to the calculation of solar zenith angle , we equate the following for use in the spherical law of cosines:

The distance of Earth from the sun can be denoted RE, and the mean distance can be denoted R0, which is very close to 1 AU. The insolation onto a plane normal to the solar radiation, at a distance 1 AU from the sun, is the solar constant, denoted S0. The solar flux density (insolation) onto a plane tangent to the sphere of the Earth, but above the bulk of the atmosphere (elevation 100 km or greater) is:

and

The average of Q over a day is the average of Q over one rotation, or the hour angle progressing from h = to h = :

Let h0 be the hour angle when Q becomes positive. This could occur at sunrise when , or for h0 as a solution of

or cos(ho) = tan()tan() If tan()tan() > 1, then the sun does not set and the sun is already risen at h = , so ho = . If tan()tan() < 1, the sun does not rise and .

is nearly constant over the course of a day, and can be taken outside the integral

Let be the conventional polar angle describing a planetary orbit. For convenience, let = 0 at the vernal equinox. The declination as a function of orbital position is

where is the obliquity. The conventional longitude of perihelion is defined relative to the vernal equinox, so for the elliptical orbit:

or

1.

With knowledge of , and e from astrodynamical calculations [5] and So from a can be calculated for any latitude and . Note

consensus of observations or theory,

that because of the elliptical orbit, and as a simple consequence of Kepler's second law, does not progress exactly uniformly with time. Nevertheless, = 0 is exactly the time of the vernal equinox, = 90 is exactly the time of the summer solstice, = 180 is exactly the time of the autumnal equinox and = 270 is exactly the time of the winter solstice . [edit]Application to Milankovitch cycles Obtaining a time series for a for a particular time of year, and particular latitude, is a useful application in the theory of Milankovitch cycles. For example, at the summer solstice, the declination is simply equal to the obliquity . The distance from the sun is

Past and future of daily average insolation at top of the atmosphere on the day of the summer solstice, at 65 N latitude. The green curve is with eccentricity e hypothetically set to 0. The red curve uses the actual (predicted) value of e. Blue dot is current conditions, at 2 ky A.D. For this summer solstice calculation, the role of the elliptical orbit is entirely contained within the important product , which is known as the precession index, the variation of

which dominates the variations in insolation at 65 N when eccentricity is large. For the next 100,000 years, with variations in eccentricity being relatively small, variations in obliquity will be dominant. [edit]Applications In spacecraft design and planetology, it is the primary variable affecting equilibrium temperature. In construction, insolation is an important consideration when designing a building for a particular climate. It is one of the most important climate variables for human comfort and building energy efficiency.[6] The projection effect can be used in architecture to design buildings that are cool in summer and warm in winter, by providing large vertical windows on the equator-facing side of the building (the south face in the northern hemisphere, or the north face in the southern hemisphere): this maximizes insolation in the winter months when the Sun is low in the sky, and minimizes it in the summer when the noonday Sun is high in the sky. (The Sun's north/south path through the sky spans 47 degrees through the year). Insolation figures are used as an input to worksheets to size solar power systems for the location where they will be installed.[7] This can be misleading since insolation figures assume the panels are parallel with the ground, when in fact they are almost always mounted at an angle[8] to face towards the sun. This gives inaccurately low estimates for winter.[9] The figures can be obtained from an insolation map or by city or region from insolation tables that were generated with historical data over the last 3050 years. Photovoltaic panels are rated under standard conditions to determine the Wp rating (watts peak),[10] which can then be used with the insolation of a region to determine the expected output, along with other factors such as tilt, tracking and shading (which can be included to create the installed Wp rating).[11] Insolation values range from 800 to 950 kWh/(kWpy) in Norway to up to 2,900 in Australia. In the fields of civil engineering and hydrology, numerical models of snowmelt runoff use observations of insolation. This permits estimation of the rate at which water is released from a melting snowpack. Field measurement is accomplished using a pyranometer. Conversion factor (multiply top row by factor to obtain side column)

W/m2

kWh/(m2day)

sun kWh/(m2y) kWh/(kWpy) hours/day

W/m2

41.66666

41.66666 0.1140796

0.1521061

kWh/(m2day)

0.024

0.0027379

0.0036505

sun hours/day

0.024

0.0027379

0.0036505

kWh/(m2y)

8.765813 365.2422

365.2422 1

1.333333

kWh/(kWpy)

6.574360 273.9316

273.9316 0.75

1. Insolation is the energy received on the earths surface from the sun. It is the most important single source of atmospheric heat. 2. The earths surface does not absorb all the energy that it receives. The proportion of the solar radiation reflected from the surface is called Albedo. 3. On an average, insolation is highest near the tropics, marginally lower at the equator and lowest at the poles. 4. Although the earth receives energy continuously from the sun, its temperature remains fairly constant, the only variations being the long-term climatic changes. This is so because the atmosphere loses an amount of heat equal to the gain through insolation. This mechanism of maintaining the same temperature by the atmosphere is called the Heat Budget or Heat Balance. 5. Assuming that 100 units of energy reach the top of the atmosphere of the earth, 14 units are absorbed directly by the atmosphere and 35 units are lost to space through reflection. The remaining 51 units reach the earths surface and are absorbed by the earth due to which the surface gets heated. The heated surface of the earth starts radiating energy in the form of long waves and this process is called Terrestrial Radiation. Out of the total 51 units given up by the surface in the form of terrestrial radiation, the atmosphere (mainly carbon dioxide and water vapour) absorbs about 34 units and the remaining 17 units escape to space. In this manner, the atmosphere receives a total of 14 + 34 = 48 units and this amount is radiated back to space by the atmosphere. The total loss of energy to space thus amounts to 100 units: 35 units reflected by the atmosphere, 17 units lost as terrestrial radiation and 48

units from the atmosphere. In this manner, no net gain or loss of energy occurs in the earths surface. 6. Although the earth and its atmosphere as a whole have a radiation balance, there are latitudinal variations. The heat/energy is transferred from the lower latitudes to the higher latitudes through winds and ocean currents.

Earth's radiation balance is the equation of the incoming and outgoing thermal radiation.

An instrument for measuring the net radiation balance and albedo. Model shown CNR 1. Courtesy of Kipp & Zonen The incoming solar radiation is short wave, therefore the equation below is called the short wave radiation balance Qs: Qs = G - R = D + H - R or depending on the albedo (back-reflection to space): = (D+H)(1 - a)

G = global radiation D = direct shortwave radiation H = diffuse shortwave radiation R = reflected portion of global radiation (ca. 4%) a = albedo

The Earth's surface and atmosphere emits heat radiation in the infrared spectrum, called long wave radiation. There is little overlap between the long wave radiation spectrum and the solar radiation spectrum. The equation below expresses the long wave radiation balance Ql: Ql = AE = AO - AG

AE = effective radiation AO = radiation of the Earth's surface AG = trapped radiation (radiation forcing, also known as the so called greenhouse

effect)

The two equations on incoming and outgoing radiation can be combined to show the net total amount of radiation energy, total radiation balance Qt: Qt = Qs - Ql = G - R - AE The difficulty is to precisely quantify the various internal and external factors influencing the radiation balance. Internal factors include all mechanisms affecting atmospheric composition (volcanism, biological activity, land use change, human activities etc.). The main external factor is solar radiation. The sun's average luminosity changes little over time. External and internal factors are also closely interconnected. Increased solar radiation for example results in higher average temperatures and higher water vapour content of the atmosphere. Water vapour, a heat trapping gas absorbing infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface, can lead to either higher temperatures through radiation forces or lower temperatures as a result of increased cloud formation and hence increased albedo.

Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and the means (together with the smaller ocean circulation) by which thermal energy is distributed on the surface of the Earth. The large-scale structure of the atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but the basic climatological structure remains fairly constant. However, individual weather systems - midlatitude depressions, or tropical convective cells - occur "randomly"[citation needed], and it is accepted that weather cannot be predicted beyond a fairly short limit: perhaps a month in theory, or (currently) about ten days in practice (see Chaos theory and Butterfly effect). Nonetheless, as the climate is the average of these systems and patterns - where and when they tend to occur again and again -, it is stable over longer periods of time. As a rule, the "cells" of Earth's atmosphere shift polewards in warmer climates (e.g. interglacials compared to glacials), but remain largely constant even due to continental drift. Tectonic uplift can significantly alter major elements of it, however - for example the jet stream -, and plate tectonics shift ocean currents. In the extremely hot climates of the Mesozoic, indications of a third desert belt at the Equator has been found; it was perhaps caused by convection. But even then, the overall latitudinalpattern of Earth's climate was not much different from the one today.

The wind belts girdling the planet are organised into three cells: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, and the Polar cell. Contrary to the impression given in the simplified diagram, the vast bulk of the vertical motion occurs in the Hadley cell; the explanations of the other two cells are complex. Note that there is one discrete Hadley cell that may split, shift and merge in a complicated process over time[citation needed]. Low and high pressures on earth's surface are balanced by opposite relative pressures in the upper troposphere. [edit]Hadley cell Main article: Hadley cell

The ITCZ's band of clouds over theEastern Pacific and the Americas as seen from space The Hadley cell mechanism is well understood. The atmospheric circulation pattern that George Hadley described to provide an explanation for the trade winds matches observations very well. It is a closed circulation loop, which begins at the equator with warm, moist air lifted aloft in equatoriallow pressure areas (the Intertropical Convergence Zone, ITCZ) to the tropopause and carried poleward. At about 30N/S latitude, it descends in a high pressure area. Some of the descending air travels equatorially along the surface, closing the loop of the Hadley cell and creating the Trade Winds. Though the Hadley cell is described as lying on the equator, it is more accurate to describe it as following the suns zenith point, or what is termed the "thermal equator," which undergoes a semiannual north-south migration. [edit]Polar cell Main article: Polar vortex The Polar cell is likewise a simple system. Though cool and dry relative to equatorial air, air masses at the 60th parallel are still sufficiently warm and moist to undergo convection and drive a thermal loop. Air circulates within the troposphere, limited vertically by the tropopause at about 8 km. Warm air rises at lower latitudes and moves poleward through the upper troposphere at both the north and south poles. When the air reaches the polar areas, it has cooled considerably, and descends as a cold, dry high pressure area, moving away from the pole along the surface but twisting westward as a result of the Coriolis effect to produce the Polar easterlies. The outflow from the cell creates harmonic waves in the atmosphere known as Rossby waves. These ultra-long waves play an important role in determining the path of the jet stream, which travels within the transitional zone between the tropopause and the Ferrel cell. By acting as a heat sink, the Polar cell also balances the Hadley cell in the Earths energy equation. It can be argued that the Polar cell is the primary weathermaker for regions above the middle northern latitudes. While Canadians and Europeans may have to deal with occasional heavy summer storms, there is nothing like a winter visit from a Siberian high to give one a true appreciation of real cold. In fact, it is the polar high which is responsible for generating the coldest temperature recorded on Earth: -89.2C at Vostok Station in 1983 in Antarctica. The Hadley cell and the Polar cell are similar in that they are thermally direct; in other words, they exist as a direct consequence of surface temperatures; their thermal characteristics override the effects of weather in their domain. The sheer volume of energy the Hadley cell transports, and the depth of the heat sink that is the Polar cell, ensures that the effects of transient weather phenomena are not only not felt by the system as a whole, but except under unusual circumstances are not even permitted to form. The endless chain of passing

highs and lows which is part of everyday life for mid-latitude dwellers is unknown above the 60th and below the 30th parallels. There are some notable exceptions to this rule. In Europe, unstable weather extends to at least 70 north. These atmospheric features are also stable, so even though they may strengthen or weaken regionally or over time, they do not vanish entirely. [edit]Ferrel cell The Ferrel cell, theorized by William Ferrel (1817-1891), is a secondary circulation feature, dependent for its existence upon the Hadley cell and the Polar cell. It behaves much as an atmospheric ball bearing between the Hadley cell and the Polar cell, and comes about as a result of the eddy circulations (the high and low pressure areas) of the mid-latitudes. For this reason it is sometimes known as the "zone of mixing." At its southern extent (in the Northern hemisphere), it overrides the Hadley cell, and at its northern extent, it overrides the Polar cell. Just as the Trade Winds can be found below the Hadley cell, the Westerlies can be found beneath the Ferrel cell. Thus, strong high pressure areas which divert the prevailing westerlies, such as a Siberian high (which could be considered an extension of the Arctic high), could be said to override the Ferrel cell, making it discontinuous. While the Hadley and Polar cells are truly closed loops, the Ferrel cell is not, and the telling point is in the Westerlies, which are more formally known as "the Prevailing Westerlies." While the Trade Winds and the Polar Easterlies have nothing over which to prevail, their parent circulation cells having taken care of any competition they might have to face, the Westerlies are at the mercy of passing weather systems. While upper-level winds are essentially westerly, surface winds can vary sharply and abruptly in direction. A low moving polewards or a high moving equator wards maintains or even accelerates a westerly flow; the local passage of a cold front may change that in a matter of minutes, and frequently does. A strong high moving polewards may bring easterly winds for days. The base of the Ferrel cell is characterized by the movement of air masses, and the location of these air masses is influenced in part by the location of the jet stream, which acts as a collector for the air carried aloft by surface lows (a look at a weather map will show that surface lows follow the jet stream). The overall movement of surface air is from the 30th latitude to the 60th. However, the upper flow of the Ferrel cell is not well defined. This is in part because it is intermediary between the Hadley and Polar cells, with neither a strong heat source nor a strong cold sink to drive convection and, in part, because of the effects on the upper atmosphere of surface eddies, which act as destabilizing influences. [edit]Longitudinal circulation features While the Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar cells are major factors in global heat transport, they do not act alone. Disparities in temperature also drive a set of longitudinal circulation cells, and the overall atmospheric motion is known as the zonal overturning circulation. Latitudinal circulation is the consequence of the fact that incident solar radiation per unit area is highest at the heat equator, and decreases as the latitude increases, reaching its minimum at the poles. Longitudinal circulation, on the other hand, comes about because water has a higher specific heat capacity than land and thereby absorbs and releases more heat, but the temperature changes less than land. Even at mesoscales (a horizontal range of 5 to several hundred kilometres), this effect is noticeable; it is what brings the sea breeze, air cooled by the water, ashore in the day, and carries the land breeze, air cooled by contact with the ground, out to sea during the night.

Diurnal wind change in coastal area. On a larger scale, this effect ceases to be diurnal (daily), and instead is seasonal or evendecadal in its effects. Warm air rises over the equatorial, continental, and western Pacific Ocean regions, flows eastward or westward, depending on its location, when it reaches the tropopause, and subsides in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and in the eastern Pacific. The Pacific Ocean cell plays a particularly important role in Earth's weather. This entirely ocean-based cell comes about as the result of a marked difference in the surface temperatures of the western and eastern Pacific. Under ordinary circumstances, the western Pacific waters are warm and the eastern waters are cool. The process begins when strong convective activity over equatorial East Asia and subsiding cool air off South America's west coast creates a wind pattern which pushes Pacific water westward and piles it up in the western Pacific. (Water levels in the western Pacific are about 60 cm higher than in the eastern Pacific, a difference due entirely to the force of moving air.)[1][2][3] [edit]Walker circulation Main article: Walker circulation The Pacific cell is of such importance that it has been named the Walker circulation after Sir Gilbert Walker, an early-20th-century director of British observatories in India, who sought a means of predicting when the monsoon winds would fail. While he was never successful in doing so, his work led him to the discovery of an indisputable link between periodic pressure variations in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, which he termed the "Southern Oscillation". The movement of air in the Walker circulation affects the loops on either side. Under "normal" circumstances, the weather behaves as expected. But every few years, the winters become unusually warm or unusually cold, or the frequency of hurricanes increases or decreases, and the pattern sets in for an indeterminate period. The behavior of the Walker cell is the key to the riddle, and leads to an understanding of the El Nio (more accurately, ENSO or El Nio - Southern Oscillation) phenomenon. If convective activity slows in the Western Pacific for some reason (this reason is not currently known), the climate dominoes next to it begin to topple. First, the upper-level westerly winds fail. This cuts off the source of cool subsiding air, and therefore the surface Easterlies cease. The consequence of this is twofold. In the eastern Pacific, warm water surges in from the west since there is no longer a surface wind to constrain it. This and the corresponding effects

of the Southern Oscillation result in long-term unseasonable temperatures and precipitation patterns in North and South America, Australia, and Southeast Africa, and disruption of ocean currents. Meanwhile in the Atlantic, high-level, fast-blowing Westerlies which would ordinarily be blocked by the Walker circulation and unable to reach such intensities, form. These winds tear apart the tops of nascent hurricanes and greatly diminish the number which are able to reach full strength. [edit]El Nio - Southern Oscillation Main article: El Nio-Southern Oscillation El Nio and La Nia are two opposite surface temperature anomalies in the Southern Pacific, which heavily influence the weather on a large scale. In the case of El Nio warm water approaches the coasts of South America which results in blocking the upwelling of nutrientrich deep water. This has serious impacts on the fish populations. In the La Nia case, the convective cell over the western Pacific strengthens inordinately, resulting in colder than normal winters in North America, and a more robust cyclone season in South-East Asia and Eastern Australia. There is increased upwelling of deep cold ocean waters and more intense uprise of surface air near South America, resulting in increasing numbers of drought occurrence, although it is often argued that fishermen reap benefits from the more nutrient-filled eastern Pacific waters. The neutral part of the cycle - the "normal" component - has been referred to humorously by some as "La Nada", which means "the nothing" in Spanish. [edit]See also Chapter 6 - Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation Air Pressure and Wind Basics Air pressure depends on the density and temperature of the air in addition to the altitude. Air pressure was first measured by Torricelli (1600s), Galileo's pupil. Barometer (Gk: baros = weight) - mercury barometer: the weight of the air pushes mercury up an evacuated glass tube - anneroid barometer (anneroid = without fluid): weight of air pushes in on partially evacuated chamber Atmospheric pressure is commonly measured in inches or milimeters of mercury, or as milibars or kilopascals of pressure. Winds are produced by pressure differences between two locations. Wind speed is measured by an anemometer. Wind speed is recorded in miles per hour (mph), kilometers per hour (kmph), or knots (1 knot = 1.15 mph). Wind direction is measured by a wind vane. Wind direction is the direction that the wind is coming from (not the direction it is moving toward). The Beaufort Wind Scale was developed in 1806 to estimate wind speed from visual cues at sea. It was modified for using visual cues on land by Simpson in 1926.

Driving Forces of the Wind Gravitational Force - compresses the atmosphere Pressure Gradient Force - air moves from high pressure (more compressed) toward low pressure (less compressed) Coriolis Force - air in motion appears to be deflected as Earth spins west to east Friction Force - drag against the Earth's surface slows the wind; slows surface winds the most, high level winds the least - Pressure Gradient Air pressure differences are the result of uneven heating of the atmosphere. In some areas, stronger heating leads to expansion of air, making it less dense (fewer molecules and less weight per cubic foot or cubic meter of air). Hot, rising air is associated with low pressure. Cold, dense, sinking air is associated with high pressure. Pressure gradient refers to the pressure difference (inches or mm of mercury or milibars) divided by the distance over which the pressure drop occurs. Since wind (moving air) is caused by pressure differences, the greater the pressure gradient the stronger the wind. Air pressure maps plot lines of equal pressure called isobars. Isobars are drawn at equal increments of air pressure. The more closely spaced the isobars are, the greater the pressure gradient and the stronger the winds. The pressure gradient force, if it acted by itself (which it doesn't), would produce winds that moved at very high speeds at right angles to the isobars, the shortest path from high to low pressure. But...(see the next two forces) - Coriolis Force As winds move north or south they are deflected due to the rotation of the Earth. As the Earth spins on its axis, a person standing on the equator moves from west to east at around 1000 mile per hour. At the poles, on the other hand, that person would not move at all, just spin around in place. So, the equator and anything on it moves west to east faster than any other place on Earth. The west to east motion decreases from the equator to the pole. As winds move away from the equator, their west to east momentum carries them to the east of a true poleward trajectory. In the northern hemisphere they are deflected to the right. In the southern hemisphere they are deflected to the left. For the opposite case, as air masses move toward the equator, their west to east momentum lags behind the west to east motion of the Earth at lower latitude and they curve to the west. In the northern hemisphere moving air (wind) is deflected to the right. In the southern hemisphere winds are deflected to the left. The strength of the coriolis force is zero at the equator, half its maximum strength at 30 latitude, and maximum at the poles. Fast winds and winds covering the greatest distances are deflected the most. In the absence of friction (approximated in the upper atmosphere), the coriolis force would cause the winds to blow parallel to isobars, in circles, clockwise around high pressure and counterclockwise around lows in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere the effect is the opposite, counterclockwise around highs and clockwise around lows. These isobar parallel circular winds, geostrophic winds, only occur in the upper atmosphere, away from friction with the Earth's surface.

- Friction Force Friction with the Earth's surface only affects wind speed up to altitudes around 500 m (1640 ft). Friction prevents geostrophic winds at low altitude. Rather, low level winds move at an angle across isobars. The net effect of these forces is that near surface winds spiral outward away from high pressure centers and inward toward low pressure centers. In the northern hemisphere, where winds are deflected to the right, winds spiral clockwise around high pressure and counterclockwise around low pressure

- In the southern hemisphere, where winds are deflected to the left, winds spiral counterclockwise around high pressure and clockwise around low pressure

Low pressure centers are zones of convergence, with winds spiralling inward. These are called cyclones. Tornadoes and hurricanes are strong cyclonic storms. High pressure centers are zones of diveregence, with winds spiralling outward. These are called anticyclones.

Primary Gobal Pressure Systems, Atmospheric Circultion, and Climate Belts Equatorial Low-Pressure - Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) The equatorial region is the most strongly heated area on the Earth. It is there that we find the most vigorous upward convection. Low pressure is found all along the equator. Winds converge on the intertropical convergence zone from the northeast (northeast tradewinds) and the southeast (southeast tradewinds). The trades are fairly strong and consistent. Right at the ITCZ winds are weak and variable. Sailors in the days of sailing ships called this the doldrums.

Subtropical Highs At latitudes around 25 to 30 north and south of the equator there are several more-or-less continuous and stationary centers of high pressure. For example the Bermuda High (or Azores High) in the north Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific High (or Hawaiian High) in the north Pacific, and highs over the south Atlantic, south Pacific, and south Indian oceans. Winds diverging from these highs toward the equator form the tradewinds. Winds diverging from the highs towards the poles are deflected to the east in northern and southern hemispheres forming the prevailing westerlies in midlatitudes. Subpolar Lows A series of low pressure centers encircle Antarctica summer and winter. In the northern hemisphere, the Icelandic Low in the north Atlantic and Aleutian Low in the north Pacific spawn cyclonic storms in winter but weaken or die out in summer as the subtropical highs strengthen in the north Atlantic and north Pacific. Polar Highs High pressure dominates in the polar regions because the air is very cold and dense. Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth because it lies over the south pole, because it is continental, and because the ice sheet is very thick and so the surface elevation is also high. High pressure dominates Antarctica year-round. The north pole, however, lies in the Arctic Ocean. The ocean has a moderating effect on the arctic. High pressure is less well developed in the north polar summer, but devlops over land as the Canadian and Siberian Highs in winter. Climate Belts Simplified It is commonly known that when materials (such as atmospheric gases) are heated they expand thereby becoming less dense or "lighter." In a room with a radiator or other such heater, as the air around the radiator becomes heated it expands and rises to the ceiling and is replaced by cooler denser air. This is an example of convection. A similar process occurs near the coast in summer. Land heats up faster during the day than the water does. Air over the land is heated, expands, and rises. It is replaced by cooler, denser air from over the water forming a cool sea breeze. Convection also occurs on a global scale driven by the uneven heating of the Earth. equatorial: hot & wet The equatorial regions are the most strongly heated areas on the Earth's surface. It is there that we find the most vigorous upward convection. Hot air is capable of holding much water vapor. Hot, humid air rises over the equator. As it rises to high altitude it expands because the air pressure decreases (there is less mass of air above it). As air expands due to this decreasing pressure, it also cools. Since cool air is able to hold less water vapor than warm air, condensation occurs. This is why the equatorial regions normally have very high rainfall. It is here that we find tropical rainforests such as those in the Amazon, Congo, and Indonesia. Areas of upward convection are dominated by low atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric Convection and Rainfall

desert belts: hot & dry The rising air at the equator is replaced by low-level air from higher latitudes north and south of the equator. To balance the air moving toward the equator at low altitude, the convecting

air moves away from the equator, toward the north and south, at high altitude. It is now cool because of expansion and dry because it has dropped off excess moisture. To complete the convection loop, in the regions around 25 degrees north and 25 degrees south of the equator, this cool and dry air descends back to the surface (subtropical highs). As it descends, the pressure increases (because there is now more air overhead). The increased pressure increases the temperature of the air and therefore increases the capacity of the air to hold water vapor. Now the air is very dry and has the capacity to soak up much evaporation. Consequently, these latitudes are very dry with high evaporation and low rainfall. These are the desert belts, including the Sahara, Mojave and Sonoran deserts of the U.S. southwest and Mexico, the Kalahari and Namib in southern Africa, the Australian desert, and the Atacama Desert on the west coast of South America. Areas of descending air are dominated by high atmospheric pressure. midlatitude: temperate - cool and moist The midlatitudes are a battleground between very cold, dense polar air and warm air moving poleward from the subtropical highs. The boundary between them is called the polar front. The polar front is an undulating boundary. The undulations are called Rossby Waves. In the midlatitudes, these undulations are sites where cold air pushes equatorward and warm air pushes poleward. Cyclonic circulation (convergence, counterclockwise in northern hemisphere) develops around the southward bulges of the polar front. As these undulations of the polar front sweep southward and eastward (northern hemisphere) cold dense air pushes under warmer, less dense air. As the warmer air rises, it expands, cools, and condenses some of its water vapor. That is why cold fronts bring clouds and rain. During the summer the polar front lies farther north and we seldom see summer cold fronts on Long Island. polar: cold & dry The polar regions are the coldest on Earth. The air is very cold, dense, and dry. High pressure dominates. Much of Antarctica is essentially a desert because so little precipitation falls (though what does fall remains frozen). Ocean Circulation surface currents Wind drives both waves and surface currents in the oceans. Warm surface waters at the equator are driven westward by the easterly trade winds. When the equatorial currents reach the western edge of the ocean basin (east coast of some continent) they are diverted to the north and south along the continents. In the central Atlantic this northward flowing branch is called the Gulf Stream. It carries warm water from the equator, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, northward along the east coast of North America, across the North Atlantic, and to arctic Ocean off northwestern Europe. The westerlies help to drive the Gulf Stream eastward across the Atlantic toward Europe. The warmth of the Gulf Stream moderates the climate of northwestern Europe. The waters in the North Atlantic cool. The cooled waters then flow southward along the coast of Europe and Africa. This southern current is called the Canary Current. It brings cool waters down to northwest Africa and keep the coast here relatively cool. Eventually this current approaches the equator where the waters warm again and the easterly winds drive them westward across the Atlantic again to start another clockwise loop. Such large surface current loops, calledsubtropical gyres, are found in all the open ocean basins. They generally flow clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.

deep ocean currents As water chills in the North Atlantic it becomes more dense. Also, when the cold water begins to freeze to form sea ice the ice that forms is from pure water; the salt is left behind in the remaining sea water. The sea water gets saltier. The saltier the water the denser it becomes. These cold, salty, dense surface waters sink down to the bottom of the Atlantic. The sinking waters are replaced by less dense surface waters from the south. The sinking waters flow southward along the bottom of the ocean as surface waters flow northward to replace them. The North Atlantic Deep Water continues south until they meet a northward flowing bottom current of even denser waters that formed off the coast of Antarctica. The North Atlantic Deep Water then rides up above the Antarctic Bottom Water and continues southward at intermediate depths until they eventually rise to the surface near Antarctica. From there they follow other currents that carry them throughout the oceans.

ocean conveyor belt There is an ocean conveyor belt that mixes waters through all the ocean basins from the sea bottom to the sea surface, connecting the surface, intermediate, and bottom water currents. This mixing moves heat, dissolved gases, and nutrients through the oceans in one grand cycle. Breakdown of this conveyor belt may have been responsible for sudden changes in the Earth's climate in the past. global warming and sudden cooling in Europe? The Earth is warming, largely due to the release of greenhouse gases from industrial and agricultural activity. As a result of the warming, the rate of melting and release of icebergs from Greenland into the far north Atlantic and Arctic Ocean is increasing. The increased influx of fresh water into the sea will make these surface waters less dense which could slow or stop the formation of deep water

(sinking of surface water). This should slow the northward movement of the Gulf Stream. Because heat carried into the far north Atlantic helps to moderate the climate of densely populated northwestern Europe, a weakening or cessation of the Gulf Stream would cause major social, agricultural, and economic problems. Geologic evidence has shown that this has happened very rapidly in the past yielding a sudden cooling of northwestern Europe within about two decades time.

Climate change refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer). Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that supports life. The complex process of evolution occurred on Earth only because of some unique environmental conditions that were present: water, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and a suitable surface temperature. Mercury and Venus, the two planets that lie between Earth and the sun, do not support life. This is because Mercury has no atmosphere and therefore becomes very hot during the day, while temperatures at night may reach -140 C. Venus, has a thick atmosphere which traps more heat than it allows to escape, making it too hot (between 150 and 450 C) to sustain life. Only the Earth has an atmosphere of the proper depth and chemical composition. About 30% of incoming energy from the sun is reflected back to space while the rest reaches the earth, warming the air, oceans, and land, and maintaining an average surface temperature of about 15 C. The chemical composition of the atmosphere is also responsible for nurturing life on our planet. Most of it is nitrogen (78%); about 21% is oxygen, which all animals need to survive; and only a small percentage (0.036%) is made up of carbon dioxide which plants require for photosynthesis. The atmosphere carries out the critical function of maintaining life-sustaining conditions on Earth, in the following way: each day, energy from the sun (largely in the visible part of the spectrum, but also some in the ultraviolet, and infra red portions) is absorbed by the land, seas, mountains, etc. If all this energy were to be absorbed completely, the earth would gradually become hotter and hotter. But actually, the earth both absorbs and, simultaneously releases it in the form of infra red waves (which cannot be seen by our eyes but can be felt as heat, for example the heat that you can feel with your hands over a heated car engine). All this rising heat is not lost to space, but is partly absorbed by some gases present in very small (or trace) quantities in the atmosphere, called GHGs (greenhouse gases). Greenhouse gases (for example, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, ozone), re-emit some of this heat to the earth's surface. If they did not perform this useful

function, most of the heat energy would escape, leaving the earth cold (about -18 C) and unfit to support life. However, ever since the Industrial Revolution began about 150 years ago, man-made activities have added significant quantities of GHGs to the atmosphere. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have grown by about 31%, 151% and 17%, respectively, between 1750 and 2000 (IPCC 2001). Variations of the Earth's surface temperature for the past 140 years

The Earths surface temperature is shown year by year (red bars) and approximately decade by decade (black line, a filtered annual curve suppressing fluctuations below near decadal time-scales). There are uncertainties in the annual data (thin black whisker bars represent the 95% confidence range) due to data gaps, random instrumental errors and uncertainties, uncertainties in bias corrections in the ocean surface temperature data and also in adjustments for urbanisation over the land. Over both the last 140 years and 100 years, the best estimate is that the global average surface temperature has increased by 0.6 0.2 C. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001 (The Scientific Basis,Summary for Policymakers)

From year 1000 to year 1860 variations in average surface temperature of the Northern Hemisphere are shown (corresponding data from the Southern Hemisphere not available) reconstructed from proxy data (tree rings, corals, ice cores, and historical records). The line shows the 50-year average, the grey region the 95% confidence limit in the annual data. From years 1860 to 2000 are shown variations in observations of globally and annually averaged surface temperature from the instrumental record; the line shows the decadal average. From years 2000 to 2100 projections of globally averaged surface temperature are shown for the six illustrative SRES scenarios and IS92a using a model with average climate sensitivity. The grey region marked "several models all SRES envelope" shows the range of results from the full range of 35 SRES scenarios in addition to those from a range of models with different climate sensitivities. The temperature scale is departure from the 1990 value. Source IPCC Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001 (Synthesis Report)

An increase in the levels of GHGs could lead to greater warming, which, in turn, could have an impact on the world's climate, leading to the phenomenon known as climate change. Indeed, scientists have observed that over the 20th century, the mean global surface temperature increased by 0.6 C (IPCC 2001). They also observed that since 1860 (the year

temperature began to be recorded systematically using a thermometer), the 1990's have been the warmest decade. However, variations in temperature have also occurred in the past - the best known is the Little Ice Age that struck Europe in the early Middle Ages, bringing about famines, etc. It is therefore difficult to determine whether current observations of increasing temperature are due to natural variabilities or whether they have been forced by anthropogenic (man-made) activities. Scientific studies and projections are further complicated by the fact that the changes in temperature that they have been observing do not occur uniformly over different layers of the lower atmosphere or even different parts of the earth. The Earth's climate system constantly adjusts so as to maintain a balance between the energy that reaches it from the sun and the energy that goes from Earth back to space. This means that even a small rise in temperature could mean accompanying changes in cloud cover and wind patterns. Some of these changes may enhance the warming (positive feedback), while others may counteract it (negative feedback). Negative feedback (causing a cooling effect) may result from an increase in the levels of aerosols (small particles of matter or liquid that can be produced by natural or man-made activities). Positive feedback may result from an increase in water vapour (because of greater evaporation with temp rise), which itself is a GHG and can further add to the warming effect. All the factors described above complicate the work of scientists who try to predict the fallout of climate change. Despite these uncertainties, the Third Assessment Report published by the IPCC states, 'there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities' (IPCC 2001). Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average (e.g., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole Earth. Terminology The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause.[1]Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Nio, do not represent climate change. The term sometimes is used to refer specifically to climate change caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes.[2] In this latter sense, used especially in the context of environmental policy, the term climate change today is synonymous with anthropogenic global warming. Within scientific journals, however, global warming refers to surface temperature increases, while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas amounts will affect.[3]

Causes Climate changes in response to changes in the global energy balance. On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the sun and the rate at which it is lost to space determine the equilibrium temperature and climate of Earth. This energy is then distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcings or "forcing mechanisms".[4] These include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth's orbit,mountain-building and continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. There are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate forcings, while others respond more quickly. Forcing mechanisms can be either "internal" or "external". Internal forcing mechanisms are natural processes within the climate system itself (e.g., the meridional overturning circulation). External forcing mechanisms can be either natural (e.g., changes in solar output) or anthropogenic (e.g., increased emissions of greenhouse gases). Whether the initial forcing mechanism is internal or external, the response of the climate system might be fast (e.g., a sudden cooling due to airborne volcanic ash reflecting sunlight), slow (e.g. thermal expansion of warming ocean water), or a combination (e.g., sudden loss of albedo in the arctic ocean as sea ice melts, followed by more gradual thermal expansion of the water). Therefore, the climate system can respond abruptly, but the full response to forcing mechanisms might not be fully developed for centuries or even longer. Internal forcing mechanisms Natural changes in the components of earth's climate system and their interactions are the cause of internal climate variability, or "internal forcings." Scientists generally define the five components of earth's climate system to include Atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere (restricted to the surface soils, rocks, and sediments), andbiosphere.[5][citation needed] Ocean variability

Pacific Decadal Oscillation 1925 to 2010 Main article: Thermohaline circulation The ocean is a fundamental part of the climate system, some changes in it occurring at longer timescales than in the atmosphere, massing hundreds of times more and having very high thermal inertia (such as the ocean depths still lagging today in temperature adjustment from theLittle Ice Age).[6]

Short-term fluctuations (years to a few decades) such as the El Nio-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific decadal oscillation, the North Atlantic oscillation, and the Arctic oscillation, represent climate variability rather than climate change. On longer time scales, alterations to ocean processes such as thermohaline circulation play a key role in redistributing heat by carrying out a very slow and extremely deep movement ofwater, and the long-term redistribution of heat in the world's oceans.

A schematic of modern thermohalinecirculation. Tens of millions of years ago, continental plate movement formed a land-free gap around Antarctica, allowing formation of the ACC which keeps warm waters away from Antarctica. External forcing mechanisms

Increase in Atmospheric CO2 Levels

Milankovitch cycles from 800,000 years ago in the past to 800,000 years in the future.

Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 450,000 years Orbital variations Main article: Milankovitch cycles Slight variations in Earth's orbit lead to changes in the seasonal distribution of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface and how it is distributed across the globe. There is very little change to the area-averaged annually averaged sunshine; but there can be strong changes in the geographical and seasonal distribution. The three types of orbital variations are variations in Earth's eccentricity, changes in the tilt angle of Earth's axis of rotation, and precession of Earth's axis. Combined together, these produce Milankovitch cycles which have a large impact on climate and are notable for their correlation to glacial and interglacial periods,[7] their correlation with the advance and retreat of the Sahara,[7]and for their appearance in the stratigraphic record.[8] The IPCC notes that Milankovitch cycles drove the ice age cycles; CO2 followed temperature change "with a lag of some hundreds of years"; and that as a feedback amplified temperature change.[9] The depths of the ocean have a lag time in changing temperature (thermal inertia on such scale). Upon seawater temperature change, the solubility of CO2 in the oceans changed, as well as other factors impacting air-sea CO2exchange.[10] Solar output Main article: Solar variation

Variations in solar activity during the last several centuries based on observations ofsunspots and beryllium isotopes. The period of extraordinarily few sunspots in the late 17th century was the Maunder Minimum. The sun is the predominant source for energy input to the Earth. Both long- and short-term variations in solar intensity are known to affect global climate.

Three to four billion years ago the sun emitted only 70% as much power as it does today. If the atmospheric composition had been the same as today, liquid water should not have existed on Earth. However, there is evidence for the presence of water on the early Earth, in theHadean[11][12] and Archean[13][11] eons, leading to what is known as the faint young Sun paradox.[14] Hypothesized solutions to this paradox include a vastly different atmosphere, with much higher concentrations of greenhouse gases than currently exist.[15] Over the following approximately 4 billion years, the energy output of the sun increased and atmospheric composition changed. The Great Oxygenation Event -oxygenation of the atmosphere- around 2.4 billion years ago was the most notable alteration. Over the next five billion years the sun's ultimate death as it becomes a red giant and then a white dwarf will have large effects on climate, with the red giant phase possibly ending any life on Earth that survives until that time. Solar output also varies on shorter time scales, including the 11-year solar cycle[16] and longer-term modulations.[17] Solar intensity variations are considered to have been influential in triggering the Little Ice Age,[18] and some of the warming observed from 1900 to 1950. The cyclical nature of the sun's energy output is not yet fully understood; it differs from the very slow change that is happening within the sun as it ages and evolves. Research indicates that solar variability has had effects including the Maunder Minimum from 1645 to 1715 A.D., part of the Little Ice Age from 1550 to 1850 A.D. which was marked by relative cooling and greater glacier extent than the centuries before and afterward.[19][20]Some studies point toward solar radiation increases from cyclical sunspot activity affecting global warming, and climate may be influenced by the sum of all effects (solar variation, anthropogenic radiative forcings, etc.).[21][22] Interestingly, a 2010 study[23] suggests, that the effects of solar variability on temperature throughout the atmosphere may be contrary to current expectations. In an Aug 2011 Press Release,[24] CERN announced the publication in the Nature journal the initial results from its CLOUD experiment. The results indicate that ionisation from cosmic rays significantly enhances aerosol formation in the presence of sulphuric acid and water, but in the lower atmosphere where ammonia is also required, this is insufficient to account for aerosol formation and additional trace vapours must be involved. The next step is to find more about these trace vapours, including whether they are of natural or human origin. Further information: Cosmic ray#Role_in_climate_change Volcanism

In atmospheric temperature from 1979 to 2010, determined by MSU NASA satellites, effects appear from aerosols released by major volcanic eruptions (El Chichn andPinatubo). El Nio is a separate event, from ocean variability.

Volcanic eruptions release gases and particulates into the atmosphere. Eruptions large enough to affect climate occur on average several times per century, and cause cooling (by partially blocking the transmission of solar radiation to the Earth's surface) for a period of a few years. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century[25] (after the 1912 eruption ofNovarupta[26]) affected the climate substantially. Global temperatures decreased by about 0.5 C (0.9 F). The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 caused the Year Without a Summer.[27] Much larger eruptions, known as large igneous provinces, occur only a few times every hundred million years, but may cause global warming and mass extinctions.[28] Volcanoes are also part of the extended carbon cycle. Over very long (geological) time periods, they release carbon dioxide from the Earth's crust and mantle, counteracting the uptake by sedimentary rocks and other geological carbon dioxide sinks. The US Geological Surveyestimates are that volcanic emissions are at a much lower level than than the effects of current human activities, which generate 100-300 times the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by volcanoes.[29] A review of published studies indicates that annual volcanic emissions of carbon dioxide, including amounts released from mid-ocean ridges, volcanic arcs, and hot spot volcanoes, are only the equivalent of 3 to 5 days of human caused output. The annual amount put out by human activities may be greater than the amount released by supererruptions, the most recent of which was the Toba eruption in Indonesia 74,000 years ago.[30] Although volcanoes are technically part of the lithosphere, which itself is part of the climate system, the IPCC explicitly defines volcanism as an external forcing agent.[31] Plate tectonics Over the course of millions of years, the motion of tectonic plates reconfigures global land and ocean areas and generates topography. This can affect both global and local patterns of climate and atmosphere-ocean circulation.[32] The position of the continents determines the geometry of the oceans and therefore influences patterns of ocean circulation. The locations of the seas are important in controlling the transfer of heat and moisture across the globe, and therefore, in determining global climate. A recent example of tectonic control on ocean circulation is the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 5 million years ago, which shut off direct mixing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This strongly affected the ocean dynamics of what is now the Gulf Stream and may have led to Northern Hemisphere ice cover.[33][34] During the Carboniferous period, about 300 to 360 million years ago, plate tectonics may have triggered large-scale storage of carbon and increased glaciation.[35] Geologic evidence points to a "megamonsoonal" circulation pattern during the time of the supercontinent Pangaea, and climate modeling suggests that the existence of the supercontinent was conducive to the establishment of monsoons.[36] The size of continents is also important. Because of the stabilizing effect of the oceans on temperature, yearly temperature variations are generally lower in coastal areas than they are inland. A larger supercontinent will therefore have more area in which climate is strongly seasonal than will several smaller continents or islands. Human influences Main article: Global warming Main article: Climate change mitigation

In the context of climate variation, anthropogenic factors are human activities which affect the climate. The scientific consensus on climate change is "that climate is changing and that these changes are in large part caused by human activities,"[37] and it "is largely irreversible."[38] Science has made enormous inroads in understanding climate change and its causes, and is beginning to help develop a strong understanding of current and potential impacts that will affect people today and in coming decades. This understanding is crucial because it allows decision makers to place climate change in the context of other large challenges facing the nation and the world. There are still some uncertainties, and there always will be in understanding a complex system like Earths climate. Nevertheless, there is a strong, credible body of evidence, based on multiple lines of research, documenting that climate is changing and that these changes are in large part caused by human activities. While much remains to be learned, the core phenomenon, scientific questions, and hypotheses have been examined thoroughly and have stood firm in the face of serious scientific debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. United States National Research Council, Advancing the Science of Climate Change Of most concern in these anthropogenic factors is the increase in CO2 levels due to emissions from fossil fuel combustion, followed by aerosols (particulate matter in the atmosphere) and cement manufacture. Other factors, including land use, ozone depletion, animal agriculture[39] and deforestation, are also of concern in the roles they play - both separately and in conjunction with other factors - in affecting climate, microclimate, and measures of climate variables. Physical evidence for and examples of climatic change

Comparisons between Asian Monsoons from 200 A.D. to 2000A.D. (staying in the background on other plots), Northern Hemisphere temperature, Alpine glacier extent (vertically inverted as marked), and human history as noted by the U.S. NSF.

Arctic temperature anomalies over a 100 year period as estimated by NASA. Typical high monthly variance can be seen, while longer-term averages highlight trends. Evidence for climatic change is taken from a variety of sources that can be used to reconstruct past climates. Reasonably complete global records of surface temperature are available beginning from the mid-late 19th century. For earlier periods, most of the evidence is indirectclimatic changes are inferred from changes in proxies, indicators that reflect climate, such as vegetation, ice cores,[40] dendrochronology, sea level change, and glacial geology. Temperature measurements and proxies The instrumental temperature record from surface stations was supplemented byradiosonde balloons, extensive atmospheric monitoring by the mid-20th century, and, from the 1970s on, with global satellite data as well. The 18O/16O ratio in calcite and ice core samples used to deduce ocean temperature in the distant past is an example of a temperature proxy method, as are other climate metrics noted in subsequent categories. Historical and archaeological evidence Main article: Historical impacts of climate change Climate change in the recent past may be detected by corresponding changes in settlement and agricultural patterns.[41] Archaeological evidence, oral history and historical documentscan offer insights into past changes in the climate. Climate change effects have been linked to the collapse of various civilizations.[41]

Decline in thickness of glaciers worldwide over the past half-century

Glaciers Glaciers are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change.[42] Their size is determined by a mass balance between snow input and melt output. As temperatures warm, glaciers retreat unless snow precipitation increases to make up for the additional melt; the converse is also true. Glaciers grow and shrink due both to natural variability and external forcings. Variability in temperature, precipitation, and englacial and subglacial hydrology can strongly determine the evolution of a glacier in a particular season. Therefore, one must average over a decadal or longer time-scale and/or over a many individual glaciers to smooth out the local short-term variability and obtain a glacier history that is related to climate. A world glacier inventory has been compiled since the 1970s, initially based mainly on aerial photographs and maps but now relying more on satellites. This compilation tracks more than 100,000 glaciers covering a total area of approximately 240,000 km2, and preliminary estimates indicate that the remaining ice cover is around 445,000 km2. The World Glacier Monitoring Service collects data annually on glacier retreat andglacier mass balance From this data, glaciers worldwide have been found to be shrinking significantly, with strong glacier retreats in the 1940s, stable or growing conditions during the 1920s and 1970s, and again retreating from the mid 1980s to present.[43] The most significant climate processes since the middle to late Pliocene (approximately 3 million years ago) are the glacial and interglacial cycles. The present interglacial period (theHolocene) has lasted about 11,700 years.[44] Shaped by orbital variations, responses such as the rise and fall of continental ice sheets and significant sea-level changes helped create the climate. Other changes, including Heinrich events, DansgaardOeschger events and the Younger Dryas, however, illustrate how glacial variations may also influence climate without the orbital forcing. Glaciers leave behind moraines that contain a wealth of materialincluding organic matter, quartz, and potassium that may be datedrecording the periods in which a glacier advanced and retreated. Similarly, by tephrochronological techniques, the lack of glacier cover can be identified by the presence of soil or volcanic tephra horizons whose date of deposit may also be ascertained.

This time series, based on satellite data, shows the annual Arctic sea ice minimum since 1979. The September 2010 extent was the third lowest in the satellite record.

Arctic sea ice loss Main articles: Polar ice packs and Climate change in the Arctic The decline in Arctic sea ice, both in extent and thickness, over the last several decades is further evidence for rapid climate change.[45] Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface. It covers millions of square miles in the polar regions, varying with the seasons. In the Arctic, some sea ice remains year after year, whereas almost all Southern Ocean or Antarctic sea ice melts away and reforms annually. Satellite observations show that Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 11.5 percent per decade, relative to the 1979 to 2000 average.[46]

This video summarizes how climate change, associated with increased carbon dioxide levels, has affected plant growth. Vegetation A change in the type, distribution and coverage of vegetation may occur given a change in the climate. Some changes in climate may result in increased precipitation and warmth, resulting in improved plant growth and the subsequent sequestration of airborne CO2. A gradual increase in warmth in a region will lead to earlier flowering and fruiting times, driving a change in the timing of life cycles of dependent organisms. Conversely, cold will cause plant bio-cycles to lag. [47] Larger, faster or more radical changes, however, may result in vegetation stress, rapid plant loss and desertification in certain circumstances.[48][49] An example of this occurred during the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse (CRC), an extinction event 300 million years ago. At this time vast rainforests covered the equatorial region of Europe and America. Climate change devastated these tropical rainforests, abruptly fragmenting the habitat into isolated 'islands' and causing the extinction of many plant and animal species.[48] Satellite data available in recent decades indicates that global terrestrial net primary production increased by 6% from 1982 to 1999, with the largest portion of that increase in tropical ecosystems, then decreased by 1% from 2000 to 2009.[50][51] Pollen analysis Palynology is the study of contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen. Palynology is used to infer the geographical distribution of plant species, which vary under different climate conditions. Different groups of plants have pollen with distinctive shapes and surface textures, and since the outer surface of pollen is composed of a very resilient material, they

resist decay. Changes in the type of pollen found in different layers of sediment in lakes, bogs, or river deltas indicate changes in plant communities. These changes are often a sign of a changing climate.[52][53] As an example, palynological studies have been used to track changing vegetation patterns throughout the Quaternary glaciations[54] and especially since the last glacial maximum.[55]

Top: Arid ice age climate Middle: Atlantic Period, warm and wet [56] Bottom: Potential vegetation in climate now if not for human effects like agriculture. Precipitation Past precipitation can be estimated in the modern era with the global network of precipitation gauges. Surface coverage over oceans and remote areas is relatively sparse, but, reducing reliance on interpolation, satellite data has been available since the 1970s.[57] Quantification of climatological variation of precipitation in prior centuries and epochs is less complete but approximated using proxies such as marine sediments, ice cores, cave stalagmites, and tree rings.[58] Climatological temperatures substantially affect precipitation. For instance, during the Last Glacial Maximum of 18,000 years ago, thermal-driven evaporation from the oceans onto continental landmasses was low, causing large areas of extreme desert, including polar deserts (cold but with low rates of precipitation).[56] In contrast, the world's climate was wetter than today near the start of the warm Atlantic Period of 8000 years ago.[56] Estimated global land precipitation increased by approximately 2% over the course of the 20th century, though the calculated trend varies if different time endpoints are chosen,

complicated by ENSO and other oscillations, including greater global land precipitation in the 1950s and 1970s than the later 1980s and 1990s despite the positive trend over the century overall.[57][59][60] Similar slight overall increase in global river runoff and in average soil moisture has been perceived.[59] Dendroclimatology Dendroclimatology is the analysis of tree ring growth patterns to determine past climate variations.[61] Wide and thick rings indicate a fertile, well-watered growing period, whilst thin, narrow rings indicate a time of lower rainfall and less-than-ideal growing conditions. Ice cores Analysis of ice in a core drilled from a ice sheet such as the Antarctic ice sheet, can be used to show a link between temperature and global sea level variations. The air trapped in bubbles in the ice can also reveal the CO2 variations of the atmosphere from the distant past, well before modern environmental influences. The study of these ice cores has been a significant indicator of the changes in CO2 over many millennia, and continues to provide valuable information about the differences between ancient and modern atmospheric conditions. Animals Remains of beetles are common in freshwater and land sediments. Different species of beetles tend to be found under different climatic conditions. Given the extensive lineage of beetles whose genetic makeup has not altered significantly over the millennia, knowledge of the present climatic range of the different species, and the age of the sediments in which remains are found, past climatic conditions may be inferred.[62]

Variation in Pacific salmon catch over the 20th century and correlation with a climate-related Atmospheric Circulation Index (ACI) as estimated by the U.N. FAO. Similarly, the historical abundance of various fish species has been found to have a substantial relationships with observed climatic conditions .[63] Changes in the primary productivity of autotrophs in the oceans can affect marine food webs.[64] Sea level change Main articles: Sea level and Current sea level rise Global sea level change for much of the last century has generally been estimated using tide gauge measurements collated over long periods of time to give a long-term average. More recently, altimeter measurements in combination with accurately determined satellite orbits have provided an improved measurement of global sea level change.[65] To measure sea levels prior to instrumental measurements, scientists have

dated coral reefs that grow near the surface of the ocean, coastal sediments, marine terraces, ooids in limestones, and nearshore archaeological remains. The predominant dating methods used are uranium series and radiocarbon, with cosmogenic radionuclides being sometimes used to date terraces that have experienced relative sea level fall. Sea level From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011) For the sea level change associated with the current episode of global warming, see current sea level rise. For other uses, see Sea level (disambiguation).

This marker indicating the sea level is placed on the path from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. Mean sea level (MSL) is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface (such as the halfway point between the mean high tide and the mean low tide); used as a standard in reckoning land elevation.[1] MSL also plays an extremely important role in aviation, where standard sea level pressure is used as the measurement datum of altitude at flight levels. Measurement

Sea level measurements from 23 long tide gauge records in geologically stable environments show a rise of around 200 millimetres (7.9 in) during the 20th century (2 mm/year).[citation
needed]

To an operator of a tide gauge, MSL means the "still water level"the level of the sea with motions such as wind waves averaged outaveraged over a period of time such that changes in sea level, e.g., due to the tides, also get averaged out. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land. Hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, mean sea level has been measured at Newlyn in Cornwall and Liverpool for decades, by tide gauges to provide Ordnance Datum for the zero metres height on UK maps. In France, the Margraphe in Marseilles [1] measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and offers the longest collapsed data about the sea level. It is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission ofNASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001 and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite in 2008. [edit]Difficulties in utilization To extend this definition far from the sea means comparing the local height of the mean sea surface with a "level" reference surface, or datum, called the geoid. In a state of rest or absence of external forces, the mean sea level would coincide with this geoid surface, being an equipotential surface of the Earth's gravitational field. In reality, due to currents, air pressure variations, temperature and salinity variations, etc., this does not occur, not even as a long term average. The location-dependent, but persistent in time, separation between mean sea level and the geoid is referred to as (stationary) ocean surface topography. It varies globally in a range of 2 m. Traditionally, one had to process sea-level measurements to take into account the effect of the 228-month Metonic cycle and the 223-month eclipse cycle on the tides. Mean sea level is not constant over the surface of the Earth. For instance, mean sea level at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal stands 20 cm (7.9 in) higher than at the Atlantic end.

[edit]Sea level and dry land

Sea level sign (2/3 of the way up the cliff face) above Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, USA Several terms are used to describe the changing relationships between sea level and dry land. When the term "relative" is used, it means change relative to a fixed point in the sediment pile. The term "eustatic" refers to global changes in sea level relative to a fixed point, such as the centre of the earth, for example as a result of melting ice-caps. The term "steric" refers to global changes in sea level due to thermal expansion and salinity variations. The term "isostatic" refers to changes in the level of the land relative to a fixed point in the earth, possibly due to thermal buoyancy or tectonic effects; it implies no change in the volume of water in the oceans. The melting of glaciers at the end of ice ages is one example of eustatic sea level rise. The subsidence of land due to the withdrawal of groundwater is an isostatic cause of relative sea level rise. Paleoclimatologists can track sea level by examining the rocks deposited along coasts that are very tectonically stable, like the east coast of North America. Areas like volcanic islands are experiencing relative sea level rise as a result of isostatic cooling of the rock which causes the land to sink. On other planets that lack a liquid ocean, planetologists can calculate a "mean altitude" by averaging the heights of all points on the surface. This altitude, sometimes referred to as a "sea level", serves equivalently as a reference for the height of planetary features.

[edit]Sea level change [edit]Local and eustatic sea level

Water cycles between ocean,atmosphere, and glaciers. Local mean sea level (LMSL) is defined as the height of the sea with respect to a land benchmark, averaged over a period of time (such as a month or a year) long enough that fluctuations caused by waves and tides are smoothed out. One must adjust perceived changes in LMSL to account for vertical movements of the land, which can be of the same order (mm/yr) as sea level changes. Some land movements occur because of isostatic adjustment of the mantle to the melting of ice sheets at the end of the last ice age. The weight of the ice sheet depresses the underlying land, and when the ice melts away the land slowly rebounds. Changes in ground-based ice volume also affect local and regional sea levels by the readjustment of the geoid and true polar wander. Atmospheric pressure, ocean currents and local ocean temperaturechanges can affect LMSL as well. Eustatic change (as opposed to local change) results in an alteration to the global sea levels due to changes in either the volume of water in the world oceans or net changes in the volume of the ocean basins.[2] A more recent theory as to why sea levels have varied so dramatically throughout geologic history is, in part, due to Isostatic Rebound. Part of this new theory states that as denser oceanic plate is subducted under less dense continental plate at a convergence plate boundary with a subduction zone, some of the oceanic plate is pulled downward briefly (geologically speaking) as the oceanic plate sinks into the Earth's Mantle. The Continental crust then bounces back up, restoring its previous position at equilibrium. Recent studies have suggested this was the case with the continent of Australia. [edit]Short term and periodic changes There are many factors which can produce short-term (a few minutes to 14 months) changes in sea level. Periodic sea level changes Diurnal and semidiurnal astronomical tides Long-period tides Rotational variations (Chandler wobble) 14 month P 1224 h P 0.210+ m

Meteorological and oceanographic fluctuations Atmospheric pressure Winds (storm surges) Hours to months 15 days 0.7 to 1.3 m Up to 5 m

Evaporation and precipitation (may also follow long-term Days to weeks pattern) Ocean surface topography (changes currents) El Nio/southern oscillation Seasonal variations Seasonal water balance among oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian) Seasonal variations in slope of water surface River runoff/floods Seasonal water density changes (temperature and salinity) Seiches Seiches (standing waves) Earthquakes Tsunamis (generate catastrophic long-period waves) Abrupt change in land level [edit]Long term changes Hours Minutes Up to 10 m Up to 10 m Minutes to hours Up to 2 m 2 months 6 months 1m 0.2 m in water density and Days to weeks Up to 1 m

6 mo every 510 Up to 0.6 m yr

Sea-level changes and relative temperatures Various factors affect the volume or mass of the ocean, leading to long-term changes in eustatic sea level. The primary influence is that of temperature on seawater density and the amounts of water in rivers, lakes, glaciers, polar ice caps and sea ice. Over much longer geological timescales, changes in the shape of the oceanic basins and in land/sea distribution will also affect sea level. Observational and modelling studies of mass loss from glaciers and ice caps indicate a contribution to sea-level rise of 0.2 to 0.4 mm/yr averaged over the 20th century. [edit]Glaciers and ice caps Each year about 8 mm (0.3 inch) of water from the entire surface of the oceans falls into the Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets as snowfall. If no ice returned to the oceans, sea level would drop 8 mm every year. To a first approximation, the same amount of water appeared to return to the ocean in icebergs and from ice melting at the edges. Scientists previously had estimated which is greater, ice going in or coming out, called the mass balance, important because it causes changes in global sea level. High-precision gravimetry from satellites in low-noise flight has since determined Greenland is losing billions of tons per year, in accordance with loss estimates from ground measurement. Ice shelves float on the surface of the sea and, if they melt, to first order they do not change sea level. Likewise, the melting of the northern polar ice cap which is composed of floatingpack ice would not significantly contribute to rising sea levels. Because they are lower in salinity, however, their melting would cause a very small increase in sea levels, so small that it is generally neglected.

Scientists previously lacked knowledge of changes in terrestrial storage of water. Surveying of water retention by soil absorption and by reservoirs outright ("impoundment") at just under the volume of Lake Superior agreed with a dam-building peak in the 1930s1970s timespan. Such impoundment masked tens of millimetres of sea level rise in that span. (Impact of Artificial Reservoir Water Impoundment on Global Sea Level. B. F. Chao,* Y. H. Wu, Y. S. Li). If small glaciers and polar ice caps on the margins of Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula melt, the projected rise in sea level will be around 0.5 m. Melting of the Greenland ice sheet would produce 7.2 m of sea-level rise, and melting of the Antarctic ice sheet would produce 61.1 m of sea level rise.[3] The collapse of the grounded interior reservoir of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would raise sea level by 56 m.[4] The snowline altitude is the altitude of the lowest elevation interval in which minimum annual snow cover exceeds 50%. This ranges from about 5,500 metres above sealevel at the equator down to sea level at about 70 N&S latitude, depending on regional temperature amelioration effects. Permafrost then appears at sea level and extends deeper below sea level polewards. As most of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets lie above the snowline and/or base of the permafrost zone, they cannot melt in a timeframe much less than several millennia; therefore it is likely that they will not, through melting, contribute significantly to sea level rise in the coming century. They can, however, do so through acceleration in flow and enhanced iceberg calving. Climate changes during the 20th century are estimated from modelling studies to have led to contributions of between 0.2 and 0.0 mm/yr from Antarctica (the results of increasing

precipitation) and 0.0 to 0.1 mm/yr from Greenland (from changes in both precipitation and runoff). Estimates suggest that Greenland and Antarctica have contributed 0.0 to 0.5 mm/yr over the 20th century as a result of long-term adjustment to the end of the last ice age. The current rise in sea level observed from tide gauges, of about 1.8 mm/yr, is within the estimate range from the combination of factors above[5] but active research continues in this field. The terrestrial storage term, thought to be highly uncertain, is no longer positive, and shown to be quite large. [edit]Geological influences

Comparison of two sea level reconstructions during the last 500 Ma. The scale of change during the last glacial/interglacial transition is indicated with a black bar. Note that over most of geologic history, long-term average sea level has been significantly higher than today. At times during Earth's long history, the configuration of the continents and seafloor have changed due to plate tectonics. This affects global sea level by determining the depths of the ocean basins and how glacial-interglacial cycles distribute ice across the Earth. The depth of the ocean basins is a function of the age of oceanic lithosphere: as lithosphere becomes older, it becomes denser and sinks. Therefore, a configuration with many small oceanic plates that rapidly recycle lithosphere will produce shallower ocean basins and (all other things being equal) higher sea levels. A configuration with fewer plates and more cold, dense oceanic lithosphere, on the other hand, will result in deeper ocean basins and lower sea levels. When there were large amounts of continental crust near the poles, the rock record shows unusually low sea levels during ice ages, because there was lots of polar land mass upon which snow and ice could accumulate. During times when the land masses clustered around the equator, ice ages had much less effect on sea level. Over most of geologic time, long-term sea level has been higher than today (see graph above). Only at the Permian-Triassicboundary ~250 million years ago was long-term sea level lower than today. Long term changes in sea level are the result of changes in the oceanic crust, with a downward trend expected to continue in the very long term.[6]

During the glacial/interglacial cycles over the past few million years, sea level has varied by somewhat more than a hundredmetres. This is primarily due to the growth and decay of ice sheets (mostly in the northern hemisphere) with water evaporated from the sea. The Mediterranean Basin's gradual growth as the Neotethys basin, begun in the Jurassic, did not suddenly affect ocean levels. While the Mediterranean was forming during the past 100 million years, the average ocean level was generally 200 metres above current levels. However, the largest known example of marine flooding was when the Atlantic breached the Strait of Gibraltar at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis about 5.2 million years ago. This restored Mediterranean sea levels at the sudden end of the period when that basin had dried up, apparently due to geologic forces in the area of the Strait.

Long-term causes

Range of Vertical effect effect

Change in volume of ocean basins

Plate tectonics and seafloor spreading (plate divergence/convergence) and change in seafloor elevation (mid- Eustatic ocean volcanism)

0.01 mm/yr

Marine sedimentation

Eustatic

< 0.01 mm/yr

Change in mass of ocean water

Melting or accumulation of continental ice

Eustatic

10 mm/yr

Climate changes during the 20th century

Antarctica (the results of increasing precipitation)

Eustatic

-0.2 to 0.0 mm/yr

Greenland (from changes in both precipitation and runoff)

Eustatic

0.0 to 0.1 mm/yr

Long-term adjustment to the end of the last ice age

 Greenland and Antarctica contribution over 20th century

Eustatic

0.0 to 0.5 mm/yr

Release of water from earth's interior

Eustatic

Release or accumulation of continental hydrologic reservoirs

Eustatic

Uplift or subsidence of Earth's surface (Isostasy)

Thermal-isostasy (temperature/density changes in earth's interior)

Local effect

Glacio-isostasy (loading or unloading of ice)

Local effect

10 mm/yr

Hydro-isostasy (loading or unloading of water)

Local effect

Volcano-isostasy (magmatic extrusions)

Local effect

Sediment-isostasy (deposition and erosion of sediments)

Local effect

< 4 mm/yr

Tectonic uplift/subsidence

Vertical and horizontal motions of crust (in response to fault Local motions) effect

13 mm/yr

Sediment compaction

Sediment compression into denser matrix (particularly significant Local in and near river deltas) effect

Loss of interstitial fluids (withdrawal of groundwater or oil)

Local effect

55 mm/yr

Earthquake-induced vibration

Local effect

Departure from geoid

Shifts in hydrosphere, aesthenosphere, core-mantle interface

Local effect

Shifts in earth's rotation, axis of spin, and precession of equinox

Eustatic

External gravitational changes

Eustatic

Evaporation and precipitation (if due to a long-term pattern) [edit]Changes through geologic time

Local effect

Comparison of two sea level reconstructions during the last 500 Ma. The scale of change during the last glacial/interglacial transition is indicated with a black bar. Note that over most of geologic history long-term average sea level has been significantly higher than today.

Sea level change since the end of the last glacial episode. Changes displayed in metres. Sea level has changed over geologic time. As the graph shows, sea level today is very near the lowest level ever attained (the lowest level occurred at the Permian-Triassic boundary about 250 million years ago). During the most recent ice age (at its maximum about 20,000 years ago) the world's sea level was about 130 m lower than today, due to the large amount of sea water that had evaporated and been deposited as snow and ice, mostly in the Laurentide ice sheet. The majority of this had melted by about 10,000 years ago. Hundreds of similar glacial cycles have occurred throughout the Earth's history. Geologists who study the positions of coastal sediment deposits through time have noted dozens of similar basinward shifts of shorelines associated with a later recovery. This results insedimentary cycles which in some cases can be correlated around the world with great confidence. This relatively new branch of geological science linking eustatic sea level to sedimentary deposits is called sequence stratigraphy. The most up-to-date chronology of sea level change during the Phanerozoic shows the following long term trends:[7]

Gradually rising sea level through the Cambrian Relatively stable sea level in the Ordovician, with a large drop associated with the end-Ordovician glaciation Relative stability at the lower level during the Silurian A gradual fall through the Devonian, continuing through the Mississippian to longterm low at the Mississippian/Pennsylvanianboundary A gradual rise until the start of the Permian, followed by a gentle decrease lasting until the Mesozoic. [edit]Recent changes Main article: Current sea level rise For at least the last 100 years, sea level has been rising at an average rate of about 1.8 mm per year.[8] The majority of this rise can be attributed to the increase in temperature of the sea and the resulting thermal expansion of sea water. Additional contributions come from water sources on land such as melting snow and glaciers (see global warming).[9]

[edit]Aviation Using pressure to measure altitude results in two other types of altitude. Distance above true or MSL (mean sea level) is the next best measurement to absolute. MSL altitude is the distance above where sea level would be if there were no land. If one knows the elevation of terrain, the distance above the ground is calculated by a simple subtraction. An MSL altitudecalled pressure altitude by pilotsis useful for predicting physiological responses in unpressurized aircraft (see hypoxia). It also correlates with engine, propeller, and wing performance, which all decrease in thinner air. Pilots can estimate height above terrain with an altimeter set to a defined barometric pressure. Generally, the pressure used to set the altimeter is the barometric pressure that would exist at MSL in the region being flown over. This pressure is referred to as either QNH or "altimeter" and is transmitted to the pilot by radio from air traffic control (ATC) or an Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS). Since the terrain elevation is also referenced to MSL, the pilot can estimate height above ground by subtracting the terrain altitude from the altimeter reading. Aviation charts are divided into boxes and the maximum terrain altitude from MSL in each box is clearly indicated. Once above the transition altitude (see below), the altimeter is set to the international standard atmosphere (ISA) pressure at MSL which is 1013.2 HPa or 29.92 inHg.[10] [edit]Flight level MSL is useful for aircraft to avoid terrain, but at high enough altitudes, there is no terrain to avoid. Above that level, pilots are primarily interested in avoiding each other, so adjust their altimeter to standard temperature and pressure conditions (average sea level pressure and temperature) and disregard actual barometric pressureuntil descending below transition level. To distinguish from MSL, such altitudes are called flight levels. Standard pilot shorthand is to express flight level as hundreds of feet, so FL 240 is 24,000 feet (7,300 m). Pilots use the international standard pressure setting of 1013.25 hPa (29.92 inHg) when referring to Flight Levels. The altitude at which aircraft are mandated to set their altimeter to flight levels is called "transition altitude". It varies from country to country. For example in the U.S. it is 18,000 feet, in many European countries it is 3,000 or 5,000 feet.