Climate Change Simply Explained

https://climatechangesimplyexplained.blog/2024/10/09/hurricane-helene-9-27-2024/

HURRICANE HELENE 9/27/2024 The facts: September 27, Helene made landfall in Florida as a category 4 Hurricane with winds of 140 mph. Emergency declarations in 5 states: Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South …

What Are Urban Heat Islands?

An urban heat island is a when a city experiences much higher temperatures than in nearby rural or country areas. The sun’s heat and light reach the city and the country in the same way, but more of the heat stays in the city due to albedo.

Darker surfaces, like asphalt and concrete, have a lower albedo than natural surfaces, and absorb and hold heat better. They also are largely impenetrable to water. Surfaces which hold water can be cooled by evaporation.

How much of a difference does this make? Try this interactive:

https://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/data-stories/urban-heat-island/

Partial solutions for urban heat islands include:

Trees, green roofs, and vegetation can help reduce urban heat island effects by shading building surfaces, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere.

Photo courtesy of Top Leaf Farms – https://www.soils.org/about-soils/green-roofs/
An idea that urban planners in the US are thinking of is called a Barcelona Superblock, which is an area with less traffic and more greenery.

It’s like a little park, but with parking for residents. Think it’s a cool idea?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2024/superblocks-barcelona-cities-congestion/?utm_campaign=wp_week_in_ideas&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_ideas
Want to learn more?

https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/basic-page/urban-heat-islands

https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect

https://toposmagazine.com/superblocks-in-urban-planning

https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ecologiaurbana/en/noticia/ideas-contest-to-design-the-barcelona-superblock-resolved_1045200

Photo credit: https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/basic-page/urban-heat-islands

The official definition is ‘the fraction of incoming light that Earth reflects back into space’

In human terms, wearing a light shirt on a hot day will keep you cool, as it reflects heat back away from you. If you wear a dark shirt, it will make you warmer, as it absorbs more heat.

Okay, so why is this important?

Albedo has a huge effect on sea ice melting, especially in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Sea ice is white, and the surrounding water is dark.

This means that the water around the ice will absorb more heat, and this speeds up melting of the ice.

The lighter ice will reflect more, and this helps it maintain itself.

When more ice melts, it changes how much light is reflected.

How? It’s simple. The more water is around sea ice, the faster the sea ice melts, which decreases the albedo.

As the sea and land ice melt from within, rivers of meltwater form, which heats the ice from within.

This then causes the remaining ice to melt faster, and this cycle feeds itself.

Okay, how does this affect me?

We will talk about that in the next blogs!

Image Credit: A melt water river formed by glacier melt in Greenland, Museum of Science and History, Chicago, James Balog

For now, white for summer, dark for winter!

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The Warming Arctic and Antarctic

As the whole earth gets warmer, even the extremely cold poles are warming. The end result of this is increased melting of the ice caps.

In the Artic, the ice sheets are calving at a higher rate.

What does this mean?

It means three things:

1) Right now, there is a sufficient influx of cold, fresh water (icebergs traveling south) to feed the thermohaline gradient, which fuels the North Atlantic Current

2) There is not a never-ending supply of ice in the poles.

3) With increasing calving, there is a serious possibility that the supply of icebergs in the North Atlantic will decrease over time.

The net result will be the slowing of the North Atlantic Current.

This is an overly simple explanation, but the science is there.

To understand sea ice melting better, it’s time for a side topic:

Albedo

We will talk about this in the next post!

Want to learn more?

https://climate.nasa.gov/explore/ask-nasa-climate/2942/2020-vision-looking-back-to-drive-forward/

Photo credit: https://www.climate.gov/media/15594

‘Climate is what you expect, and Weather is what you get ‘ - NOAA.gov

That is, weather is the day – to – day (short term changes) and climate is the overall patterns over time (long – term averages)

It can be a little confusing. The graphic below from the EESA helps.

If we talk just about rainfall, the average rainfall in an area, over large periods of time, is climatic. How much rainfall happens day – to – day would be weather.

Here in New England, we have gotten an extreme amount of rain this summer:

https://apnews.com/article/vermont-flooding-businesses-rebuilding-climate-change-5f93b8e799f9ddd005e505df2865ed9a

Want to learn more?

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Space_for_our_climate/Weather_vs_climate_What_s_the_difference

https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/sites/default/files/lesson_plan_files/climate-package/Weather%20vs%20Climate.M

The Rest of the Global Conveyor Belt looks like the below:

Image courtesy National Science Foundation: https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/media/images/oceans_climate2_h.jpg

The red lines stand for warmer surface currents, and the blue for the deeper colder currents.

This conveyor belt regulates the climate for the whole globe. It is as necessary for life on this planet as the air we breathe.

What happens if it no longer works?

I will talk about this in the next post.

Want to learn more?
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/05conveyor2.html

Global Climate Regulation Explained: (part 1)

Simply put, there are large ice fields at the two poles, which normally calve icebergs from the glaciers at a slow pace.

As well, the very cold water in the poles causes sea ice to form.

These icebergs are important for temperature/climate stabilization around the globe.

How?

Let’s look at the North Atlantic Current offshore of the Eastern United States:

It travels from the equator and brings warmer water to the northern hemisphere, and is part of the Global Conveyor Belt that travels all the way around the globe and keeps temperatures moderated.

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/north-atlantic-current

Gulf Stream Currents Along Atlantic Ocean Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 1950815239 | Shutterstock Find Gulf Stream Currents Along Atlantic Ocean stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day.

The data for this change is clear, and there is consensus among 97% or greater, of climate scientists.

It's getting hot! This July was the hottest one on record.

s://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

This graph is on the NASA Global Climate Change website, as above.

Warmer Air = More Energy = Bigger Storms

So, what is the difference between Global Warming and Climate Change? Why can't they pick one name and stick to it?

Global Warming is the warming of the planet. The air, the land, the water. This is caused by the increase in certain gases, notably carbon dioxide, and methane.

These gases stay in the atmosphere and act like a blanket, keeping the planet warmer.

This warming of the planet causes Climate Change.

Warmer Air = More Energy = Stronger Storms

It's the difference between having a pot on the stove set to simmer and a pot set to boil. Global warming sets the pot to' boil'.

I will explain more in my next post!

Graphics credit: Courtesy of the Department of Energy: