Climate science and climate change were introduced. Key points included: - Climate is measured over 30 years and looks at trends, while weather is short term conditions. - The climate system has 5 main components - atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. - Natural factors like variations in solar energy and volcanic eruptions can cause climate variability over timescales of years to millennia through changes in radiative forcing.

1. Basic Climate Change
These lectures are adapted from
USAID LEAF’s Regional Climate Change Curriculum
Nguyen Le Ai Vinh, PhD.
Biology Faculty, Vinh University
Nghe An, 2015 106/03/2015

2. Basic Climate Change
Chapter 1.
Introduction to Climate Science andIntroduction to Climate Science and
Climate Change
206/03/2015

3. Learning objectives
At the end of this session, learners will be able to:
• Differentiate between climate change and climate
impacts
• Explain how climate impacts are discerned
3
• Explain how climate impacts are discerned
• Analyze how impacts of climate change combine
with other impacts to people and the environment
• Explain what impact pathways are and how to
discern and evaluate them
06/03/2015

4. Outline
1. Weather and Climate
2. Climate System
3. Climate Variation3. Climate Variation
4. Climate Change
406/03/2015

5. List the following things about climate science and
climate change:
3 things you know about the
topic
2 things you want to
learn/don’t know
1 question you want to ask
Pair yourself to the one sitting on your right hand site and discuss
your answers.06/03/2015 5

6. 1. Weather and Climate
a) Why study climate?
– Reasons
– Case study: Biomes of the world
b) Weather
– Definition– Definition
– Characteristics
– Meteorology
c) Climate
– Definition
– Characteristics
– Climatology
606/03/2015

7. Some reasons:
1. Climate determines the type and location of
human-managed ecosystems, such as
agricultural farmlands.
2. Climate affects the weathering of rock, the type2. Climate affects the weathering of rock, the type
of soil that forms, and the rate of soil formation.
06/03/2015 7

8. 3. Helps to determine the quantity and quality of
water available for human use.
4. Determines the severity of droughts, storms, and
floods.
Largely determines the nature and locations of5. Largely determines the nature and locations of
biomes -major terrestrial ecosystems, defined
based on their plant communities.
6. ….
06/03/2015 8

9. 906/03/2015

10. 1006/03/2015

11. Place Average Temperature oC
Annual Precipitation
(cm)
Biome
La Selva, Costa Rica 22.1 403
Marietta, Ohio 12 105
Pasadena California 18.2 51.8
Ferron, Utah 8.8 20.9
Tucson, Arizona 21.1 21.9
Santa Rosa, Costa Rica 26 165
11
Santa Rosa, Costa Rica 26 165
Brazzaville, Congo 25 137
Lambarene, Gabon 25.7 195
Amauulu, Hawaii 20 410
Toolik Lake, Alaska -8.8 18
Beijing, China 11.8 63.5
Seoul, South Korea 11.2 137
Archbold Biological
Station
29.1 131
Everglades National
Park (Flamingo)
28.1 159
06/03/2015

12. Place Average Temperature oC
Annual Precipitation
(cm)
Biome
La Selva, Costa Rica 22.1 403 Tropical Rain Forest
Marietta, Ohio 12 105
Temperate Deciduous
Forest
Pasadena California 18.2 51.8 Savanna
Ferron, Utah 8.8 20.9 Desert
Tucson, Arizona 21.1 21.9 Subtropical Desert
Santa Rosa, Costa Rica 26 165 Tropical Seasonal Forest
12
Santa Rosa, Costa Rica 26 165 Tropical Seasonal Forest
Brazzaville, Congo 25 137 Tropical Seasonal Forest
Lambarene, Gabon 25.7 195 Tropical Seasonal Forest
Amauulu, Hawaii 20 410 Tropical Rain Forest
Toolik Lake, Alaska -8.8 18 Tundra
Beijing, China 11.8 63.5 Temperate Grassland
Seoul, South Korea 11.2 137
Temperate Deciduous
Forest
Archbold Biological
Station
29.1 131 Tropical Seasonal Forest*
Everglades National
Park (Flamingo)
28.1 159 Tropical Seasonal Forest*
06/03/2015

13. What is Weather?
What is Climate?
06/03/2015 13

14. Definition:
The actual state of the atmosphere in a period of
several hours up to a few days (in a given place)
(Gramelsberger & Feichter, 2011).
06/03/2015 14

15. Temperature
Wind
Clouds
Precipitation/
Humidity/RainHumidity/Rain
What we are
feeling in present
time and a given
place →
METEOROLOGY
(The science of
weather).
06/03/2015 15

16. 1. The field of atmospheric science which is most well-
known and of practical importance to the general
public is meteorology, the study of weather.
2. Meteorology is usually concerned only with theMeteorology is usually concerned only with the
lowest region of the atmosphere, the troposphere.
3. Weather is influenced not only by vertical, diurnal,
and seasonal variations of atmospheric density and
temperature, and of solar heating, but also by
horizontal variations over Earth’s surface.
06/03/2015 16

17. 4. Atmospheric winds and circulation are influenced
by Earth’s rotation, and by surface conditions (i.e.
whether land or sea, topography, and surface
temperature).temperature).
5. The advent of weather-monitoring satellites, and of
supercomputers, have greatly facilitated the science
and application of meteorology in recent years.
06/03/2015 17

18. Definitions
A statistical description in terms of the mean and
variability of relevant quantities over a period
ranging from months to thousands or millions ofranging from months to thousands or millions of
years (IPCC).
The classical period is 30 years, which are most often
surface variables such as temperature, precipitation,
and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state,
including a statistical description, of the climate
system (World Meteorological Organization, WMO).
06/03/2015 18

19. Climate element: It is any physical quantity (e.g.,
temperature, rain, iceberg frequency, hurricane
track…)
Climate element exhibits time and space variations.
19
Climate element exhibits time and space variations.
Climate is defined to include all the statistical
properties of the system consisting of the
atmosphere, land surfaces and oceans (climate
system)
The climate is always changing, always has changed.
06/03/2015

20. 1,000,000 year time scales
Plate tectonics
100,000 year time scales
Orbital variations and glacial
periodsperiods
100-10 year time scales
Events like the Little Ice Age and
Medieval Warm Period
10-5 year time scales
El Niño – La Niña cycles
06/03/2015
20

21. 500 mya 400 mya
300 mya 200 mya
Ice sheets can only grow when continents are at the poles.06/03/2015 21

22. A B
C
06/03/2015 22

23. EARTHEARTH
The Earth’s orbit is almost
a perfect circle with slight
variations every 100,000
and 400,000 years.
06/03/2015 23

24. 06/03/2015 24

25. A B
C
06/03/2015 25

26. 06/03/2015 26

27. The output of energy
from the sun has been
monitored by satellites
for thirty years and hasfor thirty years and has
NOT increased during
this period of rapid
global warming.
06/03/2015 27

28. 06/03/2015 28

29. 2806/03/2015

30. Chance are better than 50%
El Nino conditions will
develop this year (2014-
29
develop this year (2014-
2015).
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center
06/03/2015

31. 2. Climate System
a) Components of the Climate System
b) Interactions among the components
3106/03/2015

32. Five major
components:
1. The atmosphere
2. The hydrosphere
Air
Water
Land
Ice
2. The hydrosphere
3. The cryosphere
4. The lithosphere/
The land surface
5. Biosphere
Life
Land
06/03/2015 32

33. It is the most unstable and rapidly
changing part of the system.
It is composed mainly of nitrogen (N2,
78.1% volume mixing ratio), oxygen
(O2, 20.9% volume mixing ratio, and
Air
(O2, 20.9% volume mixing ratio, and
argon (Ar, 0.93% volume mixing ratio).
Green house gases such as carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4),
nitrousoxide (N2O) and ozone (O3),
It also contains solid and liquid
particles (aerosols) and clouds.
06/03/2015 33

34. It is the component comprising all liquid
surface and subterranean water, both
fresh water and saline water.
The oceans cover approximately 70% of
the Earth’s surface.
They store and transport a large amount
Water
They store and transport a large amount
of energy and dissolve and store great
quantities of carbon dioxide.
They function as a regulator of the Earth’s
climate and as a source of natural climate
variability, in particular on the longer time-
scales.
06/03/2015 34

35. The cryosphere includes the ice sheets of
Greenland and Antarctica, continental
glaciers and snow fields, sea ice and
permafrost.
It derives its importance to the climate system
from its high reflectivity (albedo) for solar
Ice
from its high reflectivity (albedo) for solar
radiation, its low thermal conductivity, its
large thermal inertia and, especially, its
critical role in driving deep ocean water
circulation.
Because the ice sheets store a large amount
of water, variations in their volume are a
potential source of sea level variations
06/03/2015 35

36. Vegetation and soils at the land surface
control how energy received from the Sun is
returned to the atmosphere. Some is returned
as long-wave (infrared) radiation, heating the
atmosphere as the land surface warms.
Some serves to evaporate water. Because
Land
Some serves to evaporate water. Because
the evaporation of soil moisture requires
energy, soil moisture has a strong influence
on the surface temperature.
The texture of the land surface (its
roughness) influences the atmosphere
dynamically as winds blow over the land’s
surface.
06/03/2015 36

37. The marine and terrestrial biospheres have a
major impact on the atmosphere’s
composition.
The biota influence the uptake and release of
greenhouse gases.
Life
Through the photosynthetic , plants store
significant amounts of carbon from carbon
dioxide.
Other biospheric emissions (volatile organic
compounds - VOC) which may have important
effects on atmospheric chemistry, on aerosol
formation and therefore on Climate.06/03/2015 37

38. Many physical, chemical and biological interaction
processes occur among the various components of
the climate system on a wide range of space and time
scales, making the system extremely complex.
Examples:
The atmosphere and the oceans are strongly coupled and
exchange, among others, water vapour and heat through
evaporation.
Sea ice hinders the exchanges between atmosphere and
oceans;
The biosphere influences the carbon dioxide concentration by
photosynthesis and respiration, which in turn is influenced by
climate change
06/03/2015 38

39. Air Ice
Water
Life
Land
06/03/2015 39

40. 06/03/2015
40

41. 3. Climate Variation
• Natural Forcing of the Climate System
• The natural variability of the climate
• Dynamics of the Earth
4106/03/2015

42. a) The Sun and the global energy balance
b) The natural greenhouse effect
c) Radiative forcing and forcing variability
06/03/2015 42

43. The ultimate source of energy that drives the climate system
is radiation from the Sun. About half of the radiation is in the
visible short-wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The
other half is mostly in the near-infrared part, with some in
the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
Each square metre of the Earth’s spherical surface outside
the atmosphere receives an average throughout the year of
342 Watts of solar radiation, 31% of which is immediately
reflected back into space by clouds, by the atmosphere, and
by the Earth’s surface. The remaining 235 Wm−2 is partly
absorbed by the atmosphere but most (168 Wm−2) warms
the Earth’s surface: the land and the ocean.
06/03/2015 43

44. The Earth’s surface returns the heat to the atmosphere,
partly as infrared radiation.
For a stable climate, a balance is required between
incoming solar radiation and the outgoing radiation emitted
by the climate system. Therefore the climate system itselfby the climate system. Therefore the climate system itself
must radiate on average 235 Wm−2 back into space.
06/03/2015 44

45. 06/03/2015
45

46. The atmosphere contains several trace gases which
absorb and emit infrared radiation. These so-called
greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation, emitted by
the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds, except in
a transparent part of the spectrum called the “atmospherica transparent part of the spectrum called the “atmospheric
window”.
GHGs trap heat within the atmosphere. This mechanism is
called the natural greenhouse effect.
Clouds also play an important role in the Earth’s energy
balance and in particular in the natural greenhouse effect.
06/03/2015 46

47. In an equilibrium climate state the average net
radiation at the top of the atmosphere is zero. A
change in either the solar radiation or the infrared
radiation changes the net radiation. The corresponding
imbalance is called “radiative forcing”.imbalance is called “radiative forcing”.
06/03/2015 47

48. External forcings, such as the solar radiation or the large
amounts of aerosols ejected by volcanic eruption into the
atmosphere, may vary on widely different time-scales, causing
natural variations in the radiative forcing. These variations may
be negative or positive. In either case the climate system must
react to restore the balance. A positive radiative forcing tendsreact to restore the balance. A positive radiative forcing tends
to warm the surface on average, whereas a negative radiative
forcing tends to cool it. Internal climate processes and
feedbacks may also cause variations in the radiative balance by
their impact on the reflected solar radiation or emitted infrared
radiation, but such variations are not considered part of
radiative forcing.
06/03/2015 48

49. Internally and externally induced climate
variability
Feedbacks and non-linearities
Global and hemispheric variabilityGlobal and hemispheric variability
Regional patterns of climate variability
06/03/2015 49

50. IPCC, 3rd AR:
Climate variability refers to variations in the mean state
and other statistics (such as the occurrence of extremes,
etc.) of the climate on all temporal and spatial scalesetc.) of the climate on all temporal and spatial scales
beyond that of individual weather events. Variability may
be due to natural internal processes within the climate
system (internal variability), or to variations in natural or
anthropogenic external forcing (external variability)
06/03/2015 50

51. When variations in the external forcing occur, the response time of the
various components of the climate system is very different. With regard
to the atmosphere, the response time of the troposphere is relatively
short, from days to weeks, whereas the stratosphere comes into
equilibrium on a time-scale of typically a few months. Due to their large
heat capacity, the oceans have a much longer response time, typicallyheat capacity, the oceans have a much longer response time, typically
decades but up to centuries or millennia. The response time of the
strongly coupled surfacetroposphere system is therefore slow
compared with that of the stratosphere, and is mainly determined by
the oceans. The biosphere may respond fast, e.g. to droughts, but also
very slowly to imposed changes. Therefore the system may respond to
variations in external forcing on a wide range of space- and timescales.
The impact of solar variations on the climate provides an example of
such externally induced climate variations.
06/03/2015
51

52. But even without changes in external forcing, the
climate may vary naturally, because, in a system of
components with very different response times and
non-linear interactions, the components are never in
equilibrium and are constantly varying. An example ofequilibrium and are constantly varying. An example of
such internal climate variation is the El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO), resulting from the interaction
between atmosphere and ocean in the tropical Pacific.
06/03/2015
52

53. A process is called a feedback when the result of the process
affects its origin thereby intensifying (positive feedback) or
reducing (negative feedback) the original effect. An
important example of a positive feedback is the water
vapour feedback in which the amount of water vapour in the
atmosphere increases as the Earth warms. This increase in
turn may amplify the warming because water vapour is a
strong greenhouse gas. A strong and very basic negative
feedback is radiative damping: an increase in temperature
strongly increases the amount of emitted infrared radiation.
This limits and controls the original temperature increase.
06/03/2015 53

54. Many processes and interactions in the climate system
are non-linear. That means that there is no simple
proportional relation between cause and effect. A
complex, non-linear system may display what is
technically called chaotic behaviour. Thistechnically called chaotic behaviour. This
06/03/2015 54

55. 06/03/2015 55

56. Let Walk through:
Global Climate System Video
06/03/2015 56

57. 1. Atmospheric Circulation
2. Ocean Circulation
3. Land Surface Processes
4. Vegetation - Carbon4. Vegetation - Carbon
5. Snow and Ice
6. El Niño
7. La Niña
06/03/2015 57

58. a) The Sun and the global energy balance
b) The natural greenhouse effect
c) Radiative forcing and forcing variability
06/03/2015 58

59. What atmospheric circulation?
What is Coriolis effect?
06/03/2015 59

60. 1. The atmospheric convection cells play to convey
heat from the warm equatorial region to the cold
polar regions.
2. Warm air rises near the equatorial latitudes.2. Warm air rises near the equatorial latitudes.
3. When the rising warm air reaches the peak of the
troposphere, it moves toward the poles, and when
the air cools, it flows and becomes dense enough to
sink at latitudes of about 30oN or 30oS.
06/03/2015 60

61. 4. When this cold air reaches the Earth's surface, it is
moved toward the equator, and it then warms and
rises.
5. Where the air is rising or sinking at the equator, 30o,5. Where the air is rising or sinking at the equator, 30o,
50o, 60o, and at the poles.
06/03/2015 61

62. Comes from the Earth’s rotation influencing the
direction of the air movement.
The tendency of a free movement of object to appear to
move to the right in the northern hemisphere and to
the left in the southern hemisphere due to Earth'sthe left in the southern hemisphere due to Earth's
rotation.
Air moves horizontally from high to low pressure zones,
forming the major wind belts, including the trade winds,
between the equator and 30oN and 30oS; between 30oN
and 30oN and 50o to 60oN and 50o to 60oS; and the polar
winds.
06/03/2015 62

63. Jet Stream occurs
here
Jet Stream occurs
here
06/03/2015 63

64. Video on
Atmospheric Circulation
06/03/2015 64

65. 1. The oceans play a large part of in determining the
existing climate of the Earth.
2. It seems to have a crucial influence on climate
change due to human activities.
3. Ocean and atmosphere are close interactions and
have a strong system.
06/03/2015 65

66. 4. Oceans have high capacity to contain heat
compared with the atmosphere driving to gradually
raise temperature in the oceans.
5. Oceans redistribute heat throughout the climate
system through their internal circulation.
06/03/2015 66

67. 06/03/2015 67

68. Video on
Ocean Circulation
06/03/2015 68

69. 06/03/2015 69

70. Carbon only affects climate when it is in the atmosphere
Gases move through the Earth reservoirs:
Atmosphere
Biosphere (living things)Biosphere (living things)
Lithosphere (solid earth)
Hydrosphere (freshwater and oceans)
06/03/2015 70

71. 06/03/2015 71

72. Video on
Carbon Cycle
06/03/2015 72

73. The presence or absence of snow and ice affects
warming and cooling over the Earth’s surface,
influencing the Earth’s energy balance.
Changes in snow and ice cover affect freshwaterChanges in snow and ice cover affect freshwater
availability, air temperatures, sea levels, ocean
currents, and storm patterns.
06/03/2015 73

74. A reduction in snow cover and ice causes the Earth’s
surface to absorb more energy from the sun
(decreased albedo), which is a positive feedback,
causing stronger warmingcausing stronger warming
06/03/2015 74

75. What is El Niño?
El Niño is the prolonged warming in the Pacific
Ocean sea surface temperature compared with
the average value. It is a warming of at least 0.5°C
(0.9°F) averaged over the east-central tropical(0.9°F) averaged over the east-central tropical
Pacific Ocean.
A pattern of ocean surface temperature in the
Pacific off the coast of South America, which has a
large influence on world climate (Houghton,
2009).
06/03/2015 75

76. The first signs of an El Niño are:
1. Rise in surface pressure over the Indian Ocean,
Indonesia and Australia
2. Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the2. Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the
central and eastern Pacific Ocean
3. Trade winds in the south Pacific weaken or head
east.
06/03/2015 76

77. The first signs of an El Niño are:
4. Warm air rises near Peru, causing rain in the
northern Peruvian deserts
5. Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and5. Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and
the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific. It takes the
rain with it, causing extensive drought in the
western Pacific and rainfall in the normally dry
eastern Pacific.
06/03/2015 77

78. El Niño: Warm water
pool approaches South
American coast.
Absence of cold
upwelling increases
warmingwarming
06/03/2015 78

79. 06/03/2015 79

80. La Niña: Equatorial
winds gather warm
water pool toward the
west. Cold water
upwells along South
American coastAmerican coast
06/03/2015 80

81. 06/03/2015 81

82. El Niño in general occurs in every 3 to 7 years and
appears around Christmas period.
Droughts and floods occurring almost all continents
are associated with El Niño.are associated with El Niño.
ENSO caused by the shift of the atmospheric-oceanic
conditions, due to the way the oceans store and
transport heat.
06/03/2015 82

83. SST °C SST °C
El Niño
La Niña
Drought
Flood
06/03/2015 83

84. Video clip on
El Niño and La Niña
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FVZrw7bk1w
06/03/2015 84

85. 4. Climate Change
• What is Climate Change?
• The primary indicators of climate change
• Warming of Climate.
8506/03/2015

86. IPCC, 3rd AR:
Climate change: a statistically significant variation in
either the mean state of the climate or in its
variability, persisting for an extended periodvariability, 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 .
06/03/2015 86

87. UNFCCC, Article 1:
“climate change”: “a change of climate which is
attributed directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the global atmospherethat alters the composition of the global atmosphere
and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time periods.”
06/03/2015 87

88. IPCC, 3rd AR:
Climate variability refers to variations in the mean
state and other statistics (such as the occurrence of
extremes, etc.) of the climate on all temporal andextremes, etc.) of the climate on all temporal and
spatial scales beyond that of individual weather
events. Variability may be due to natural internal
processes within the climate system (internal
variability), or to variations in natural or
anthropogenic external forcing (external variability)
06/03/2015 88

89. Seven of these indicators would be expected to increase in a warming world and observation show that
they are, in fact, increasing. Three would be expected to decrease and they are, in fact, decreasing.
06/03/2015
89

90. Increases in global sea and air temperatures
Widespread melting of snow and ice
Rising global sea level
06/03/2015 90

91. What can/cannot be controlled…
Solar system?
Earth system?
Earth Dynamics?
If something can, how? If cannot, how?
06/03/2015 91

92. Most mountain glaciers are getting smaller.
Snow cover is retreating earlier in the spring.
Sea ice in the Arctic is shrinking in all seasons, most
dramatically in summer.
Reductions are in the permafrost, seasonally frozenReductions are in the permafrost, seasonally frozen
ground and river and lake ice.
Important coastal regions of ice sheets on Greenland
and West Antartica, and the glaciers of the Antartic
Peninsular, are thinning and contributing to sea level
rise.
06/03/2015 92

93. 06/03/2015 93

94. The change in sea ice in the previous slide:
Discuss: How does this change affect the heating of
the Earth’s atmosphere?
06/03/2015 94

95. Two major causes of global sea level rise:
Thermal expansion of the oceans (water expands as it
warms)
Loss of land-based ice due to increased melting (glaciersLoss of land-based ice due to increased melting (glaciers
and continental ice caps)
06/03/2015 95

96. Warming of the climate
system evidence:
Increases in global
average air andaverage air and
ocean temperature
Widespread melting
of snow and ice
Rising global mean
sea level
06/03/2015 96

97. Importance of understanding and studying of climate, its
characteristics,
Key elements and dynamics to determine climatic
condition,
97
condition,
Climate system,
Energy budget,
El Niño and La Niña,
Climate change and global warming.
06/03/2015

98. What was useful?
What is missing?
How did you, or would you, modify the materials to make
them better fit your instructional context?them better fit your instructional context?
Please share your experience and modifications here:
climatecurriculum@googlegroups.com
06/03/2015 98