Climate Change Monitoring
Climate change monitoring involves the systematic observation and assessment of changes in the Earth's climate system. This includes tracking temperature fluctuations, sea level rise, and shifts in weather patterns. Monitoring efforts utilize a range of tools such as satellites, weather stations, and ocean buoys to gather data, which is then analyzed to understand the impacts of climate change and inform mitigation strategies.
7 Key excerpts on "Climate Change Monitoring"
eBook - ePubThe Human Impact of Climate Uncertainty
Weather Information, Economic Planning, and Business Management
- W. J. Maunder(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...For this reason, it is perhaps desirable to ‘define’ climate or climate state as ‘the totality of weather conditions existing in a given area over a specific period of time’. Climate change could then be said to become important only when a relatively long time period is considered. But such a viewpoint is too restrictive. Indeed the importance of monitoring, analysing, understanding, and (where possible) forecasting climate variations over all time periods from days to decades is of far greater importance, whatever the ‘true’ meaning of climate change may be. It is also necessary to understand the increasing impact that a climate change (however defined) is likely to have on economic, social, political, and strategic activites. 4. Monitoring Climate Variability The need for more comprehensive monitoring and analysis of the world’s climate to detect and predict changes, and to understand the consequences of such changes, is central to many aspects of national planning. Sewell and MacDonald-McGee in discussing the climate scene in Canada 2 stated: At present—understanding of the manner in which climate affects human activities...and the ways in which the latter may cause changes in climate are not well understood. Despite a recognition of this deficiency by various (people) progress in mounting research has been very slow. Problems associated with the management of a hitherto unrecognised resource, climate, seem certain to become a major focus of policy formulation before the end of the century. Regardless of the political, economic, strategic, and social impacts of any long-term trend, it is evident that year-to-year variations of considerable significance will continue to occur, and it is important to re-emphasize that trends in the climate over time - to which it is possible to adjust - are usually relatively small by comparison with short-term variations...
eBook - ePub- Debleena Bhattacharya, V K Singh(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...The region includes rainfall, temperature variation, humidity and wind. The climatic condition of an area is affected by topography, longitude, latitude, Sun–Earth’s axis, proximity to sea and oceans, wind directions, and temperature differences between land and sea. The change in climate is often termed as global warming and it refers to the gradual increase in average temperature on Earth’s surface. According to scientific consensus there is a continuous increase in the global temperature from 0.4 to 0.8°C during the past century and the cause for this escalation in temperature is attributed to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The combustion of fossil fuels gives rise to the increased volume of CO 2 and other GHGs. With the increase in population there is an immediate surge for land and in order to cater the anthropogenic demands the forest was cleared. Apart from this agricultural activity has also significantly contributed to global warming. The most vital factor responsible for climate change lies in the increase in the concentration of the GHGs and CO 2 in the atmosphere. The economic upliftment of the nation depends on the industrial activities such as energy, industry, transport, land use and they rely heavily on the use of fossil fuel. 77 percent of global warming is attributed to CO 2 apart from methane generated by agriculture and rising land clearance, leading to deforestation. Stern (2006) defined the increase in CO 2 concentration level to nearly 100 parts per million (ppm). The present data elucidate that 2–3 ppm of CO 2 is the global emissions. The increased global warming is predicted to show its impact on working people and productivity by 2045. Global warming and climate change have a very strong interrelationship in environment. The capacities of the GHGs to entrap the solar heat within the atmosphere have a detrimental impact on natural habitats, health and also agriculture...
eBook - ePub- Roger G. Barry, Richard J Chorley(Authors)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...CHAPTER THIRTEEN Climate change Mark C. Serreze and Roger G. Barry LEARNING OBJECTIVES When you have read this chapter you will: understand the difference between climate variability and climate change and know the characteristic features that may constitute a change of climate be aware of the different timescales on which past climate conditions are studied and the sources of evidence that may be used recognize the major climate forcing factors and feedback mechanisms and the timescales over which they operate understand the anthropogenic contributions to climate change appreciate the possible impacts of climate change on environmental systems. A GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS In this final chapter we examine climate variability and change, climate forcing factors, feedbacks and projected future states of the climate system. In many parts of the world, the climate has varied sufficiently within the past few thousand years to affect patterns of agriculture and settlement. As will become clear, the evidence is now overwhelming that human activities have begun to influence climate. Realization that climate is far from being constant came only during the 1840s, when indisputable evidence of former Ice Ages was obtained. Studies of past climate began with a few individuals in the 1920s and gained momentum in the 1950s (see Box 13.1). Instrumental records for most parts of the world span only the past 100 to 150 years, and are typically assembled at monthly, seasonal or annual time resolution. However, proxy indicators from tree rings, pollen in bog and lake sediments, ice core records of physical and chemical parameters, and ocean foraminifera in sediments provide a wealth of paleoclimatic data. Tree rings and ice cores can give seasonal or annual records. Peat bog and ocean sediments may provide records with 100 to 1000-year time resolution. In any study of climate variability and change, one must pay careful attention to possible artifacts in the records...
eBook - ePub- Will Steffen (Lead Author)(Author)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- CSIRO PUBLISHING(Publisher)
...4 The rate and magnitude of climate change This chapter summarises climatic trends observed over the past few decades, both globally and in Australia, and describes the rate and magnitude of potential change over the next century. 4.1 THE NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is altering the fundamental abiotic environment in which biological species and communities exist. Understanding the nature of climate change, from the human-driven changes that are observable now to the long-term patterns of variability within which contemporary ecosystems have developed, is essential for assessing the vulnerability of Australia’s biodiversity to the rapidly changing environment of the 21st century. The science of climate change has progressed significantly over the past two decades. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 concluded that the warming of the climate system over the past century is unequivocal. Figure 4.1 shows the changes in the mean surface temperature over the past 150 years. Global average temperatures have increased 0.74°C (1906–2007). Twelve of the 13 years in the 1995–2005 period rank among the 13 warmest years in the instrumental record since 1850. Warming has occurred across the globe but has been greatest in the northern high latitudes (IPCC 2007a). The IPCC (2007a) concluded that it is very likely that anthropogenic (human-induced) greenhouse gas increases have caused most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century. The most important of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases in terms of its effect on climate is carbon dioxide (CO 2). The longest continuously monitored CO 2 site in a non-industrial area, on top of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, has documented increases from below 315 ppm to above 380 ppm in just over the past 50 years (Fig. 4.2)...
eBook - ePubExperiencing Climate Change in Bangladesh
Vulnerability and Adaptation in Coastal Regions
- Salim Momtaz, Masud Shameem(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
...Local Perceptions of Changes in Climate Respondents in the study area described changes in climate trends around them by describing their personal experiences of changes in seasons, weather patterns, and sea level rises. They related the changes in long-term patterns in the climate to increased extreme weather events, variability in the weather and climate parameters, and impacts on their local physical environments. Table 6.1 shows the local views of changes in climate characteristics made by the participants in the focus group discussions. Table 6.1 Local perceptions of climate change Local experience of changes Climatic variables Temperature • Summer hotter than before • Increase in warmer days • Increase in frequency of abnormally hot days/heat weaves Rainfall • Decrease in total rainfall in rainy season • Total rainfall decreased in winter season • Number of annual rainy days decreased Climatic phenomena Monsoon • Shorter rainy season • Late onset of rainy season Tropical cyclones • Increase in tropical cyclonic activities • Increase in height of storm surge and wind velocity • Increase in area flooded by cyclonic storm surges Impacts on physical environment Sea level rises • More area being inundated during high tides • More area being intruded on by salinity • Increase in the level of salinity during summer time There were many ways in which respondents described their observed changes in the patterns of seasonality, of which the most common changes experienced included warmer summers characterized...
eBook - ePubApplied Climatology
Principles and Practice
- Allen Perry, Dr Russell Thompson, Russell Thompson(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...PART 1:APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY: THE ‘TOOLS’ OF RESEARCHThe following fourchapters(2–5) examine the main methodological practices which underpin applied climatological research. The collection of data through ground and remotely sensed measurements is discussed and statistical analyses are considered, in order to provide a meaningful and useful quantification of the vast quantities of data available. Climate models are examined as essential ‘tools’ in the practice of applied climatology, particularly in the prediction of climate change. Finally, atmospheric resource management is introduced as a necessary part of applied climatological methodology, required to integrate the assessments of atmospheric impacts on natural and social systems.2GROUND AND REMOTELY SENSED MEASUREMENTSIan StrangewaysINTRODUCTION: DATA REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCESData are required for a variety of applied climatological practices. For example, model predictions of climate change must be checked against reality in the future, if we are to know what climate changes took place in the past or understand the hydrometeorological processes occurring today. They are also necessary in order to manage a country’s water resources (Chapter 6), make weather forecasts or study any aspect of the natural environment (Part 2).Meteorological and hydrological measurements started to be made, in the scientific sense, only during the last few hundred years. For example, Symons did pioneering work on rainfall measurement in the nineteenth century and, throughout the last century and into the twentieth century, instruments were designed for measuring all of the common meteorological and hydrological variables. These developments provide the only direct measurements of past climate events. Before this, there were no instrumental records, although there are examples of rainfall measurement going back millennia in India and the Middle East (Biswas, 1970)...
eBook - ePubClimate Change and Tourism
From Policy to Practice
- Susanne Becken, John Hay(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...2 RECENT ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING This chapter provides a synopsis of knowledge and understanding related to the interactions between tourism and climate change, especially that which has been generated over the last five years. The aim of this chapter is to provide up-to-date information on the topic, as well as a conceptual understanding that provides the basis for the more practical chapters that follow. 2.1 Climate change science Recently reported results of monitoring (e.g. WMO, 2011) and modelling (e.g. Hirabayashi et al., 2008) provide high confidence that significant changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions are occurring and that these changes will continue well into the future. Changes have been observed not only in the mean conditions (Figures 2.1 and 2.2) but also in both the observed frequency and intensity of weather and climate extremes such as heavy rainfall, frequently resulting in flooding; droughts; high sea levels, often exacerbated by storm surges; and possibly cyclones. These trends in mean and extreme conditions are consistent with those anticipated as a result of global warming (IPCC, 2011). FIGURE 2.1 Observed changes in components of the global climate system. (Arndt et al., 2010) © American Meteorological Society. Reprinted with permission. FIGURE 2.2 Observed changes in snow cover and glaciation. (Arndt et al., 2010) © American Meteorological Society. Reprinted with permission. The decade 2001–2010 was the warmest on record, with average temperatures being 0.46° C above the 1961–1990 mean and 0.21° C warmer than the previous record decade 1991–2000...
