QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
MODULE 13
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body
that evaluates climate change science, released its report on global climate change. The
report's important conclusions were the following world's climate has changed
significantly over the past century; the significant change has human influence; using
climate models and if the trend continues, the global mean surface temperature will
increase between 1°C and 3.5°C by 2100.
Why should a few degrees of warming be a cause for a concern? According to
experts, global climate change could have a greater potential to change life in our planet
than anything else except a nuclear war. These changes will also lead to a number of
potentially serious consequences.
But first, what is climate change? Climate change refers to the statistically
significant changes in climate for continuous period of time. Factors that contribute to
climate change can be natural internal process, external forces, and persistent
anthropogenic changes of the atmosphere or in land use. It can also be due to natural
occurrences or contributed by acts of human beings.
This lesson will present the causes of climate change and its effects on the society.
Causes of Climate Change
The causes of climate change could be natural or by human activities.
Natural Causes
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are one of the natural causes of climate change. When
volcanoes erupt, it emits different natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxides,
salt crystals, volcanic ashes or dust, and even microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.
The volcanic eruption can cause a cooling effect to the lithosphere because its emitted
aerosol can block a certain percentage of solar radiation. This cooling effect can last for
one to two years.
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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
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QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
What happens in violent volcanic eruptions is the release of ash particles in the
stratosphere. The volcanic ashes which have sulfur dioxide combine with water vapor.
It then forms to sulfuric acid and sulfurous aerosols. The sulfurous aerosols then are
transported by easterly or westerly winds. Volcanoes located near the equator are more
likely to cause global cooling because of the wind pattern. Volcanoes located near to
north or south poles are less likely to cause cooling because of pole wind pattern, the
sulfurous aerosols are confined in pole area.
There are several recorded major volcanic eruptions that cause climate change.
Mount Tambora of Indonesia erupted in 1816. It was considered as the largest known
eruption in human history. The eruption caused snowfall in the northeastern United
States and Canada. It affected their agricultural lands, losing crops that caused food
shortage and increased human mortality. The eruptions of Mount Krakatau of Indonesia
in 1883 and Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines in 1991 contributed, too, to the cold
years of planet Earth.
Orbital Changes
Earth's orbit can also cause climate change. This was proposed by the
Milankovitch theory. The Milankovitch theory states "that as the Earth travels through
space around the Sun, cyclical variations in three elements of Earth-Sun geometry
combine to produce variations in the amount of solar enengy that reaches Earth
(Academic Emporia, 2017).
The three elements that have cyclic variations are eccentricity, obliquity, and
precession.
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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.
“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Eccentricity is a term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun.
The impact of the variation is a change in the amount of solar energy from perihelion
(around January 3) to aphelion (around July 4). The time frame for the cycle is
approximately 98,000 years (Academic Emporia, 2017). Currently Earth's eccentricity
is 0.016 and there is about a 6.4% increase in insolation from July to January (Academic
Emporia, 2017). Academic Emporia (2017) states, "The eccentricity influences seasonal
differences: when Earth is closest to the Sun, it gets more solar radiation. If the
perihelion occurs during the winter, the winter is less severe. If a hemisphere has its
summer while closest to the Sun, summers are relatively warm."
Obliquity is the variation of the tilt of Earth's axis away from the orbital plane.
As this tilt changes, the seasons become more exaggerated. The obliquity changes on a
cycle taking approximately 40,000 years. Academic Emporia (2017) states "the more tilt
means more severe seasons-warmer summers and colder winters; less tilt means less
severe seasons-cooler summers and milder winters."
Precession is the change in orientation of Earth's rotational axis. The precession
cycle takes about 19,000 to 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble
of Earth's axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of Earth itself (Academic
Emporia, 2017). Obliquity affected the tilt of Earth's axis, precession affects the direction
of Earth's axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest
distance from Sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from Sun), and this increases the
seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere
(Academic Emporia, 2017). Currently, Earth is closest to the Sun in the Northern
Hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Academic Emporia,
2017). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. Five thousand
years ago, the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently, the North
Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the theory fell into disrepute due to radiocarbon
dating, indicating a lag in cooling versus insolation and to a scale problem with high
frequency glacial advances (Academic Emporia, 2017). The theory was revived several
times throughout the late 1960s to the present (Academic Emporia, 2017).
The Carbon Dioxide Theory
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is added
when power and heat are produced by
burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.
Carbon dioxide is transparent to
sunshine but not invisible to infrared
(heat) radiation leaving the ground.
Carbon dioxide absorbs part of the
infrared radiation in the air and returns
it to the ground keeping the air near the
surface warmer than it would be if the
carbon dioxide did not act like a blanket.
Doubling the carbon dioxide raises the
temperature to 2°C to 3°C.
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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.
“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Human Activities
Human activities contribute to climate change. The largest known contribution
comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide gas to the
atmosphere. Greenhouse gases and aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar
radiation and outgoing infrared (thermal) radiation that are part of Earth's energy
balance. Changing the atmospheric abundance or properties of these gases and
particles can lead to a warming or cooling of the climate system. Since the start of the
industrial era (about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on climate has been a
warming influence. The human impact on climate during this era greatly exceeds that
due to known changes in natural processes, such as solar changes and volcanic
eruptions. Human activities result in emissions of four principal greenhouse gases:
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and the halocarbons (a group
of gases containing fluorine, chlorine, and bromine). These gases accumulate in the
atmosphere, causing concentrations to increase with time ([Link]).
The greenhouse gases mentioned are natural gases. However, the high level of
these gases in the atmosphere contributes to the greenhouse effect. The increasing
amount of these gases is due to human activities. High level of carbon dioxide comes
from fossil fuel use in transportation: and the building, heating, cooling, and
manufacture of cement and other goods. Deforestation releases carbon dioxide and
reduces its uptake by plants. High methane emission is related to agriculture, natural
gas distribution, and landfills. High nitrous oxide is also emitted by human activities
such as fertilizer use and fossil fuel burning. Halocarbon gas concentrations have
increased primarily due to human activities. Principal halocarbons include the
chlorofluorocarbons (e.g., CFC-11 and CFC-12) which were used extensively as
refrigeration agents and in other industrial processes before their presence in the
atmosphere were found to cause stratospheric ozone depletion. The abundance of
chlorofluorocarbon gases is decreasing as a result of international regulations designed
to protect the ozone layer (The Encyclopedia of Earth, 2016).
Ozone is another greenhouse gas that is continually produced and destroyed in
the atmosphere by chemical reactions. In the troposphere, human activities have
increased ozone through the release of gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons
and nitrogen oxide, which chemically react to produce ozone.
Halocarbons released by human activities destroy ozone in the stratosphere and
have caused the ozone hole over Antarctica. While water vapor is the most abundant
and important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, human activities have only a small
direct influence on the amount of atmospheric water vapor. Indirectly, humans have the
potential to affect water vapor substantially by changing climate. For example, a warmer
atmosphere contains more water vapor. Human activities also influence water vapor
VISION MISSION
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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.
“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”
QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
through CH emissions, because CH, undergoes chemical destruction in the
stratosphere, producing a small amount of water vapor, and aerosols, the small particles
present in the atmosphere with widely varying size, concentration, and chemical
composition. Some aerosols are emitted directly into the atmosphere while others are
formed from emitted compounds. Aerosols contain both naturally occurring compounds
and those emitted as a result of human activities. Fossil fuel and biomass burning have
increased aerosols containing sulphur compounds, organic compounds, and black
carbon (soot). Human activities such as surface mining and industrial processes have
increased dust in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2007). On September 16, 1986, an
international treaty was adapted. It is called the Montreal Protocol. The treaty aimed to
regulate the production and use of chemicals that contribute to Ozone layer depletion
(Britannica, 2017).
Effects of Climate Change on Society
Climate change could cause severe affects to all life forms around our planet. It
direct affects the basic elements of people's lives like water, food, health, use of land,
and the environment.
With the average global temperature which is predicted to rise by 2 to 3'C within
the next fifty years, glaciers will continue to melt faster. Melting glaciers will increase
flood risks during the wet season and strongly reduce dry-season water supplies to one-
sixth of the world's population, predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, parts of
China, and the Andes in South America. Declining crop yields due to drought, especially
in Africa, are likely to leave hundreds of millions without the ability to produce or
purchase sufficient food. At mid to high latitudes, crop yields may increase for moderate
temperature rises (2 to 3'C), but then decline with greater amounts of warming. Ocean
edification, a direct result of rising carbon dioxide levels, will have major effects on
marine ecosystems, with possible adverse consequences on fish stocks (Stern, 2007).
Climate change will increase worldwide deaths from malnutrition and heat stress.
Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever could become more widespread
if effective control measures are not in place. Rising sea levels may result in more flooded
areas each year with a warming of 3 or 4˚C. There will be serious risks and increasing
pressures for coastal protection (Stern, 2007).
Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, with one study
estimating that around 15-40% of species face extinction with 2˚C of warming. The
consequences of climate change will become disproportionately more damaging with
increased warming. Higher temperatures will increase the chance of triggering abrupt
and large-scale changes that lead to regional disruption, migration, and conflict.
Warming may induce sudden shifts in regional weather patterns like the monsoons or
the El Niño. Such changes would have severe consequences for water availability and
flooding in tropical regions and threaten the livelihood of billions. Melting or collapse of
ice sheets would raise sea levels and eventually threaten at least 4 million km of land,
which today is home to5 % of the world's population (Stern, 2007).
VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.
“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”
