ES_3401_L13_ClimateChange

Climate Change PRE-LAB QUESTIONS 1. Briefly describe the difference between weather and climate. Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere for a short period of time while climate is how the atmosphere behaves for a lond period of time 2. Natural climate change usually occurs over long periods of time, whereas _artifical__ climate change refers to changes that occur over shorter time scales as a result of human activities. 3. ___ works by absorbing infrared radiation, thus trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere. a. Albedo b. The carbon cycle C. A greenhouse gas c. Ocean acidification 4. One of the biggest indicators of human impact on climate is the amount of ___ in the atmosphere. a. Calcium carbonate b. Carbon dioxide c. Water vapor D. Oxygen 5. What is the term for the percentage of solar radiation that is reflected back into space from the Earth? 6. Ocean acidification is a major problem for organisms that make their shells/tests out of what chemical compound? ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change EXERCISE 1: ALBEDO IN ACTION Data Sheet Table 3. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing White Sand Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 28 27 27 27 27 26 26 26 26 26 Beaker Covered with White Paper Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 28 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 26 27 Table 4. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing Soil Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 27 27 27 27 26 27 27 27 27 26 Beaker Covered with White Paper Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 28 28 27 27 27 27 27 26 26 26 Table 5. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing Water Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 27 26 27 27 28 27 27 27 27 27 Beaker Covered with White Paper Time (min) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Temp. (°C) 28 28 28 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change EXERCISE 2: THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT Data Sheet Figure 1. A simplified model of Earth’s energy budget from solar radiation and longwave infrared (LWIR) radiation. Numbers are long-term global average fluxes in W/m 2 (Watts per meter squared). Calculations for Earth’s Energy Budget: 1. What percentage of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space (this is albedo)? To do this, divide the total reflected solar radiation by the total incoming solar radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work. 41% visible light and about 50% infrared ligh6 2. What percentage of incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the surface? To do this, divide the solar radiation absorbed by the surface by the total incoming solar radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work. ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change 3. Which is greater: total incoming solar radiation or the surface emission of LWIR radiation? 4. What percentage of LWIR radiation emitted by Earth’s surface escapes directly to space (without being absorbed by the atmosphere)? To do this, divide the amount of LWIR radiation that escapes the atmosphere by the surface emission of LWIR radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work. 5. Does the total amount of incoming solar radiation balance with the total outgoing LWIR radiation? Use the numbers given in the fluxes to justify your answer. 6. Does the surface energy budget balance? To do this, first add together all the fluxes that enter the surface (solar radiation absorbed by the surface and LWIR re-emitted by the atmosphere and absorbed to surface). Then add together all the fluxes that leave the surface (conduction, evapotranspiration, and surface emission of LWIR) and compare the two totals to each other. If the two totals are the same number, then they balance. Show your work. 7. What is the largest source of heat energy for the Earth’s surface? What is the primary way the surface gets rid of heat? 8. Does the atmosphere energy budget balance? To do this, first add together all the fluxes that enter the atmosphere (solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere, conduction, evapotranspiration, and LWIR absorbed by the atmosphere). Then add together all the fluxes that leave the atmosphere (LWIR emitted by atmosphere and LWIR re-emitted by atmosphere and absorbed by the surface) and compare the two totals to each other. If the two totals are the same number, then they balance. Show your work. 9. What is the largest source of heat energy for the atmosphere? What is the primary way the atmosphere gets rid of heat? ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change Exercise 2 Post-Lab Questions 1. Based on the heat budgets you analyzed in Questions 1–10 on the Exercise 2 Data Sheet, explain why the Earth’s surface is inevitably so much warmer than the temperature of the planet when treated as a whole (i.e., as satellites see it from space). 2. In the Introduction section, you learned that greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere. Based on this information, which fluxes shown on Figure 10 are caused by greenhouse gases? 3. Assume that all the greenhouse gases were suddenly removed from the atmosphere. What would happen to the surface temperature of the Earth? (For simplicity, ignore any changes this would cause to albedo) 4. For the following questions, suppose that significantly more CO 2 (a greenhouse gas) was added evenly throughout the atmosphere. a. How would the flux of LWIR radiation absorbed by the atmosphere respond? b. What would happen to the amount of radiation that the atmosphere emits (both into space and back to the surface)? c. What would happen to the temperature of the surface? Why? ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change EXERCISE 3: OCEAN ACIDIFICATION Data Sheet Table 7. Carbon Dioxide and pH Data Sample pH Color of Solution Initial Water 4 Dark blue Water After Bubbling 5 Green Table 8. pH of Solutions Containing a Seashell Sample Initial pH pH After 4 Hours Bottled/Distilled Water 4 4 Acetic Acid 0 5 Table 9. Calcium Carbonate (CaCO 3 ) Observations Time Neutral Beaker Observations Acid Beaker Observations Initial No Reaction Small bubbles 1 Hour No reaction Still seeing bubbles 2 Hours Still the same Soapy bubbles on the surface 3 Hours The same Fewer bubbles 4 Hours Still the same Less bubbles appearing ©eScience Labs, 2018

Climate Change b. Why is it difficult for oceanographers to determine the acidity of the oceans on a global scale? 10. Historical and geographic trends in oceanic CO 2 levels are much more variable than those of the atmosphere. What might account for the variability we see in the CO 2 levels in the oceans? ©eScience Labs, 2018