Climate Change Lab Report Week 4 Dorell James
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Ashford University *
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Geography
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Apr 3, 2024
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Climate Change Lab Report
Dorell James
SCI 207: Our Dependence upon the Environment
Instructor’s name
Adam Selhorst
2-26-2024
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Introduction
The purpose of this lab activity is to address the issue of global warming, climate change, and their implications on Earth. According to Skeptical Science (2017), global warming refers to a phenomenon whereby the average air temperature levels is rising due to human activities, including pollution and deforestation. While these changes may be natural, human beings have played a critical role in driving climate change since the 1800s, whereby the biodiversity has been destroyed. On the other hand, Pachauri et al. (2014) describes climate change as the drastic shifts in weather and temperature patterns. Scientists have been integral in monitoring the shifts in temperatures in the space, air, and earth’s surface. Observations reveal distressing behaviors from the past and present, which are likely to affect the atmosphere in the future. For example, human activities in the pre-Industrial and industrial periods contributed to increased use of fossil fuel and deforestation. The consequences include rapid changes in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and heat levels.
Objectives paragraph
: My virtual lab this week looks into the ways climate change is changing through the Earth’s atmosphere and sunlight. It also looks at how climate change is affecting our lives. The second objective of the lab activity is about understanding the greenhouse effect and how it functions. The other important objective entails learning about the implications of the albedo surface temperatures. The last and critical objective of the lab activity is about observing glacial melting on sea ice and sea level. I feel I will be successful in conducting the lab activity based on the above objectives. Hypotheses paragraph:
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Hypothesis Activity 1: My hypothesis is that Earth’s atmosphere can cause the earth’s surface to heat up, but without greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide concentration, it can release the heat. I
believe that the atmosphere is the reason the planet is warm and without it the atmosphere can be
colder. Hypothesis Activity 2: My hypothesis is that open ocean absorbs into sunlight, which in turn makes the atmosphere warmer or colder. The Artic Sea reflects the sunlight back causing the atmosphere to be colder. The temperature of the ice-covered sea affects the temperature meaning
an open sea to be warmer.
Hypothesis Activity 3: My hypothesis is that melting glaciers will cause the sea level to rise while rising at the same time. There will be no difference in temperature because the glaciers will be melting while the sea remains freezing. Materials and Methods
This week’s lab was a virtual activity, meaning I conducted the lab test digitally and they all were related to climate change. I read, understood, and followed instructions to the latter and answered all the multiple choice questions. I began with the lab tests and ensured that I took screenshots of my plots/graphs and hypotheses. I answered the questions and sent them to my lab
book. Results
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Data tables:
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Graph 1.
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Graph 2 Graph 3
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Photographs:
Discussion
Activity 1: My hypothesis Earth’s atmosphere is the reason the planet warm and without it, greenhouse and carbon dioxide gases would be releasing the heat into the air. The result of my activity suggested the atmosphere is increasingly warming up. Therefore, I accept my first hypothesis.
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Activity 2: My hypothesis is that the ocean absorbs into the sunlight making surface temperatures warmer or hot. On the other hand, the Arctic waters are freezing meaning it will reflect back the sunlight making the temperatures colder. I agree with the hypothesis because ice in the Arctic Sea causes the temperature to reduce as reflected sunlight absorbs the coldness.
Activity 3: My hypothesis is that the melting glaciers will cause the sea level to rise while it rises
in tandem with the rising waters. Once the glaciers melt, the waters will level out causing them to remain the same. Therefore, I accept my lab hypothesis.
What I have learned paragraph
: I have acquired knowledge from the lab activity regarding climate change and the role played by the planet’s atmosphere. I gathered that climate change is about the drastic shifts experienced in through atmospheric temperature changes. Scientists play an integral role of forecasting the future of climate change. I also gathered that there some things I was not aware regarding climate change and global warming. Specifically, I was not aware that the sea level will remain the same as soon as glacial ice melted. Source of error paragraph
: All parts of this laboratory exercise are highly simplified simulations
of complex natural processes. For Activity 1, the rate of warming for the two Earths with and without greenhouse gases is an entirely imaginary scenario. The final temperatures for the two Earths are drawn from basic physics calculations; however, the timed warming process itself is not intended to mimic any actual events in Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history. Earth developed its atmosphere containing greenhouse gases early in its formation, though the composition and amount of those gases have changed considerably since that time. For Activity 2, the initial
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temperatures and rate of temperature change are estimates; the simulation is simply intended to show the different responses of sea ice and ocean to sunlight, and the different temperatures that result. For the Activity 3, about half the rise in sea level due to global climate change is caused by thermal expansion of seawater, which is not included here.
Future research paragraph
: This week’s lab activity was an intriguing one because I enjoy doing
lab tests. The question I would pose to future researchers is as follows: How can the atmosphere be protected to avoid drastic climate changes over the next decade? I know this is important because it jolts scientists to begin searching for solutions.
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References
Skeptical Science (2017). The 97% consensus on global warming. https:// skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm
Pachauri, R. K., Allen, M. R., Barros, V. R., Broome, J., Cramer, W., Christ, R., … & Dubash, N. K. (2014). Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(p. 151). IPCC.