Climate Change

Observed Impacts on Planet Earth

3rd Edition - February 26, 2021
Editor: Trevor Letcher
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 1 5 7 5 - 3
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 1 5 7 6 - 0

Climate Change: Observed Impacts on Planet Earth, Third Edition, brings together top global researchers across many disciplines to provide a comprehensive review on the comple… Read more

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Climate Change: Observed Impacts on Planet Earth, Third Edition, brings together top global researchers across many disciplines to provide a comprehensive review on the complex issue of climate change and weather patterns. The third edition continues its tradition of focusing on the science and evidence on this highly politicized topic. Every chapter is updated, with this new edition featuring new chapters on topics such as glacier melt, the impacts of rising temperatures, extreme weather, modeling techniques, biodiversity, and more. This book is essential for researchers, environmental managers, engineers, and those whose work is impacted by, or tied to, climate change and global warming.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
Preface to Third Edition
I. Introduction
1. Global warming—a complex situation
1. Introduction
2. The greenhouse effect and global warming
3. Feedback mechanisms to further increase the heating of the planet
4. Our present situation
5. Urgent action is required
6. Global warming, climate change, and the new pandemic—COVID-19
7. Why is the world so slow in overcoming global warming?
8. Social and ethical impacts of climate change
9. What can we do?
10. Conclusion
Chapter 2. Greenhouse gases and the emerging climate emergency
1. Introduction
2. Myths about the greenhouse effect
3. Origin of the greenhouse effect: “primary” and “secondary” effects
4. The physical properties of greenhouse gases
5. Interpretation of data for the properties of greenhouse gases
6. What has changed in the past decade?
II. Tools used to investigate and predict climate change
3. Climate change through Earth history
1. Introduction
2. Climate models
3. Long-term climate trends
4. Early climate history
5. Phanerozoic glaciations
6. The Mesozoic—early Cenozoic greenhouse
7. Development of the Cenozoic icehouse
8. Astronomical modulation of climate
9. Milankovitch cyclicity in Quaternary (Pleistocene) climate history
10. Quaternary sub-Milankovitch cyclicity
11. The Holocene
12. Climate of the Anthropocene
13. Conclusions
Chapter 4. Numerical modeling of the global climate and carbon cycle system
1. Introduction
2. Numerical modeling for climate and the earth system
3. Modeling the global carbon cycle
4. Summary and conclusions
Glossary
III. Indicators
Chapter 5. Global surface temperatures
1. Introduction
2. Basic data availability
3. Analyses of land surface air temperature
4. Analyses of sea surface temperature
5. Global changes
6. Uncertainty quantification
7. Characterization of extremes and variability
8. Future research directions
9. Conclusions
Chapter 6. Arctic sea ice
1. Introduction
2. Observed changes in the state of arctic sea ice
3. Classifying and comprehending the observed changes
4. Conclusions
Chapter 7. Antarctic sea ice changes and their implications
1. Introduction
2. Why Antarctic ice is different
3. Snow on the ice
4. The annual ice cycle and its changes
5. What is happening to the ice?
6. Response of the Antarctic to changes elsewhere
Chapter 8. Land ice: indicator, and integrator, of climate change
1. Introduction
2. Mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets
3. Long-term behavior
4. Observations of recent changes
5. Concluding remarks
Chapter 9. Glaciers and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Observing glacier change
3. Components and drivers of glacier mass change
4. Mass balance feedbacks
5. Recent glacier changes
6. Future glacier changes
7. Concluding remarks
Chapter 10. Poleward expansion of the atmospheric circulation
1. Introduction
2. The general circulation of the atmosphere
3. Evidence for circulation change
4. Cause for circulation change
5. Emerging dynamical mechanisms
6. Summary, outstanding problems, and conclusions
Chapter 11. Rising sea levels as an indicator of global change
1. Introduction
2. Is sea level rising?
3. Why is sea level rising?
4. Are contemporary rates of sea level rise unusual?
5. Conclusion
Chapter 12. Ocean current changes
1. Role of the ocean currents in the climate system
2. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
3. Conclusions
Chapter 13. Ocean acidification and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Evidence from observations
3. Model predictions of future change
4. Impacts
5. Biogeochemical cycling and feedback to climate
6. Adaptation, recovery, and mitigation
7. Conclusion
Chapter 14. Permafrost and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of permafrost
3. Observed trends in recent permafrost conditions
4. Impacts of recent changes in permafrost
5. Conclusions
Chapter 15. The jet stream and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Expected changes with climate change
3. Observed changes
4. Future impacts of changing jets
5. Summary
Chapter 16. Extreme weather and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Temperature extremes
3. Precipitation extremes
4. Tropical cyclones
5. Conclusions
Chapter 17. Bird ecology
1. Introduction
2. Indicators of change
3. Conclusions
Chapter 18. Insect communities
1. Introduction
2. Range changes
3. Changes in phenology
4. Physiology
5. Responses to other climatic variables
6. Insect communities under climate change
7. Conclusion
Chapter 19. Sea life (pelagic ecosystems)
1. Pelagic and planktonic ecosystems
2. Observed impacts on pelagic and planktonic ecosystems
3. Conclusion and summary of key indicators
Chapter 20. Changes in coral reef ecosystems as an indication of climate and global change
1. Introduction
2. Tropical coral reef ecosystems
3. Coral reef fishes
4. Conclusion
Chapter 21. Marine biodiversity and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Climate change in the oceans
3. Effects of climate change on marine biodiversity
4. Cumulative impacts and indirect effects of climate change
5. Biodiversity as insurance against climate change impacts
6. Conclusions
Chapter 22. Intertidal indicators of climate and global change
1. Introduction
2. Climate change and biogeography
3. Mechanisms and microclimate
4. Additional impacts of global change
5. Conclusions
Chapter 23. Lichens as an indicator of climate and global change
1. Introduction
2. Predicted effects
3. Observed effects
4. Uncertain effects
5. Habitats with vulnerable lichens
Chapter 24. Plant pathogens as indicators of climate change
1. Introduction
2. Climatic variables and plant disease
3. Evidence that simulated climate change affects plant disease in experiments
4. Evidence that plant disease patterns have changed due to climate change
Chapter 25. Invasive plants and climate change
1. Introduction
2. A brief introduction into plant invasions
3. How can climate change influence plant invasion success?
4. Current and projected levels of plant invasions under climate change
5. Can plant invasions influence climate change?
6. Conclusion
Chapter 26. Biological diversity and climate change
1. Introduction
2. A quick history of biodiversity impact assessments
3. Observed changes in biodiversity
4. Future changes in biodiversity
5. IPCC's reason for concern diagram
6. Are the Paris Accords effective to protect biodiversity?
7. Conclusions
Chapter 27. The role of forests in the carbon cycle and in climate change
1. Introduction
2. Climate change
3. Disturbance
4. Climate change—disturbance interaction
5. Reforestation/afforestation, restoration, and forest management
6. Conclusion
IV. Other possible contributing factors to climate change
Chapter 28. The variation of the Earth's movements (orbital, tilt, and precession) and climate change
1. Introduction
2. Astronomical parameters
3. Orbital-induced climate change
4. Conclusion
Chapter 29. The role of volcanic activity in climate and global changes
1. Introduction
2. Aerosol loading, spatial distribution, and radiative effect
3. Volcanoes and climate
4. Summary
Chapter 30. Atmospheric aerosols and their role in climate change
1. Introduction
2. The life cycle of tropospheric aerosols
3. The spatial distribution of tropospheric aerosols
4. Aerosol–radiation interactions
5. Aerosol–cloud interactions
6. The net radiative forcing of aerosols
7. The role of aerosols in climate feedback mechanisms
8. The role of aerosols in potential climate engineering schemes
Chapter 31. Climate change and agriculture
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Agriculture and climate change
3. Sources of emissions from agriculture
4. Accelerated soil erosion
5. Mitigation potential of agriculture
6. Conclusions
Chapter 32. Changes in the Sun's radiation: the role of widespread surface solar radiation trends in climate change: dimming and brightening
1. Introduction—solar radiation basics
2. Solar radiation above the atmosphere
3. Bottom of the atmosphere radiation
4. Trends in surface solar radiation, or global dimming and brightening
5. The causes of dimming and brightening
6. Influence of solar radiation changes (global dimming and brightening) on climate
7. Conclusions
Chapter 33. Space weather and cosmic ray effects
1. Introduction and modern climate change models
2. Solar activity, cosmic rays, cloudiness, and climate change
3. The influence on the Earth's climate of the solar system moving around the galactic center and crossing galaxy arms
4. The influence of molecular-dust galactic clouds on the Earth's climate
5. The influence of interplanetary dust sources on the Earth's climate
6. Influence of planetary dust sources (natural and anthropogenic) on the Earth's climate
7. Cosmic rays/space factors and global warming
8. The influence of asteroids and great meteorites impacts on the Earth's climate
9. The influence of nearby supernova on the Earth's climate
10. Discussion and conclusions
V. Societal aspects of global change
Chapter 34. Engineering aspects of climate change
1. Introduction
2. The role of the engineer
3. Global greenhouse gases
4. Engineering aspects of the “spheres”
5. Engineering and the carbon cycle
6. Nutrient engineering
7. Albedo engineering
8. Engineering-based decision-making
Chapter 35. Societal adaptation to climate change
1. Introduction
2. Risk and vulnerability
3. Disease occurrence and transmission
4. Ocean and large-scale surface water changes
5. Resilience
6. Extreme events
7. Food and water supply
8. Conclusions
Index

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

Health

Climate Change

Observed Impacts on Planet Earth

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Trevor Letcher