Salty Topics: Sea level rise in the southeastern US: What have we seen and what do we expect?

Join us for the kick-off of our all new Marine Science Speaker series at Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center. The series will be held on the 1st Thursday of October, November, and December 2011.

Professor Mitchum has been a faculty member in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida since. His interest in sea level rise began in the mid-1980's, and he remains especially interested in the study of 20th century sea level rise. Professor Mitchum's research focuses on the use of satellite and in situ data to study sea level variations and climate change.

For more information please contact Libby Carnahan at (727) 453-6522

If the Climate is Warming – Why is it So Cold?

Mary Campbell, Extension Director and Urban Sustainability Agent

A question that is often asked – “Why do we have record setting cold weather in the middle of global warming? “ The term “global warming” is often confusing and that is why the term “climate change” is beginning to be used more frequently. The term global warming refers to the specific increase in global temperatures caused by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Globally, surface air temperatures increased by approximately 1oF during the 20th century. Some regions of the world have experienced much greater warming; Alaska and the Antarctic Peninsula, for example, have warmed by approximately 4oF over the same time period. Other regions of the world, such as the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and the interior of Antarctica, have not experienced warming. Very small changes in temperature can have big impacts on sensitive ecosystems.

Climate Change refers to changes in the climate over decades – not just seasonal changes or local weather patterns. So the local conditions at any particular time are really weather patterns and should not be confused with climate change or global warming. There may be a wetter spring or a warmer or cooler winter one year, but climate change refers to sustained changes taking place over very long periods. Some of the sustained changes to the environment that scientists are seeing are: greater frequency of droughts and flood; melting of polar ice caps and sea level rise due to warmer ocean temperatures; changes in plants and wildlife migration patterns; and pest and disease spread.

The frequency of more severe weather patterns supports what scientists predicted as one of the impacts of climate change. Due to warmer air temperatures holding larger amounts of water vapor – it can create droughts in some areas and then floods in other areas – or more snow and sleet. Some of the records for severe weather – hottest days on record, major floods, sustained droughts - have been observed in the past decade. The observed warming over the 20th century was accompanied by a 10% increase in precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere and an increase in global sea-level of 4-8 inches.

So the next time the weatherman reports unusually cold weather – we may want to think about that. On the short term it is simply local weather conditions, but added to the long-term data that scientists study to understand overall climate, it will be another piece in the puzzle.

Please join me for a Webinar on the Basics of Climate Change to hear about why scientists are concerned and some of the common myths

References:

Extreme Events - US Environmental Protection Agency
Science FAQs - Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Florida Climate Change Action Plans

Mary Campbell, Extension Director and Urban Sustainability Agent

Many communities in Florida have already taken the positive step of developing actions plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions. As we know, these greenhouse gases that come from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy are impacting our environment by changing our atmosphere, which is in turn changing our climate. Scientists now agree with a 90% certainty that these human processes are a contributor to the environmental changes we are now experiencing (warmer atmospheric and ocean temperatures, changes in rainfall, sea level rise, movement of pests and diseases).

Climate Change Action plans usually consist of the following:

1. Calculating the emissions of greenhouse gases (baseline) for a business or operation.
2. Setting a target for reduction of gases.
3. Developing a plan for how that target will be reached.
4. Tracking and monitoring the success of the program.

Here are a few of the action plans that will help Florida reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

State of Florida Energy and Climate Change Action Plan

Florida COOL CITIES Programs

Orange County Climate Change Plan

City of Miami Climate Action Plan

Join us for an online Climate Change Webinar Tuesday, November 17

The Basics of Climate Change

We can all do our part through energy conservation, recycling and other green practices:

Take the Pledge!

Vote Earth! Your Light Switch is Your Vote

On March 28th at 8:30pm local time the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge and Sydney's Opera House---just to name a few iconic landmarks---will be turning off their lights for “Earth Hour” to shine a spotlight on climate change. So far 2,140 cities, towns and municipalities in 82 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH as part of the world's first global election between Earth and global warming. To add your destination to the list of communities responding to this challenge, visit http://www.earthhour.org/.

Hurricanes and Climate Change

Mary Campbell, Pinellas County Extension Director, Urban Sustainability Agent

Hurricanes are on everyone’s minds in Florida right now. Since 1995, Florida has experienced some of the most active and intense hurricanes. There are reports that indicate climate change or global warming may play a role in the number and strength of hurricanes. Meteorologists use the term "tropical cyclone" for a closed atmospheric circulation that forms over a tropical or subtropical ocean. Once maximum sustained wind speed exceeds 74 miles per hour these storms are called hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, and cyclones elsewhere. Let’s review what we know to date about the link between storms and climate change.

Sea level is rising and will continue to rise as oceans warm and glaciers melt. Rising sea level means higher storm surges, even from relatively minor storms, which increases coastal flooding and subsequent storm damage.

With rapid population growth in coastal regions placing many more people and structures in the path of these tropical cyclones, there is a much greater risk of casualties, property damage, and financial hardship when these storms make landfall.

Two factors that contribute to more intense tropical cyclones -- ocean heat content and water vapor -- have both increased over the past several decades. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the clearing of forests have very likely elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere which contributes to global warming and these two factors.

The link between stronger hurricanes and global warming is a theory and is not a conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It is reasonable to theorize that some human contribution is responsible for the increase in strong hurricanes in the Atlantic since 1970, since this increase does correlate so well with the observed increase in sea surface temperatures. However, it is difficult to make a strong statement saying that global warming is responsible for stronger hurricanes, due to the high natural variability of these storms and the poor observational record.

There are no definite conclusions on the link between storms and climate change. Climate change is an evolving theory that will be the focus of scientists for many years to come. Preparation for storms is an important process for everyone living in Florida.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.ipcc.ch/
Hurricane Season: Be Prepared http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/hurricanes.shtml

Climate Change Basics

by Mary Campbell, Pinellas County Extension Director, Urban Sustainability

Climate change and global warming are both used as terms to describe the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on our environment. They are both used to describe the environmental changes due to the build up of gasses that trap heat and warm the Earth. These gases are primarily from the burning of fossil fuels that give off carbon dioxide and other gases. Climate change has been described as both a natural and unnatural process. There is the natural variation in the Earth’s global or regional climates over time. Natural global climate change over time has occurred in response to fluctuations in the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth, changing ocean currents, formation or loss of ice sheets and many other causes.

Global warming refers to an increase in the average global temperature of the entire Earth’s atmosphere. Regional and seasonal variations can occur within that average and so we may experience cooling in local areas. Scientists now think that it is very likely (90% probability) that humans are contributing to global warming. Some of the impacts of global warming include sea level rise, droughts, floods and more severe weather events. As the science on climate change gets more accurate, we will be able to better predict the impacts and use technology to reduce those impacts.

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in the global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.” Fourth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.ipcc.ch/