OCEAN AND COASTAL PROCESSES (Mc Connell site)

Oceanic Circulation

•   Surface ocean currents are driven by____________and involve only ______% of ocean waters.

 
•   Oceanic circulation patterns __________________ systems known as _______________________________.

 
•   Fast-flowing western boundary currents_______________ from the  relatively warm tropics to ___________high latitudes

 
•   "The Coriolis Effect is the name of the apparent deflection of ocean  currents or winds to the right of their course in the Northern  Hemisphere and to the left of their course in the Southern Hemisphere".

 
•   The global conveyor belt moves  ________________from  the _________ to the poles in surface waters and transports_________ _________   to warmer location by _____________ ocean circulation .

 
•   "The sinking of this cold, dense water in the North Atlantic is a key step in the global conveyor belt. This system moves energy from the tropics to the poles and back again in, and serves to moderate Earth's climate".

 

GREENHOUSE GASES:

•   CO2; CH4; Halocarbons (HFCs&CFC'S) & N2O
•   their warming potential
•   anthropogenic
•   Most emissions from ____________________
•   US produces _____ global emissions
•   Trend: to _____ by 2030; delayed to 2100 if emissions ______.
•   CO2: year 1800 = ______ppm; year 2000 = _____ ppm

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

•   Earth warming:__________________________
•   Precipitation:__________________
•   Average sea level raise:__________
•   Temperatures can change fast! (________________________)
•   Impact on humans ____________________________
•   What is the threshold rate for catastrophic consequences?

A GREENHOUSE WORLD

  Model predictions: global average temperature increase of______ degrees C ( ________ degrees F).

  Unequal warming:______________________________________

  Are models reliable?__________ How do we know?__________ ______________________________________________________

  Changes:______________________________________________

  World summits:

    Developed nations failed cut back greenhouse gases

    Kyoto Protocol:  reduction 6 to 8% below 1990's levels by 2020. Congress did not ratify it.        Why?

Does the Bush administration recognize the threat of global warmning?
 
 
 

What is the Bush administration position on the Kyoto Protocol?
 
 
 

How does it justify its position?
 
 

What is the help of this position to the American  people in the short term?
 
 
 
 

What is its help to the American people in the long term?
 
 
 
 

Remedy?: