Geography
Climate Change Geography
Climate change geography examines the spatial patterns and impacts of climate change on the Earth's physical and human systems. It encompasses the study of climate variability, global warming, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and their geographical distribution. This field also investigates the interactions between human activities and the environment, and the resulting geographical disparities in vulnerability and adaptation strategies.
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11 Key excerpts on "Climate Change Geography"
eBook - PDF- John A Agnew, David N Livingstone, John A Agnew, David N Livingstone, SAGE Publications Ltd(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY IN ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE TODAY Geographers are deeply involved in contem-porary research on climate change and its impacts. As one high-profile example, William Easterling, professor of geography at Penn State was a coordinating lead author on the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report. The contributions of geographers span the disci-pline from human to physical geography. There is not space to recount all of the recent contributions of geographers to climate change research. So, in view of space limita-tions, a few examples will be provided from physical geography of only those studies directly relevant to understanding the climate system and from human geography a few examples of work towards understanding the human dimension of climate change will be cited. Finally, some potential priority areas of integrated geographical research on climate change will be outlined (Liverman, in press). Physical geographers have contributed to the collation and analysis of large climatic and hydrological databases of instrumental observation to produce regional to global syntheses of current conditions and trajecto-ries in climate or hydrology over recent dec-ades. One notable pioneering effort was the compilation of global temperature and pre-cipitation data sets by Legates and Willmott (1990a, 1990b). Efforts by geographers to collect and assess such data at global to con-tinental scales continues, recent work by Rawlins et al. (2006) and Smith et al. (2005, 2007) provide examples of compiling and using such data sets to detect often subtle, but significant recent changes in the hydrocli-matic system of northern Eurasia. Indeed, the polar regions are anticipated to be extremely sensitive to climatic changes associated with global warming and recent climatic change at high latitudes has been the focus of research by a number of geographers working on con-temporary climate dynamics (e.g. Bromwhich et al. 2007; Rogers et al. 2004).
eBook - PDF- Joseph P. Stoltman(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
It has been suggested that we need some- thing akin to the National Centers for Disease Control to address the health of the planet (Kieffer, 2009), perhaps in an effort to emphasize the increasing number of planetary symptoms associated with ongoing global change and a system that is now functioning differently from just a few decades ago. Geographers and other scientists know that the plane- tary system is adjusting and changing in new and unique ways. Are there good ideas from within the realm of geo- graphic thought that can be of assistance as we navigate an uncertain future? This chapter discusses the theory, obser- vations, and projections about multiple changes to Earth's conditions and processes, and the consequences of these changes. The major focus on climate change in the past 2 decades has provided the impetus for geographers and other scientists to examine and theorize regarding other types of change. The climate change studies served some- what as a catalyst for the scholarly community to measure and conceptualize the ongoing experiment that humans are conducting with their planetary home. Geography has a long history of focus on human- environment relations, or nature-society linkages (Turner, 2002). The emphasis of this chapter is on seven ideas: complexity, the importance of the local, synthesis, sustain- ability science, vulnerability science, land change science, and geographic information science (GIScience), as repre- sented by geographers. These ideas help characterize ongoing changes and provide perspectives that can be used to help people better manage their actions and effects on the planet as societies move further into what E. O. Wilson (2002) described as the developing bottleneck of over- population and the wasteful practice of overconsumption. Wilson was addressing a narrowing gap between available planetary resources and rapidly increasing human demands on those resources.
eBook - PDFSouthern African Geomorphology
Recent Trends and New Directions
- Holmes, Peter, Meadows, Michael(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- UJ Press(Publisher)
Landscapes and Environmental Change 12 331 1. Geomorphology and change: is there a climatic geomorphology? The concept of change through time is fundamental to an understanding of landscapes and the processes that form them. Indeed, landforms – both individually and in groups – are manifestations of the complex set of relationships between underlying geological structure and a range of temporally variable environmental processes. Thus, geomorphology is more than the simple description of contemporary landscapes and processes; as a science it must seek explanations as to how changing environmental conditions have influenced processes over time and left their imprint on the landscape. This chapter explores the evidence for such changes, the legacy of geologically recent climate changes on the southern African landscape and the relevance of this to an understanding of how geomorphology may respond to future environmental changes, more especially those invoked through human activity. Without doubt, the answer to questions as to how landscapes will adjust to climate changes of the future lies in a more thorough understanding of the past, and southern Africa is no exception. As noted by Slaymaker et al. (2009:4): “Climate’s role in landscape change has long been of interest in geomorphology” and climate change is arguably the most important element of environmental dynamics in the geomorphological context. Of course, landforms are products of a wide range of factors, including underlying geological composition and structure, tectonics, time and human activity. Climate influences a wide range of geomorphological processes and it is possible – certainly at the global scale – to identify broad sets of landscape features that are, to a greater or lesser degree, determined by climate. The concept of climatic geomorphology has a rich history.
eBook - PDF- Mark Jones, David Lambert(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
The UK: Climate and weather patterns; types of landscapes Fieldwork: Observe and record local landscapes and weather Fieldwork: Observation of what is around you Fieldwork: Observe, map, measure, analyse, interpret and evaluate landscapes/surface processes. Ecosystems as the balance and interconnections between climate, soil, water, plants and animals Fragile landscapes and environments e.g. deserts, polar regions, mountains and reefs, are vulnerable to change, especially through human interventions and choices Human life has rapidly modified Earth’s systems and surface resulting in climate change, ocean pollution, land degradation and flood risk. Use and sustainability of renewable and non-renewable resources. Geohazards are managed by assessing risk perception, monitoring events and evaluating mitigation strategies. Geography programme of study Figure 5.1 Continued. Physical geography 81 especially in lower secondary school, due to students’ level of intellectual capacity and lack of time to explore the concepts in any depth. Before students are able to make considered arguments and decisions about complex socio-scientific issues that are well supported, qualified and justified, they need to develop a content and conceptual knowledge base that is significant in terms of breadth, depth and organi- sation (Sadler and Fowler, 2006). Setting physical geography in an issues-based context (which may be known to students from popular information sources) is one thing, but it is quite another to teach deep understanding of the ‘science’ context by which informed decisions about the issue can be made (Reinfried et al., 2012).
eBook - PDF- Mateo Gutierrez(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
778 GEOMORPHOLOGY 19.3.1 Consequences of climate change The data available show that climate change, primarily tem- perature change, affects physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. Natural systems can be especially vulnerable to climate change because of their limited capac- ity for adaptation; other systems may undergo significant and irreversible damage. While some species may increase their population through climate change, others face the risk of extinction, particularly vulnerable species (Thomas et al., 2004). Based on assumptions of average warming for 2050, these authors predict that 15–37% of species will be affected by the danger of extinction. Others ask: What will humans do when this shift occurs? It is evident that the geo- graphical extent of the damage or losses and the number of affected systems will increase with the magnitude and speed of climate change. Sensitivity, capacity to adapt, and vul- nerability to climate change all play a role (McCarthy et al., 2001). From this we can infer that we are facing a plan- etary environmental crisis in which we can consider climate change to be the fever of a sick planet (Delibes and Delibes de Castro, 2005). As a result of these changes, geomorphic processes and some landforms will change, as shown in Table 19.2 (Goudie, 2004i). As Goudie indicates, our knowledge of the relationship between geomorphic processes and climatic conditions leads us to the conclusion that some geomorphic environments will respond substantially and all of them will have multiple consequences on human occupation of these environments. 19.3.2 Prediction of climate change Climate change prediction is based on knowledge of cli- mate change in the recent geologic past and modification of parameters related to the sub-actual climate (Fig. 19.7).
eBook - ePub- Jan Alber(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter(Publisher)
Scenarios of Human-Induced Climate and Environmental Changes at Different Spatial and Temporal Scales
Wolfgang Römer1 Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of different reaction paths of environmental systems on human induced climate change in different climatic zones. Climate change influences several environmental systems on earth, encompassing the dynamics of the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, and their associated subsystems. The interaction of the processes in different environments depends on the state of the natural process-response system. However, natural process-response systems in nearly all parts of the world have been changed to various degrees by agriculture, mining, industry, and the associated infrastructure. The superimposition of climate change and human interference in natural process-response systems in different climatic zones results in a spatially and temporally non-uniform response of the process dynamics with different reaction and relaxation patterns at various spatial and temporal scales. On a global scale, human-induced climate warming resulted in an increase of temperature of about 1 °C in the last 100 years. However, the increase in temperature has not been uniform.Environmental effects of climate warming vary in individual regions as a function of the process realms and the temporal and spatial scales considered. The rate of temperature increase in arctic regions is higher than in mid-latitude, sub-tropical, and tropical climate zones and appears to have influenced the processes in the biosphere, pedosphere, and the rate of surface denudation processes. Reduced amounts in rainfall are predicted for subtropical areas whereas some mid-latitude regions are likely to experience an increase in rainfall. This tendency results in an increasing contrast between regions with high and low rainfall amounts as well as in changes of the seasonal distribution of rainfalls. These changes may strongly influence the fluvial system and the hydrologic balance. Although, sea-level change threatens coastal areas globally, the sensitivity to sea-level rise and climate warming of coastal areas depends on a complex set of factors. The response on an increasing sea-level varies with coastal type, the intensity of human interference in the coastal environment, and the climate setting.
eBook - PDFTourism and the Implications of Climate Change
Issues and Actions
- Christian Schott(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Emerald Group Publishing Limited(Publisher)
INTRODUCTION Climate change is probably one, if not the most serious problem that mankind faces. The United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, in his opening remarks to the UN Climate Change Summit Plenary (September 2009) stated that ‘‘climate change is the pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the 21 st century’’. It is also an extraordinarily difficult issue due to the complex network of anthropogenic drivers, impacts of and responses to climate change, and their linkages. To make the problem more complicated, political actions addressing climate change have to take other closely related challenges in the socioeconomic domain into consideration, such as sustainable development and equity issues. The term climate change in this chapter refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This usage differs from that used in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. Once the problem and the consequences of climate change are recognized different, parallel lines of action can be followed in response to it. Firstly, one should act directly on the causes of climate change. As the warming of the climate system is very likely caused by the steady increase of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) since the beginning of the industrial era, mitigation strategies must be pursued to aim at reducing GHG emissions and expanding and enhancing carbon sinks.
eBook - PDFPlanetary Health
Safeguarding Human Health and the Environment in the Anthropocene
- Andy Haines, Howard Frumkin(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
2 Climate Change Environmental changes, and the driving forces that dominate the Anthropocene outlined in Chapter 1, can have wide-ranging and pervasive effects on health through a range of direct and indirect pathways. One of the best recognized of these pathways is climate change – a relatively anodyne term that, thanks to growing awareness and alarm in recent years, is often now replaced by ‘global heating’, the ‘climate crisis’, or even the ‘climate emergency’. The signature feature of climate change is the increase in global mean temperature. This is driven principally by the emission of greenhouse gases and other contaminants that alter the atmosphere and therefore the planet’s energy balance, increasing the solar energy the Earth’s atmosphere retains. The principal greenhouse gas (GHG) is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a product of fossil fuel combustion and other sources; other GHGs include methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, and fluorinated gases. Black carbon, another product of combustion, also warms the Earth by absorbing solar energy, by reducing the albedo (or reflectivity) of light surfaces, and through complex interactions with clouds. These climate pollutants remain in the atmosphere for highly variable periods of time – days to weeks for black carbon, about 12 years for methane and more than 100 years for CO 2 (with perhaps 15–20% remaining in the atmosphere for 1000 years or more). But a hotter Earth is not the only important feature of climate change. In many mid-latitude and sub-tropical dry regions, precipitation will decrease, whereas in many mid-latitude wet regions, precipitation is projected to increase, over coming decades. Extreme precipitation events over most of the mid-latitude land masses and over wet tropical regions will very likely become more intense and more frequent by the end of this century, as global mean surface temperature increases. Precipitation variability is increasing (1) (giving rise to yet another term, ‘climate chaos’).
eBook - PDFEssentials of Meteorology
An Invitation to the Atmosphere
- C. Donald Ahrens, Robert Henson(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
EARTH’S CHANGING CLIMATE EARTH’S CHANGING CLIMATE 381 381 381 Earth’s Changing Climate Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300 382 382 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 13 T he opening passage of this chapter describes how our third American president, Thomas Jefferson, perceived the evolution of climate in the state of Virginia and in his own backyard. Some changes in cli- mate are due to natural processes, whereas others are related to human activity. One of the great environ- mental concerns of our time is the climate change now unfolding as a result of greenhouse gases being added to our atmosphere. Glaciers are melting, sea level is rising, precipitation is becoming more intense in many areas, and global temperature is increasing each decade. Extensive research has shown that the primary cause of these changes over the last few decades is human (anthropogenic) activity—the burning of fossil fuels. We know that climate has changed in the past, and nothing suggests that it will not continue to change, both globally and locally. As the urban environment grows, its climate differs from that of the region around it. Some- times the difference is striking, as when city nights are warmer than the nights of the outlying rural areas. Other times, the difference is subtle, as when a layer of smoke and haze covers a city. Climate variations such as a persis- tent drought or a delay in the annual monsoon rains can adversely affect the lives of millions. Even small changes can be problematic when averaged over many years, as when grasslands once used for grazing gradually become uninhabited deserts. In this chapter, we will first look at the evidence for climate change in the past; then we will investigate the causes of climate change from both natural processes and human activity.
- C. Donald Ahrens, Robert Henson(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
As the urban environment grows, its climate differs from that of the region around it (see ● Fig. 18.1). Sometimes the dif- ference is striking, as when city nights are warmer than the nights of the outlying rural areas. Other times, the difference is subtle, as when a layer of smoke and haze covers a city. Climate variations such as a persistent drought or a delay in the annual monsoon rains can adversely affect the lives of millions. Even small changes can be problematic when averaged over many years, as when grasslands once used for grazing gradually become uninhabited deserts. In this chapter, we will first look at the evidence for cli- mate change in the past; then we will investigate the causes of climate change from both natural processes and human activity. 18.1 Reconstructing Past Climates LO1 A mere 18,000 years ago, Earth was in the grip of a cold spell, with alpine glaciers extending their icy fingers down river valleys and huge ice sheets (continental glaciers) covering vast areas of North America and Europe (see ● Fig. 18.2). The ice at that time measured several kilometers thick and extended as far south as New York and the Ohio River Valley. The glaciers advanced and retreated more than 20 times during the last 2.5 million years. In the warmer periods between glacier advances, aver- age global temperatures were similar to those at present, even slightly higher in some cases. The advance and retreat of gla- ciers are closely related to variations in how Earth orbits the sun. Research in this area suggests we are likely thousands of years away from the next return of the glaciers. Presently, glaciers cover less than 10 percent of Earth’s land surface. The total volume of ice over the face of Earth amounts to about 30 million cubic kilometers. Most of this ice is in the Green- land and Antarctic ice sheets, and its accumulation over time has allowed scientists to measure past climatic changes.
eBook - PDFClimate and Human Migration
Past Experiences, Future Challenges
- Robert A. McLeman(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Humans cannot safely live in such environments for any extended amount of time without implementing a significant amount of technology to overcome our biological limits. This is the first and most obvious way that climate has influenced human population movements, by delineating the human habitat – the regions of the world to which it is biologically safe to migrate and settle. The distribution and density of human settlements within our climatologically defined habitat is neither uniform nor random. Climate as it is experienced on the ground varies spatially according to latitude, longitude, elevation, proximity to large bodies of water, and other physical factors. Interactions between climate and other ele- ments of the natural environment shape the availability and distribution of resources 1 It seems to be common that countries that use the word democratic in their official name are not democratic at all. 4 An Introduction and ecosystem services critical for human survival and well-being. Even over very short distances climatic conditions exhibit considerable variability. In northern tem- perate regions, for example, the south side of a hill may experience very different temperature regimes and therefore support different vegetation, animal species, soil conditions, and water availability than the north side of the same hill (Figure 1.1). These regional and local variations in climatic conditions interact with other eco- logical processes to render certain locations more desirable than others for human settlements. The Earth’s climate is continually changing over long periods of time because of natural processes, from ice age to warm period and back again to ice age. Climate is also inherently variable over short periods of time, from season to season and from one year to the next, obliging human populations to adapt to variations and extremes in temperature and precipitation.
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
