Global warming is the gradual increase in the Earth's temperatures.
One of the main causes of Global Warming is the Greenhouse effect.
The Greenhouse effect is where greenhouse gasses which have been
released into the Earth's atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide)
absorb the heat from the sun and reflect it onto the Earth. This causes the heating of the Earth.
When energy from the sun first reaches us, it does so mainly as light. But when that same energy leaves the Earth, it does so as infrared radiation, which we experience as heat. Greenhouse gases reflect infrared radiation, so some of the heat leaving the Earth bounces off the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and comes back to the Earth's surface.
The exponential increase in global temperatures causes seawater to expand and ice to melt.
The increase in water due to this effect takes up space in the ocean basin thus causing sea levels to rise.
Scientists have determined sea levels have been rising at least 0.04-0.1 inches per year.
According to Climate.gov: More than 90 percent of the warming that has happened on Earth over the past 50 years has occurred in the ocean. Recent studies estimate that warming of the upper oceans accounts for about 63 percent of the total increase in the amount of stored heat in the climate system from 1971 to 2010, and warming from 700 meters down to the ocean floor adds about another 30 percent. In addition, from 1993–2020 heat-gain rates were 0.37–0.41 Watts per square meter for depths from 0–700 meters (down to 0.4 miles).
Warmer temperatures increase evaporation thus making the land drier.
Additionally, a warmer climate also leads to earlier snowmelt resulting in soils to be drier longer.
Dry soils become more susceptible to fire.
As a reference point, there were 58,083 wildfires in 2018 while there were 50,477 in 2019.
Bark Beetles, whose larval production thrives the most during warmer temperatures, has affected more than 5 million hectares of land in the Western US between 1997 and 2010.
The main human cause of Climate Change is green house emission.
The three largest Greenhouse emission sectors are electrical, industrial, and commercial.
Another major human cause of global warming is deforestation.
Millions of acres of forest are cleared annually to produce lumber and paper.
Forests store enormous amounts of carbon, essentially removing it from the air and preventing it from being absorbed into the atmosphere.
10 million acres of forest burned down in 2017.
Lastly, another major cause of Global warming is livestock production which produces nitrous oxide gas and methane.
Our climate has changed throughout history. In the last 650,000 years, there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat.
Earth cycles called Milankovitch cycles take place over periods of 70,000 years.
Since the mid-20th century the warming trend has preceded at an unprecedented rate.
The past two decades have been the hottest on record.
From the year 2000, the sea levels have risen 3.2 centimeters and from 1980 to 2008,
the Arctic Sea ice levels decreased by 40%. Press the link to see other effects of Climate Change
Various climatologists and scientists over the years have used a combination of terrestrial photogrammetric maps, satellite images, and aerial photographs,
to determine the ice coverage of Kibo, the highest crater on Kilimanjaro.
From 1912-2006, Kibo has lost 85% of its ice coverage which is empirical evidence for the drastic changes in the climate.
Global Warming. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/GlobalWarming
US Department of Commerce, N. O. (2009, June 03). How is sea level rise related to climate change? Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevelclimate.html
Worland, J. (2015, July 15). Climate Change Wildfires: How Global Warming Affects Wildfires. Retrieved from https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/
List of 10 Human Causes of Global Warming for 2020. (2020, September 10). Retrieved from https://www.reusethisbag.com/articles/10-human-causes-of-global-warming