N o r way and global wa r m i n g

Transcription

1 s Cse Study N o r wy nd glol w r m i n g The world is getting wrmer nd is wrming most rpidly in high ltitudes in the northern hemisphere. This ould hve signifint effets in Norwy. The grph shows how the ve rge world temper t u re hs risen sine re o rds were first kept in The ove r l l rise seems smll, ut the top ten hottest yers hve ll o u r red sine 1980, nd the 1990s ws the hottest dede eve r. The inrese of ertin gses in the t m o s p h e re, -1.0 prtiulrly ron d i o x i d e, methne, CFCs nd nitro u s oxide, use the rising temper t u res. Th e y re lled greenhouse gses s they llow het from the sun to reh the erth, ut p revent het rdited from the erth fro m pssing into the tmosphere. Melting the Arti ie The Arti is wrming up fster thn other prts of the erth. This is the result of hnges in the ledo of its surfe. Aledo refers to the proportion of het whih is refleted k into the tmosphere. For light surfes suh s snow, the ledo is out 80%. Wrming hs used ie nd snow to melt over lrge res, exposing drke r surfes, suh s wter nd rok. Th e s e The verge rising world temperture h ve n ledo of out 20% nd sor muh more het from the sun. Consequently A rti res re wrming up more quikly. It is estimted tht sine 1960 there hs een 20% derese in snow over nd 40% thinning of the Arti ie p. Polr ers re suffering The polr er is eoming n endngered speies. It spends most of its life on se ie, where its min soure of food is sels the ringed sel nd the lrge erded sel. A mjor redution in the extent of the ie would threten the survivl of the polr e r, whih would lose its hitt nd, possily, its min food supply. Polr ers rom the ie in serh of food

2 s Cse Study The effets of wrming on lnd Wrming will hve profound impt on the nture nd distriution of vegettion, nd hnges in preipittion will use prolems. e n t u r y. These hnges hve een used y less severe winters, nd the erlier nd more omplete snowmelt in spring nd erly summer. This rings good nd d news. The tundr in summer Permfrost Permfrost is ground tht is permnently frozen. It underlies virtully ll the lnd in the Arti, suh s Svlrd nd muh of the higher lnd south of the Arti Cirle. Higher tempertures will melt muh of the ie in the ground nd use numer of prolems. n Dringe is more diffiult euse more wter lies on or ner the surfe. n There is dnger of slumping nd mudflows. n Exposed ground releses ron dioxide nd methne to the tmosphere. n Buildings with foundtions in the permfrost eome unstle, for exmple in Svlrd, where ol is mined. n Rods my ukle nd need ostly replement. Coniferous forest Aout qurter of the surfe re of Norwy is forested, minly y onifers suh s pine nd sprue. Reserh indites tht trees re growing fster nd hve spred upslope y metres in the lst n Slow-growing wood is of higher qulity. n Higher tempertures ring the dnger of inset dmge nd forest fires. n Some plnts nd smll nimls nnot dpt quikly enough to the hnges nd ould die out. Rin nd snow Wrm ir holds more moisture thn old ir, so glol wrming will inre s e p reipittion. The ve rge nnul preipittion is expeted to inrese y 10% in western Norwy. It will lso e more likely to rin thn snow, t lest on lower lnd. It should eome esier to keep rods open unless floods our. When it does snow, however, it my e hevy. On 29th April 1999, the snow rehed n ll-time high of 2.4 metres in Tromsø, using gret onern out ro o f s ollpsing due to hevy lods of snow, nd the dnger of vlnhes destroying homes nd killing people. The unertinty out snowfll worries the tourist industry euse skiing onditions my e diffiult in some yers. Norwegin woodlnd in winter Crossountry skiing through the trees

3 Cse Study s Troules hed? The min effets of glol wrming in Norwy my well e felt through the influene on ir pressure nd oen urrents. Se levels Se levels re rising s higher tempertures not only melt the ie ner the poles, ut lso use se wter to expnd. The rise is not spetulr. Aout metre is forest for this entury. Norwegins do not express onern s their ostline is, for the most prt, steeply sloping. However, there re dngers. Some irds, suh s the Arti tern, nest on open ehes nd would e ffeted y slight rise in se level. It ould e more serious for low-lying ostl res, suh s lluvil fns ner the mouths of fjords nd the flt lowlnds in J e ren, south of Stvnger. The onset of glol wrming hs tended to use more e x t reme wether events. Winter storms with s t rong winds ompnying high tides ould w rek hvo on ostl ommunities, whih tend to e densely populted. Homes, quy s, ots, ferry lndings, ostl rods nd eve n some frmlnd ould e under thret. Along the ost there is gret del of eonomi tivity relted to oil nd gs, fishing nd fish frming. Fish frms re prtiulrly vulnerle to storm surges euse the storms re likely to dmge instlltions nd llow slmon nd trout to e s p e. nd hevy nd sinks eneth the wrm North Atlnti Drift to flow t depth. As result of glol wrming, lrge res of ie hve filed to form off the est ost of Greenlnd in five of the lst seven winters. The old wter is less dense nd the s o u t h w rd flow is diminished. If this ontinues, the flow of wrm wter will e wekened nd Norwy will eome muh ooler. If this hppened there is little dout tht most of the popultion of northern Norwy would hoose to move wy from the re. Oen urrents in the North Atlnti N G R E E N L A N D Cold wter sinks to deep oen Cold wter sinks Ie formed G of R E E N L A N GREENLAND D SEA fresh wter. C Se U R R E N T is old, slty nd dense I C E L A N D N O RWEGIAN SEA A low-lying town on the ost of Norwy Could it eome older? Norwy is kept t lest 5ºC wrmer thn it would otherwise e y the North Atlnti Drift, urrent originting in the tropis. To lne the wrm wter flowing into the Arti, old urrents flow south long the ost of Greenlnd. This urrent is very slty euse its fresh wter hs een removed to form ie. The old, slty wter is dense Wrm wter from the tropis ATLANTIC OCEAN old urrent wrm urrent extent of Arti ie Fe km

4 s d Cse Study N o r wy nd glol w r m i n g 1 2 Study the grph showing the inrese in glol temperture. Wht is the n devition from verge in 1860? n devition from verge in 2000? n totl rise in temperture etween the two dtes? How do tempertures ompre with the verge n etween 1860 nd 1940? n etween 1940 nd 1980? n fter 1980? Explin wht is ment y the greenhouse effet. Drw tle s indited elow. 3 d Wht does this food hin show? The polr od n only live in wter elow 1ºC. Wht might e the effet on the food hin if the wter eme wrmer? Desrie the wy in whih the Plnkton mximum extent of ie in 1966 differed from Use the mp nd the food hin to explin why the survivl of the polr er is thretened. The mximum extent of Arti ie in 1966 nd 1996 A simple Arti food hin Polr er Sel Polr od N OVAYA ZEMLYA Enter the nmes of the four greenhouse gses. S VA L B A R D B A R E N T S S E A From the following list show the soure(s) of eh gs: n power sttions, hemil fertilizer, erosols, r exhusts, wste tips, forest fires, rie fields. N O RW E G I A N S E A Greenhouse gs Soure of gs

5 s e Cse Study The effets of wrming on lnd 1 Explin the term permfrost. How do your grphs onfirm your nswers to Question 2? 2 Desrie the prolems whih my our when permfrost melts. Whih do you think is the most serious prolem? Give resons for your hoie. Wht do you think will e the effet on rivers? The digrm elow shows how the tree line rets to rising tempertures. In wht wys re the res of oniferous trees extending? The effet of rising temperture on the tree line New tree line Old tree line 4 d e Wht is ment y sturted ir? Wht hppens if sturted ir is ooled? How mny grms of wter re held y kilogrm of sturted ir t: 0ºC, 5ºC, 20ºC, 25ºC? How mny grms of wter vpour would ondense to wter droplets if the temperture fell from: 5ºC to 0ºC, 25ºC to 20ºC? How does your nswer to Question 4d help to explin why glol wrming my led to inresed preipittion in western Norwy? N Tundr 3 Coniferous forest This tle elow shows the re of eh iome north of the Arti Cirle in 1000km 2 t present nd in the foreseele future. (A iome is mjor eosystem.) S Reltionship etween temperture nd rinfll S A T U R A T E D Level of sturtion Drw divided r grphs to show the re of eh iome t present nd s estimted for the future. Biome Present Future Ie-overed lnd Tundr Forest/tundr Coniferous forest Other U N S A T U R A T E D Temperture (ºC)

6 Cse Study 1 s f Troules hed? On the outline drwing, shde nd lel: the steep vlley sides, the fjord nd the lnd whih might e ffeted y rise in se level. Under wht onditions is the re of lowlnd likely to e t risk? Wht preutions might e tken to minimize this risk? A possile future for the North Atlnti 2 On the mp, lel in the pproprite ple: n redued se ie ner Greenlnd n North Atlnti Drift heked y Arti wter n Norwegin ost eomes older Explin why the North Atlnti Drift my eome weker. Wht would e the effets on the life nd work of the people of western Norwy? G R E E N L A N D Beuse the wter is less slty nd dense, it does not sink nd so less wter leves the Arti. I C E L A N D G R E E N L A N D C U R R E N T ATLANTIC OCEAN Ativity Positive effets Negtive effets Frming Forestry Fish frming Tourism Trnsport Energy 3 Complete the tle elow to show possile positive nd negtive effets of wrming on the tivities nmed. Use s mny s o u res of informtion s you n to reserh your nswers. 4 Why do you think insurne ompnies re tking gret interest in glol wrming?