Climate Change Faster Than Expected
An increasingly large amount of peer-reviewed research, published since the IPCC 4th Assessment Report was released in 2007, shows that global warming is happening right now, and that it is quicker than predicted just 2 years ago.
The evidence for this statement is from a multitude of areas. Some of the regions currently undergoing change are shown below.
-Multiple ecosystems, in multiple locations, now show the effects of global warming. Examples include the timing of plant flowering, animal breeding, and lake thawing.
-Warmer ocean surface temperatures in Pacific & Atlantic hurricane-formation zones leading to stronger storms are significantly linked to human-induced warming.
-Ocean acidification is happening rapidly, as a result of CO2 in large amounts being dissolved in sea water. This will have massive changes on marine ecosystems and also food security for many nations.
-Expected sea-level elevation over the next few decades will be greater than that predicted in 2007. It will probably increase a metre or more, according to recently published research.
-Rapid melting of Greenland’s glaciers, which began in 2004, is conclusively due to the greenhouse effect.
-The West Antarctic Ice Shelf has undergone rapid melting over the last 10 years and has suffered 10 major ice shelf collapses over that time.
-Arctic sea-ice is melting much faster than previously estimated, and it is almost certain that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer before 2080.
-Thawing of the boreal permafrost is proceeding much faster than previously calculated, and is expelling a lot more greenhouse gases than expected.
The warming that is now taking place is expected to go on for many centuries, after all human-sourced CO2 escape ceases. This is due to the significant delays that exist in the climate-ocean system, as well as the long half-life of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
See more at the planet’s greatest climate change blog, or learn more about accelerated sea level rise.
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