What are the changes of global warming and what are their effects?

Question

What are the changes of global warming and what are their effects?

Answer 1

This is a good question that is still the subject of a lot of research.  Look at the IPCC working group reports (at least the summaries for policy makers).  You'll see that there is certainty that Global warming is occurring (no real debate about this, we can not observe some of the physical effects)), human activity is a major contributor (this is certain although scientist are still trying to better quantify how much is "major" -  50%, 60%. 80% - it does make a difference for policy options).  Some of the physical impacts are certain and observable (reduced sea ice and glacier extent over the past few decades, earlier greening of high latitudes and elevations, rise in mean global air temperature, increased rate of sea level rise), others are still uncertain (effects on ocean currents, hurricanes - will there more of them or will the number stay the same but the power increase?  Will changing ocean currents offset or enhance hurricane activity?  Will there be no quantifiable change - we had been in a quite period for some decades).  Precipitation amounts may change and where if occurs can change.  For example, one of the most desolated deserts in the world has started to receive snowfall (Antarctica).  The area gets very little snowfall but it never melts.  Al a result, the is lots of ice.  Now the ice is melting and ocean that has never be navigable in recorded human history is not open. Warmer oceans and warmer air would do this - melt ice and increase precipitation (warm air holds more water which is needed for precipitation).  The air temperature can be as warm as 32 degrees F to snow, and the Antarctic is the coldest place on Earth (-90 degrees F in the winter sometimes).  There is usually no water in the air at the temps there.  Precipitation is a huge change. These are tougher effects to predict and have more uncertainty.

I don't even want to start on the biological impacts (what happens to plants, animal, and people), the ecosystems effects, the economic impacts, and the poltical impacts.  Don't have time.  Just go to  

http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/assessmen...

and look at the fourth assessment reports.  One is for the science behind GW (working group 1), one is for impacts (WG2) , one for possible solutions (WG3), and one synthesis report that tries to tie it all together.  Each report has a summary for policy makers that gives an over view, but if something interest you, you can look at the details to get a beeter idea of the subject.

Answer 2

Global warmng causes the ozone layer to get thick and trap in heat. That melts the ice caps. That causes rising sea levels and polar animals to lose their homes.

Answer 3

* There is no "scientific consensus" on global warming

* Climate is always changing – with or without man

* The Medieval Warm Period was significantly warmer than temperatures today – and was a golden age for agriculture, innovation, and lifespan

* Most of Antarctica is actually getting colder

* Hurricanes are not getting worse – our tendency to build houses in their path is getting greater

* Many big businesses lobby for global warming policies that will increase their profits – and our costs

* The media only recently abandoned the "global cooling" scare

* The real agenda behind the "global warming" scare? A massive expansion of government control over the economy and our lives

Answer 4

Top 11 Warmest Years On Record Have All Been In Last 13 Years

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

ScienceDaily (Dec. 13, 2007) — The decade of 1998-2007 is the warmest on record, according to data sources obtained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The global mean surface temperature for 2007 is currently estimated at 0.41°C/0.74°F above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00°C/57.20°F...

...Since the start of the 20th century, the global average surface temperature has risen by 0.74°C. But this rise has not been continuous. The linear warming trend over the last 50 years (0.13°C per decade) is nearly twice that for the last 100 years...

...2007 global temperatures have been averaged separately for both hemispheres. Surface temperatures for the northern hemisphere are likely to be the second warmest on record, at 0.63°C above the 30-year mean (1961-90) of 14.6°C/58.3°F. The southern hemisphere temperature is 0.20°C higher than the 30-year average of 13.4°C/56.1°F, making it the ninth warmest in the instrumental record since 1850.

January 2007 was the warmest January in the global average temperature record at 12.7°C/54.9°F, compared to the 1961-1990 January long-term average of 12.1°C/53.8°F...

Global 10 Warmest Years Mean Global temperature (°C) (anomaly with respect to 1961-1990)

1. 1998 0.52

2. 2005 0.48

3. 2003 0.46

4. 2002 0.46

5. 2004 0.43

6. 2006 0.42

7. 2007(Jan-Nov) 0.41

8. 2001 0.40

9. 1997 0.36

10. 1995 0.28

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

Answer 5

"Natural changes pinned to warming"

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

BBC News

"Major changes in the Earth's natural systems are being driven by global warming, according to a vast analysis.

"Glacier and permafrost melting, earlier spring-time, coastal erosion and animal migrations are among the observations laid at the door of man-made warming.

"The research, in the journal Nature, involves many scientists who took part in last year's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report."

Full articles below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/natur...

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news...