Essay from the year 2002 in the subject Geography / Earth Science -
Meteorology, Aeronomy, Climatology, printed single-sided, grade:
1.1 (A), Oxford University (New College), 7 entries in the
bibliography, language: English, abstract: Climates have changed
and still are constantly changing at all scales, from local to
global, and over varying time-spans. There have been, however,
surges of change over time which meteorologists and earth
scientists are continually trying to clarify and explain. Global
climatic change due to increasing atmospheric concentrations of
greenhouse gases has dominated the environmental agenda since the
mid 1980s and has engendered considerable international political
debate. There is no doubt that over the last 100 years or so, human
action has significantly increased the atmospheric concentrations
of several gases that are closely related to global temperature. It
seems likely that these increased concentrations, which are said to
continue to rise in the near future, are already affecting global
climate, but our poor knowledge and understanding of the workings
of the global heat balance make the current and future situation
uncertain. Since the atmosphere is intimately linked to the
workings of the biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, the
projected changes in climate will have significant effects on all
aspects of the natural world in which we live. Many ecological
systems will be dramatically changed by global warming and this
might lead to changes or even loss of biodiversity.
