What is Global Change?
Global change is an all-encompassing term used to highlight all the changes we should expect to see in the future due to the warming climate. These changes include precipitation patterns, coastal storms, shifting of vegetation and growth seasons, newer endemic diseases, mass extinctions, etc. Use the following resources to explore some of the impacts on the US and the rest of the world.
- Climate Change Indicators (arcgis.com)
- Effects | Facts – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (nasa.gov)
- Overview – Fourth National Climate Assessment (globalchange.gov)
Use the information in the first link to explore and answer the following exercises.
Exercise 7 – Weather and Climate
- From the 20th century to now, the annual average temperatures across the US have:
- The highest increase in temperature has occurred here:
- Temperatures in SC have increased between:
- Across the continental US, unusually cold days are becoming less common. T/F
- Droughts across the continental US have intensified. T/F
- Droughts in these regions in the US have intensified:
Exercise 8 – Oceans
- From 1880 to the most recent data, the global average sea level has risen by:
- Within the US the highest sea-level rise has been observed along these coastlines:
- Within the tropics, the average sea surface temperatures have increased by:
- How will an increase in sea surface temperatures impact us?
- On average how far have marine fish and shellfish migrated along US Atlantic shorelines?
- What is causing this migration?
Exercise 9 – Snow and Ice
- In the last 70 years how much glacial ice mass was lost (in m of water equivalent)?
- How many sq. miles of Arctic sea ice have been lost since 1979?
- Snowpack in the western US has been healthy over the past 60+ years. T/F
- Where have the biggest declines have occurred?
- Why is the snowpack important?
Exercise 10 – Direct Consequences
- How have the “billion-dollar disasters” trended in the US since 1980?
- What type of disasters increased significantly in the last decade?
- What were the two other common types of disasters in the recent decades?
- What was the trend for the average flood days in most coastal cities?
- How many more days of average high-tide flood days has Charleston experienced recently compared with the 1950s?
- How do these water-related disasters impact water quality?
- Wildfires have intensified across the western US. T/F
- Heatwave frequency and length have increased across the US. T/F
- List three health outcomes as related to climate-related stress and exposures.
