Global Warming

Reading Assignment

IPCC AR 4 Summary for Policymakers

IPCC AR 4 Technical Summary

What is the IPCC?

IPCC = Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

established in 1988 by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the risk of human-induced climate change.

2007 Nobel Peace Prize

IPCC graphics

Atmospheric Changes and Radiative Forcing

• Changing atmospheric composition
• Changes in greenhouse gases
• Radiative forcing
• IPCC radiative forcing
• Predicted Temperature Rise (AR4)
• IPCC2001 GH and Radiative Forcing Observations

Temperature trends for the last 100 years

• IPCC temperature trends
• Global Mean Temperature since 1880
• 12-month running mean
• Temp since 1980
• Temp 1950 to present
• Northern hemisphere
• Southern hemisphere
• AR4 Temperature Observations
• Temperature, Sea Level, Snow Cover
• Rates of Sea level rise
• Observation-Model Comparisons

Future scenarios

How will greenhouse gases increase in the future?

• What determines future emissions?
• IPCC Scenario Families
• IPCC Scenario Assumptions
• 2000 IPCC Special Report - Emissions Scenarios
• AR4 Emisison Scenarios
• IPCC Future Greenhouse Gas Predictions

How will temperature change in response to future changes in greenhouse gas concentrations?

• IPCC AR4/2001 Predictions
• Projected Temperature Change
• AR4 Projections (table)
• AR4 Projections (graph)
• Surface Temperature Projections
• Precipitation Projections

Future Predictions

Greenhouse gases for full range of scenarios

CO2 and temp for full range of scenarios

Past and future CO2 changes

Future temperature for full range of scenarios

Past and future temperature changes

Temperature (A2 scenario)

Temperature (B2 scenario)

Precipitation (A2 scenario)

Precipitation (B2 scenario)

Future sea level