APES Unit 2 Assignment

Vocabulary:
Climate: Weather in a specific area over a long period of time

Troposphere: This is the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The temperature drops at a constant rate as the altitude increases. The weather conditions occur in this part of the atmosphere

Stratosphere: This layer is between the Troposphere and the Mesosphere. The temperature increases as the altitude increases. It contains the Ozone layer. 

Albedo: It is the ratio between reflected and incoming radiation within the short wave portion of the solar spectrum. 

Hadley Cells: It is a big, 3D pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere. Air is uplifted at the equator. 

Polar Cells: It is the 3D atmospheric circulation cell. Air rises at the polar front and descends at the polar vortex 

Corolis Effect: It is the deflections of an object's path which is affected by the rotation of the earth 

Gyres: It is a pattern of water circulation that moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Upwelling: It is the movement of water up to the surface 

Thermohaline Circulation: It is a very slow and extremely deep movement of water in the oceans around the world.

ENSO: El Nino-Southern Oscillation. It is the changes in winds and and ocean currents from time to time. It causes some regions to be cooler and wetter and other regions to be dry. 

Rain Shadow: This region has dry conditions resulting from humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation.

Current Event: 

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/20591/New_observations_and_climate_model_data_confirm_recent_warming_of_the_tropical_atmosphere.html

Summary: 

Scientific evidence has shown that human-caused increases in greenhouse gases have been the result of climate changes but recent findings from satellites rebut these findings. There is a temperature change in the Troposphere. From the use of only a single satellite, climate modelers have seen a cooling in the tropical Troposphere and suggest that it is about to become warm. They did more studies and research findings to go into depth about this matter. They found out that temperatures in the Troposphere has been getting warmer since 1979. Also, they found out that in the deep tropics, temperature changes in the Troposphere are larger than at the surface.

Reflection:

Human Impact: Humans impact the biomes greatly by hunting and developing open areas for farming and urban development. When areas are being converted to croplands, it reduces the food source for many animals. This can lead to the animals migrating or starving. Hunting is one of the main reasons animals are becoming endangered. For example, the American bison population was hurt because the European settlers  hunted them for their fur and meat. Likewise, poachers are killing rhinoceroses for their tusks and elephants for their ivory in Africa. 

Environmental Impact: Climate affects the distribution of species around the globe. Certain species have characterized adaptations according to where they live. Since the climate is changing and becoming warmer due to global warming, some of these species might be unable to survive in their respective environments. Some species might even go extinct because there has been a lost of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer and more intense heat waves. The climate is also affecting agricultural production. For example, because of the lack of water in Africa, agricultural production has dropped by 50%.

Economic Impact: Rainfall patterns are driven by global processes and because Kenya is located at the equator, there is heavy rainfall during Spring. But in April of 2003, there was a devastating drought in northeastern Kenya and severe flooding in western Kenya. This was due to the fact that  the rain clouds did not move northward from the equator. Since northeastern Kenya experienced a drought. Many of the people's crops died and they had to travel many miles just for water. The Kenyan government affirmed that 2.5 million people were at risk of starvation. Many children started developing chronic diarrhea and dehydration. The government had to spend a lot of money to recover the damage done on these people

Government Legislation: S. 2345 was signed by the Governor, and this will help increase the penalties associated with animal cruelty so people will think twice before hurting these poor animals!! In addition to the S. 2345 to increase penalties for animal abuse, S. 1172 was signed to protect pets in disasters.