GLOBAL CLIMATE SYSTEM

The climate system is the highly complex global system consisting of 5 major components: the atmosphere,
the oceans, the cryosphere (snow and ice), the land surface, the biosphere, and the interactions between
them. The interactions of these components determine not only day-to-day weather, but also long-term averages
that we refer to as the climate.

COMPONENTS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

The atmosphere is the most unstable and rapidly changing of the 5 components. Its composition has
changed many times throughout the history of the Earth, and it currently is made up primarily
of nitrogen (78.1%) and oxygen (20.9%). These gases have limited interactions with incoming sunlight, and do
not interact with the infrared radiation emitted by the Earth. There are a number of trace gases present in the
atmosphere that do interact with this light however, notably carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) which are
referred to as greenhouse gases. The section below discusses the effects these gases have on the global climate
system.
The cryosphere impacts the climate system greatly through its high albedo (reflectivity), its low thermal
conductivity, and most importantly its critical role in driving deep ocean water circulation. [8] Also, because
the ice sheets store a large amount of water, variations in their volume contribute to sea level rise.
There are numerous interactions between the components of the climate system, as they are all open systems
with the freedom to exchange mass, heat and momentum with one another. An example of an interaction is the
ocean-atmosphere system, which is a strongly-coupled system exchanging water vapour and heat
through evaporation, among other things. This is part of the hydrologic cycle which leads
to condensation, cloud formation, and precipitation, while also supplying energy to weather systems. The
ocean-atmosphere system also exchanges gases like carbon dioxide, where the ocean acts as a large carbon sink.
In this passionate call to action, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg explains why, in August 2018, she walked
out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming, protesting outside the Swedish parliament
and grabbing the world's attention. "The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and
solutions," Thunberg says. "All we have to do is to wake up and change."
BALANCE OF THE SYSTEM
The climate system is powered by radiation from the sun, of which approximately 49% is absorbed by
the Earth's surface, and 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere. Some of this energy is reflected back into space,
while the rest is absorbed by the land and ocean and re-emitted as radiant heat; this is known as the heat balance
of the Earth. Not all of the energy that is reflected or re-emitted by the land and ocean makes it back into space
however, as the Earth's greenhouse effect acts to trap in some of the light. This heat balance is what determines
the temperature of the Earth.
This balance is not so simple, however. One important complication stems from the uneven heating of
the Earth, as the Equator and the Poles do not receive the same amounts of energy from the sun. This non-
uniform heating leads to temperature differences throughout the globe, which the atmosphere and ocean act to
reduce by transporting heat from the warm tropics to the cool poles. This heat transportation is what gives rise
to ocean currents, wind, evaporation, precipitation, and global weather patterns.

CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE

External causes are Solar activity, Earths orbit and Meteorites. Internal causes is divided into 2: the natural and
anthropogenic. The natural causes are Volcanic eruption and Ocean circulation
Anthropogenic are Emissions of greenhouse gases, Particles/clouds and Land change.

External Causes

 Solar activity - The Sun is the source of energy for the Earth’s climate system. Although the Sun’s
energy output appears constant from an everyday point of view, small changes over an extended period
of time can lead to climate changes. Some scientists suspect that a portion of the warming in the first
half of the 20th century was due to an increase in the output of solar energy. As the sun is the
fundamental source of energy that is instrumental in our climate system it would be reasonable to
assume that changes in the sun's energy output would cause the climate to change. Scientific studies
demonstrate that solar variations have performed a role in past climate changes. For instance a decrease
in solar activity was thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and 1850,
when Greenland was largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps.
Physical changes within the Sun may alter the intensity or character of the incoming solar energy. There
is no doubt that variations do occur in various characteristics of the Sun on a range of time scales. The
11-year cycle in the number of sunspots on the face of the Sun is well known. But other parameters,
including the solar diameter, vary too, and over different time scales. What is less clear is whether or not
these changes produce significant variations in the total solar output. The total solar energy received by
the Earth, or solar constant, has only been measured accurately since the advent of the satellite era. In
addition, changes which have been detected over the past 20 years are small in magnitude (<<1%),
potentially too small to act as a mechanism of climate change. While the change in solar energy may be
greater on longer time scales, this is only a speculative possibility.

 Earths orbit - Natural climate change can also be affected by forces outside Earth’s atmosphere. For
instance, the 100,000-year cycles of ice ages are probably related to changes in the tilt of
Earth’s axis and the shape of its orbit around the sun. Those planetary factors change slowly over time
and affect how much of the sun’s energy reaches different parts of the world in different seasons. On
timescales of a millennium and longer, changes in the character of the Earth's orbit around the Sun can
significantly affect the seasonal and latitudinal distribution of incoming solar energy. These are known
as the "Milankovitch Cycles" and are an example of external climate forcing. The change in energy
receipt can amount to 10% or more in certain locations. The Milankovitch Cycles force the changes
between ice age and warmer conditions on Earth, on time scales of 10,000 to 100,000 years. The last Ice
Age occurred 18,000 years ago.

 Meteorites - The impact of large meteorites on Earth could also cause climate change. The impact of
a meteor would send millions of tons of debris into the atmosphere. This debris would block at least
some of the sun’s rays, making it cold and dark. This climate change would severely limit what
organisms could survive. Many paleontologists believe the impact of a meteor or comet contributed to
 the extinction of the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs simply could not survive in a cool, dark climate. Their bodies
could not adjust to the cold, and the dark limited the growth of plants on which they fed.

Internal Causes: Natural

 Volcanic eruption - The main effect volcanoes have on the climate is short-term cooling. Volcanic
eruptions pump out clouds of dust and ash, which block out some sunlight. Because the ash particles are
relatively heavy, they fall to the ground within about three months, so their cooling effect is very short-
lived. But volcanic debris also includes sulfur dioxide. This gas combines with water vapor and dust in
the atmosphere to form sulfate aerosols, which reflect sunlight away from the Earth’s surface. These
aerosols are lighter than ash particles and can remain in the atmosphere for a year or more. Their cooling
effect outweighs the warming caused by volcanic greenhouse gases – the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in
1991 caused a 0.5 °C drop in global temperature. Volcanic eruptions spew out lava, carbon dioxide
(CO2) ash and particles. Although CO2 has a warming effect, average volcanic CO2 emissions are less
than 1% of emissions from current human activities. .Large volumes of gases and ash can influence
climatic patterns for years by increasing planetary reflectivity causing atmospheric cooling.

 Ocean circulation - The oceans are a major component of the climate system. They cover about 71% of
the Earth and absorb about twice as much of the sun's radiation as the atmosphere or the land surface.
Ocean currents move vast amounts of heat across the planet - roughly the same amount as the
atmosphere does. But the oceans are surrounded by land masses, so heat transport through the water is
through channels. Ocean currents are located at the ocean surface and in deep water below 300 meters
(984 feet). They can move water horizontally 2 and vertically and occur on both local and global scales.
The ocean has an interconnected current, or circulation, system powered by wind, tides, the Earth’s
rotation (Coriolis effect), the sun (solar energy), and water density differences. The topography and
shape of ocean basins and nearby landmasses also influence ocean currents. Deep ocean currents are
density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy. Water density is affected by
the temperature, salinity (saltiness), and depth of the water. The colder and saltier the ocean water, the
denser it is. The greater the density differences between different layers in the water column, the greater
the mixing and circulation. Density differences in ocean water contribute to a global-scale circulation
system, also called the global conveyor belt.

Internal Causes: Anthropogenic

 Emissions of greenhouse gases - Humans—more specifically, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that
human activity generates—are the leading cause of the earth’s rapidly changing climate today.
 Greenhouse gases play an important role in keeping the planet warm enough to inhabit. But the amount
of these gases in our atmosphere has skyrocketed in recent decades. According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, our current concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous
oxide “are unprecedented compared with the past 800,000 years.” Indeed, the atmosphere’s share of
carbon dioxide—the planet’s chief climate change contributor—has risen by 46 percent since
preindustrial times. The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas for electricity, heat, and
transportation is the primary source of human-generated emissions.
A second major source is deforestation, which releases sequestered (or stored) carbon into the air. It’s
estimated that logging, clearcutting, fires, and other forms of forest degradation release an average of 8.1
billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, accounting for more than 20 percent of all global CO2
emissions. Other human activities that generate air pollution include fertilizer use (a primary source of
nitrous oxide emissions), livestock production (cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats are major methane
emitters), and certain industrial processes that release fluorinated gases.
 Land change - Activities like agriculture and road construction can also change the reflectivity of the
earth’s surface, leading to local warming or cooling. Though our planet’s forests and oceans absorb
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and other processes, these natural carbon
sinks can’t keep up with our rising emissions. The resulting buildup of greenhouse gases is causing
alarmingly fast warming worldwide. It’s estimated that the earth’s average temperature rose by about 1
degree Fahrenheit during the 20th century. If that doesn’t sound like much, consider this: When the last
ice age ended and the northeastern United States was covered by more than 3,000 feet of ice, average
temperatures were just 5 to 9 degrees cooler than they are now.

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Climate_system

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/earths-changing-climate/

https://www.lordgrey.org.uk/~f014/usefulresources/aric/Resources/Fact_Sheets/Key_Stage_4/Climate_Change/
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https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know