V last years strange changes are being discovered on our planet. Scientists conduct research, put forward a variety of hypotheses, but none of them fully explains the anomalies that have arisen in the Earth's climate.

Global warming, melting glaciers, rising water temperatures in the oceans - all these are typical changes on the planet that we have been observing for several years. Glaciers now began to "cry" not only on the "caps" of the planet, but also in middle lane, even in Europe. From the satellites, it is clearly visible that at the bottom of the seas and oceans life is seething - both flora and fauna. Here and there appeared giant individuals of sea and land animals - some hitherto unseen huge squid and exotic huge birds like pterodactyls, and an inconceivable size of a rat. That is, the Earth, as they say, “remembers” the ancient times, when “everything was great”. At the same time, we hear how snow has covered the places where palm trees grow, where there has never been frost. It looks like something is amiss with the planet. And this despite the fact that the ozone hole over Antarctica has significantly decreased and even divided in two. But we were told that the whole point is that the ozone layer becomes thinner, and we become defenseless in front of the incinerating rays of the Sun!

It doesn't seem to be the case. But what caused these changes? Some scientists still nod at the chemicals in the atmosphere: they say that there are fewer of them or the composition has changed. Freon refrigerators are a thing of the past, we strictly monitor the exhaust gases of cars and other vehicles, many enterprises have established a system for cleaning industrial emissions. This means that the so-called greenhouse effect has decreased. And as a result, the ozone layer has become denser, protecting us from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

But here's the problem: ozone is ozone, but the atmosphere has not become more transparent, and the temperature on the planet as a whole is growing. It has increased by a degree and a half, and this is a fact. That is, no "ozone shield" saves, some researchers say that the matter is in the increase in air temperature above the poles: they say, warm waters from the equator for some reason rushed towards the poles and heated glaciers. But this is more than strange. However, it is noticed that in Lately The earth flattens out from the poles and swells at the equator, that is, it becomes like a pumpkin. So, maybe some forces inflate it from within? Or is it accelerated around the axis? In this case, the planet really should be distributed in breadth, and water from the equator would certainly rush up and down, that is, to the poles.

However, reasonable questions arise: why is the Earth's climate getting warmer, and what are the forces that flatten the Earth from the poles? There are several versions here, and if we cover each of them in detail, we will certainly get bored. So we will briefly outline only the main ones. Australians believe: whatever one may say, it's about accumulation carbon dioxide, so if you pump it underground, “for eternal storage,” everything will work out. To do this, you need to create installations that separate CO2 from other gases, and use the underground voids left after the extraction of coal, oil, gas, and minerals. There, to a depth of about a kilometer, and it is necessary to send about a million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The government has even allocated 22 million Australian dollars for this purpose.

Some of our scientists believe that regardless of the reasons for warming up, heat should be thrown not down, but up into space. Alexander Kruse, for example, believes that it is necessary to create heated surfaces in mountainous areas - at an altitude of five to six kilometers, take heat from the environment (hot air of deserts, hot soil at a depth, volcanoes, geysers, etc.), transfer it upward, and then radiate into space.

Russian physicist Vladimir Alaev believes that the warm-up is to blame space body known among astronomers as Bernard is she, a planet from neighboring Solar system, came too close to us in 2001 and did all sorts of trouble here. Will go away from us - and everything will return to normal. Another opinion: the reason is not in Bernard, but in the Sun - it began to heat up excessively, since the Universe is expanding (which is true), and our star is drifting to some less favorable place. There are also quite exotic versions. Well, let's say that the 13th planet of our solar system is to blame, one of the names of which is Nibiru. She-de comes to our region about once every 3600 years and causes all sorts of tragedies on Earth, since the mass is many times greater than our tiny green-blue ball. And now it is just approaching. As a result, there are magnetic disturbances, a shift of the magnetic pole (and indeed it has shifted by several tens of kilometers) and, of course, global warming.

And yet there is whole line signs that space (be it the sun or other heavenly body) has nothing to do with it. Or almost nothing. For if the heating came from above, then in the oceans mainly the upper, and by no means the bottom layers of water would be heated. Yes, and many volcanoes that have been silent for a long time have become very “talking” lately - here and there. And earthquakes have become more frequent. That is, the feeling is as if the Earth is heated by something from the inside - some kind of “stove” hidden in the earthly womb. Or some kind of "perpetual motion machine", which suddenly began to gain momentum and spin the ball, changing the magnetic field and even shifting the magnetic poles.

But are there such versions in the scientific world? Yes, and from them somehow it is completely disgusting at heart. However, some major discoveries of recent times stubbornly bump into these thoughts - about internal heating. Firstly, by the beginning of 2002, Bernard-1 had already begun to move away from the Earth, but this did not make it easier. Neither cooler nor quieter. Secondly, if we ourselves are really to blame for creating the "greenhouse effect", then why, in this case ozone holes are formed not over densely populated industrial areas of the planet, but, for example, over Antarctica? Or over the Peruvian Andes? Over the Himalayas? And even in open ocean! What kind of industrial production can you find there? These calculations were made back in 2001 (based on materials from the Central Aerological Observatory of Russia) by Pavel Bezprozvanny. And he believes that ozone holes arise over the zones of current (or past) high tectonic activity, where volatiles rise from the bowels of the Earth. It is they who “devour” ozone. And our carbon dioxide, freon and so on play either zero or negligible role in this process.

Third, some American scientists (geophysicist J. Marvin Herndon from California and nuclear scientist Daniel Hollenbach from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee) have been running around with the idea of ​​an internal thermonuclear reactor for ten years. They made calculations proving the presence of large masses of uranium in the center of the planet. This uranium ball feeds the Earth's magnetic field. But not only .. Supplied by him thermal energy sets in motion the very "concrete mixer" in the mantle, where cold blocks and hot plumes - the so-called plumes - are constantly moving up and down, causing colossal tectonic changes on the surface. But where is this thermonuclear reactor? Don't we know about the inner structure of our planet? The fact of the matter is that we know. But not exactly.

And just recently, two scientists from Harvard reported that a previously unknown sphere with a diameter of about 580 kilometers was discovered inside the earth's core. That is, like a kernel in a kernel, like a bone in a peach. For such a discovery, it was necessary to patiently analyze hundreds of thousands of waves of those earthquakes that have passed through the center of the planet over the past 30 years. This is how scientists calculated the presence of a previously unknown nucleus in the Earth. It has a completely different density and a different speed of rotation. And seismic waves therefore go through this nucleolus with deviations, since the pressure and temperature there are completely different. It can be assumed that this is the very same nuclear reactor. And like any reactor, it can accelerate, decelerate, or even temporarily ... stop. But this, of course, is a disaster. When the accumulated decay products, which stopped the reactor, are washed away by the lava flowing around them, the reactor will start working again, but the poles will already change to opposite ones. In 2003, Gerndon and Hollenbach made a presentation at a meeting of the American Geophysical Association, where they argued that there was no iron inside the core (as we have been taught all our lives). And the accumulation of heavy metal - uranium - was quite natural during the formation of our planet. So we have a time bomb under our feet. Obviously, there is such a potential Chernobyl at the center of every planet. Consequently, warming can be caused not by holes in the ozone protective layer, but by the fact that the earth's core has warmed up sharply. The heat seems to come from the inside.

Introduction

1. Causes of climate change

2. The concept and essence of the greenhouse effect

3. Global warming and human impact on it

4. Consequences of global warming

5. Measures required to prevent global warming

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The world is getting warmer, and humanity is largely responsible for this, experts say. But many of the factors influencing climate change have not yet been studied, and others have not been studied at all.

Some arid places in Africa have become even drier over the past 25 years. The rare lakes that bring water to people are drying up. Sandy winds are getting stronger. The rains stopped there back in the 1970s. The problem of drinking water is becoming more and more acute. According to computer simulations, such areas will continue to dry out and become completely uninhabitable.

Coal mining is common all over the planet. A huge amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) is emitted into the atmosphere when coal is burned. As developing countries follow in the footsteps of their industrial neighbors, CO 2 will double over the course of the 21st century.

Most experts, studying the complexity of the Earth's climatic system, associate the increase in global temperature and future climate changes with an increase in the level of CO 2 in the atmospheric air.

Life has been flourishing on the planet for about four billion years. During this time, climate fluctuations were dramatic, from the Ice Age - which lasted 10,000 years - to the era of rapid warming. With each change, an indefinite number of species of life forms changed, developed and survived. Others have weakened or simply died out.

Now many experts believe that humanity is endangering the global ecological system due to global warming caused by the so-called greenhouse effect. Evaporation of the products of civilization in the form of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), trapped enough heat reflected from the earth's surface so that the average temperature at the earth's surface rose by half a degree Celsius during the 20th century. If this direction of modern industry continues, then the climate system will change everywhere - ice melting, sea level rise, destruction of plants by droughts, the transformation of areas into deserts, the movement of green zones.

But this may not be the case. The planet's climate depends on a combination of many factors that interact separately with each other and in integrated pathways, which are not yet fully understood. It is possible that the warming observed over the past century was due to natural fluctuations, although its rates were significantly higher than those observed over the past ten centuries. Moreover, computer simulations can be inaccurate.

However, after years intensive study The International Conference on Climate Change, sponsored by the United Nations, tentatively concluded that “there is much evidence that the impact of humankind on global climate huge. " The extent of these influences, as noted by experts, is unknown, since the key factor has not been identified, including the degree of influence of clouds and oceans on changes in global temperature. It may take a decade or more of additional research to eliminate these uncertainties.

In the meantime, much is already known. And although the specifics of the circumstances of human economic activity remain unclear, our ability to change the composition of the atmosphere is indisputable.

The purpose of this work is to study the problem of climate change on Earth.

Objectives of this work:

1. study the causes of climate change;

2. consider the concept and essence of the greenhouse effect;

3. to define the concept of "global warming" and show the impact of humanity on it;

4. show the consequences awaiting humanity as a result of global warming; 5. Consider the measures needed to prevent global warming.

1. Causes of climate change

What's happened global change climate and why is it often called "global warming"?

One cannot but agree that the climate on Earth is changing and this is becoming a global problem for all mankind. The fact of global climate change is confirmed by scientific observations and is not disputed by most scientists. And yet there are constant discussions around this topic. Some use the term "global warming" and make apocalyptic predictions. Others predict the coming of a new "ice age" - and they also make apocalyptic predictions. Still others believe that climate change is natural, and the evidence from both sides about the inevitability of the catastrophic consequences of climate change is controversial ... Let's try to figure it out ....

What evidence is there for climate change?

They are well known to all: the rise in global average temperatures (milder winters, hotter and drier summer months), melting glaciers and rising sea levels, as well as increasingly frequent and destructive typhoons and hurricanes, floods in Europe and droughts in Australia. And in some places, for example, in Antarctica, a cold snap is noted.

If the climate has changed before, why is it now a problem?

Indeed, the climate of our planet is constantly changing. Everyone knows about ice ages (they can be small and large), during the global flood, etc. According to geological data, the average world temperature in different geological periods ranged from +7 to +27 degrees Celsius. Now average temperature on Earth is approximately +15 o C and is still quite far from the maximum. So what are scientists, heads of state and the public concerned about? In short, the concern is that to the natural causes of climate change, which have always existed, is added another factor - anthropogenic (the result of human activity), the impact of which on climate change, according to some researchers, is becoming stronger every year.

What are the causes of climate change?

The sun is the main driving force behind the climate. For example, uneven heating of the earth's surface (stronger at the equator) is one of the main causes of winds and ocean currents, and periods of increased solar activity are accompanied by warming and magnetic storms.

In addition, the climate is influenced by a change in the Earth's orbit, its magnetic field, the size of continents and oceans, volcanic eruptions. All of these are natural causes of climate change. Until recently, they, and only they, determined climate change, including the beginning and end of long-term climatic cycles such as ice ages. Solar and volcanic activity can account for half of the temperature changes before 1950 (solar activity increases temperatures, and volcanic activity decreases).

Recently, one more factor has been added to natural factors - anthropogenic, i.e. caused by human activity. The main anthropogenic impact is the intensification of the greenhouse effect, the impact of which on climate change in the last two centuries is 8 times higher than the impact of changes in solar activity.

Earth's climate is changing rapidly... Scientists are trying to figure out what is causing climate change by gathering evidence to rule out the wrong causes and find out who is responsible.

Based on over a hundred scientific studies, it is clear that humans are responsible for most of the climate change over the past 150 years.

Humans influence climate change

People don't the only reason influencing climate change. The weather has changed throughout Earth's history, long before humans evolved. The sun is the main factor in the climate. Roughly speaking, global temperature will rise when more energy from the Sun enters the atmosphere than is returned to space through the atmosphere. The Earth cools at any time if more energy is returned to space than comes from the Sun, while humans can influence this balance. There are also other factors: from continental drift and changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit to changes in activity and phenomena of the Sun, like the El Niño process (fluctuations in water temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean), all of these can affect the climate. Given the pace of climate change today, scientists can rule out from the majority some causes that are too slow to explain current climate change, while others have small cycles rather than long-term trends in climate impacts in part of the planet. Scientists are aware of these factors and can take them into account when assessing human-induced weather changes.

Human influence on climate change was first described over a hundred years ago, drawing on research in the 1850s by the English physicist John Tyndall.

Light from the Sun heats the Earth's surface, which then emits energy in the form of infrared radiation, which is felt on a sunny day. Greenhouse gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2) absorb this radiated energy, heating the atmosphere and the surface. This process leads to a warming of the Earth's temperature than if it were heated only in direct sunlight.

For over 100 years, scientists have considered humans as main reason in the current climatic changes. At the turn of the 20th century, the Swedish physicist and chemist Svante Arrhenius suggested that people, as a result of burning coal, increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and increased the natural warming effect, causing the atmosphere to heat up more than if it all passed through strictly natural processes.

When people burn gasoline, coal, natural gas, and other fuels to generate electricity or drive a car, they give off significant amount carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When a liter of gasoline is burned, the amount of CO2 emitted will be 2 kg. Greenhouse gases are emitted from power plants and cars, landfills, farms and deforested forests, and other subtle processes.

Since 1950, scientists have begun to methodically measure the global increase in carbon dioxide. They have since confirmed that the increase is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (and through other areas of human activity such as land clearing). This increase, as well as the change in CO2, is added to the atmosphere and provides a "smoking gun" which indicates that people are responsible for elevated levels carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

It's no secret that the climate of our planet is changing, and this has been happening very quickly lately. Snow falls in Africa, and in our latitudes in summer there is incredible heat. Much has already been nominated different theories the reasons and likely consequences of such a change. Some talk about the coming apocalypse, while others convince that there is nothing wrong with that. True, Roux tried to figure out what causes climate change, who is to blame and what to do.

Melting is to blame arctic ice…

Arctic ice, which covers the Arctic Ocean, prevented the inhabitants of temperate latitudes from freezing in winter. “The reduction in the area of ​​Arctic ice is directly related to heavy snowfalls in winter in temperate latitudes and incredible heat in the summer, ”says Stephen Vavrus, Sr. Researcher Nelson Institute for Environmental Research.

The scientist explained that the heated areas above the regions in temperate latitudes and the cold arctic air created a certain difference in atmospheric pressure... Air masses moved from west to east, forcing ocean currents to move and generating strong winds. "The Arctic is now moving into a new state," says scientist David Titley, who worked for the US Navy. He noted that the melting process ice is coming very quickly, and by 2020 the Arctic will be completely free of ice in the summer.

Recall that Antarctica and the Arctic work like huge air conditioners: any weather anomalies moved quickly enough and were destroyed by winds and currents. Recently, due to the melting of ice, the air temperature in the polar regions is increasing, so the natural mechanism of "mixing" the weather stops. As a result, weather anomalies (heat, snowfall, frost or rainfall) "get stuck" in one area much longer than before.

Global warming on earth

UN experts predict catastrophe due to global warming for our planet in the near future. Today, everyone has already begun to get used to the crazy antics of the weather, realizing that something incredible is happening with the climate. The main threat is posed by human production activities, since a lot of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. According to the theories of some experts, this delays the thermal radiation of the Earth, leading to overheating, reminiscent of the greenhouse effect.

Over the past 200 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by a third, and the average temperature on the planet has risen by 0.6 degrees. Over a century, the temperature in the northern hemisphere of the planet has risen more than in the previous thousand years. If the same rates of industrial growth remain on Earth, then by the end of this century, global climate change threatens mankind - the temperature will rise by 2-6 degrees, and the oceans will rise by 1.6 meters.

To prevent this from happening, the Kyoto Protocol was developed, main goal which is to limit carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. It should be noted that warming in itself is not so dangerous. We will return to the climate that was 50 centuries BC. Our civilization in those comfortable conditions developed normally. Warming is not dangerous, but its suddenness. Climatic changes are occurring so quickly that they do not leave humanity time to adapt to these new conditions.

The inhabitants of Africa and Asia, which, moreover, are now experiencing a demographic boom, will suffer the most from climate change. As noted by Robert Watson, head of the UN expert group, warming will have a negative impact on agriculture, there will be dire droughts, which will cause a drinking water and various epidemics. In addition, abrupt climate change leads to the formation of destructive typhoons, which have become more frequent in recent years.

Consequences of global warming

The consequences can be truly disastrous. Deserts will expand, floods and storms will increase, and fever and malaria will spread. In Asia and Africa, harvests will decrease significantly, but in South-East Asia they will grow. Floods will become more frequent in Europe, Holland and Venice will go into the depths of the sea. New Zealand and Australia will be thirsty, and East Coast The United States will find itself in a zone of devastating storms and coastal erosion. Ice drift in the Northern Hemisphere will begin two weeks earlier. The ice cover in the Arctic will be reduced by about 15 percent. In Antarctica, the ice will retreat by 7-9 degrees. Tropical ice in the mountains will also melt South America, Africa and Tibet. Migratory birds will spend more time in the north.

What should Russia expect from climate change?

Russia, according to some scientists, will suffer from global warming 2-2.5 times more than the rest of the planet. This is due to the fact that the Russian Federation buried in snow. White reflects the sun, and black, on the contrary, attracts. The widespread melting of snow will lead to a change in reflectivity and cause additional heating of the land. As a result, wheat will be able to grow in Arkhangelsk, and watermelons in St. Petersburg. Global warming could deal a strong blow to the Russian economy, as it starts to melt permafrost under the cities of the Far North, where the pipelines are located, on which our economy is supported.

What to do?

Now the problem of controlling carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is being solved using the quota system provided for by the Kyoto Protocol. Within this system of government different countries set limits for energy and other enterprises on emissions of air pollutants. First of all, this concerns carbon dioxide. These permits can be freely bought and sold. For example, a certain industrial enterprise has reduced its emissions, as a result of which they have a "surplus" of quotas.

They sell these surpluses to other enterprises, which are cheaper to buy them than to take real measures to reduce emissions. Dishonest businessmen make good money on this. This approach does little to improve the climate change situation. Therefore, some experts have proposed introducing a direct tax on carbon dioxide emissions.

However, this decision was never made. Many agree that quotas or taxes are ineffective. There is a need to stimulate the transition from fossil fuels to innovative energy technologies that would have little or no increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. Two economists from McGill University,

Christopher Greene and Isabelle Galliana recently presented a project that proposed spending $ 100 billion annually on energy technology research. The money for this can be taken from the tax on carbon dioxide emissions. These funds would be enough to introduce new production technologies that would not pollute the atmosphere. Economists estimate that every dollar spent on Scientific research, will help to avoid 11 dollars. damage from climate change.

There is another way. It is difficult and expensive, but it can completely solve the problem of melting glaciers if all countries Northern hemisphere will act decisively and amicably. Some experts propose to create in the Bering Strait hydraulic structure capable of regulating water exchange between the Arctic,

Quiet and Atlantic oceans... In some circumstances, it should act as a dam and prevent the passage of water from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic, and in other circumstances - as a powerful pumping station that will pump water from the North Arctic Ocean to Quiet. This maneuver artificially creates the regime of the end of the ice age. The climate is changing, every inhabitant of our Earth feels this. And it is changing very quickly. Therefore, it is necessary for countries to unite and find optimal solutions overcoming this problem. After all, everyone will suffer from climate change.

Expert opinion

Russian scientists do not always agree with the forecasts and hypotheses of their Western colleagues. Pravda.Ru asked the head of the climatology laboratory of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Andrei Shmakin, to comment on this topic.

Only nonspecialists, non-meteorologists talk about a cold snap in our country. If you read our reports of the hydrometeorological service, it clearly says about the ongoing warming.

Nobody knows what awaits us all. Now there is a warming... The consequences are very different. There are positive and negative ones. In Russia, the warming is simply more pronounced than in many other regions of the world, this is true, and the consequences can be both positive and negative. What effect, what are the advantages - this must be carefully considered.

Say, a negative phenomenon is yes, thawing of the permafrost, the spread of diseases, there may be some increase in forest fires... But there is also a positive. This is a reduction in the cold season, a lengthening of the agricultural season, an increase in the productivity of grasses and grass communities, and forests. There are many different consequences. Opening of the North Sea route for navigation, lengthening of this navigation. And this is not done on the basis of some hasty statements.

How fast is climate change going?

This is a slow process. In any case, you can adapt to it and develop adaptation measures. This is a process on a scale of several decades, at least, or even more. It's not like tomorrow - "everyone, fuck you, grab your bags - the station is leaving", there is no such thing.

Do our scientists have a lot of work on this topic?

Lot. For starters, take, a few years ago there was a report called "Assessment Report on Climate Change in Russia." It was published by the Russian hydrometeorological service with the involvement of scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences and universities. This is a serious analytical work, everything is considered there, how the climate is changing, what are the consequences for different regions Russia.

Is it possible to somehow slow down this process? The Kyoto Protocol, for example?

In a practical sense, the Kyoto Protocol brings very few results, precisely those that are declared in it - to influence climate change, it is practically ineffective. Simply due to the fact that the emission reductions it provides are extremely small, they practically do not affect the overall global picture of these elections. It's just not effective.

Another thing is that he paved the way for agreements in this area. This was the first agreement of its kind. If the parties then actively acted and tried to work out new agreements, then this could bring some results. Now new documents have begun to operate instead of the Kyoto Protocol, it has expired. And they're still just as ineffective in the main. Some countries have no restrictions at all, some have very small emission limits. In general, it is difficult technologically, because it is practically impossible to completely switch to such technologies so as not to produce any emissions into the atmosphere. This is a very expensive event, no one will go to it. Therefore, hope only for this ...

Any other measures?

Firstly, it is not considered absolutely established that, in general, a person influences the climate system so strongly. He, of course, influences, this is undoubtedly, but the degree of this influence is a matter of discussion. Different scientists have different points of view.

Most of the measures should apparently be adaptive. Because even without any person, the climate is still changing according to its own internal laws. It's just that humanity should be ready for climate change in different directions and taking into account the effects that this may generate.

The geological age of our planet is approximately 4.5 billion years. During this period, the Earth has changed dramatically. The composition of the atmosphere, the mass of the planet itself, the climate - at the beginning of existence, everything was completely different. The red-hot ball very slowly became the way we are used to seeing it now. Tectonic plates collided, forming more and more mountain systems... On a planet that gradually cooled down, seas and oceans were formed. Continents appeared and disappeared, their outlines and sizes changed. The earth began to rotate more slowly. The first plants appeared, and then life itself. Accordingly, over the past billions of years, the planet has undergone dramatic changes in moisture turnover, heat turnover and atmospheric composition... Climate change has occurred throughout the entire existence of the Earth.

Holocene epoch

Holocene - part Quaternary In other words, this is an era that began about 12 thousand years ago and continues to the present moment. The Holocene began with the end of the Ice Age, and since then, climate change on the planet has gone towards global warming. This era is often called interglacial, since for the entire climatic history the planet has already had several ice ages.

Last thing global cooling came about 110 thousand years ago. About 14 thousand years ago, warming began, which gradually covered the entire planet. The glaciers that covered most of the Northern Hemisphere at that time began to melt and collapse. Naturally, all this did not happen overnight. For a very long period, the planet was shaken by strong temperature fluctuations, glaciers were advancing and receding again. All this also influenced the level of the World Ocean.

Holocene periods

During numerous studies, scientists decided to divide the Holocene into several time periods depending on the climate. Approximately 12-10 thousand years ago, the ice sheets disappeared, and the post-glacial period began. In Europe, the tundra began to disappear, it was replaced by birch, pine and taiga forests. This time is usually called the Arctic and Subarctic periods.

Then came the boreal era. Taiga pushed the tundra farther and farther north. V Southern Europe appeared broadleaf forests... During this time, the climate was predominantly cool and dry.

Approximately 6 thousand years ago, the Atlantic era began, during which the air became warm and humid, much warmer than today. This period of time is considered the climatic optimum of the entire Holocene. Half was covered with birch forests. Europe abounded great variety heat-loving plants. At the same time, the length temperate forests was much further north. On the shores Barents Sea dark coniferous forests grew, and the taiga reached Cape Chelyuskin. On the site of the modern Sahara there was a savannah, and the water level in Lake Chad was 40 meters higher than the modern one.

Then the climate change happened again. A cold snap set in, which lasted for about 2 thousand years. This period of time is called subboreal. Mountain ranges in Alaska, Iceland, in the Alps have acquired glaciers. Landscape zones have shifted closer to the equator.

Approximately 2.5 thousand years ago began last period modern Holocene - subatlantic. The climate of this era became cooler and more humid. Started to appear peat bogs, the tundra gradually began to press on the forests, and the forests on the steppe. Around the 14th century, a cooling of the climate began, which led to a small ice age, which lasted until the middle of the 19th century. At this time, glacier invasions were recorded in the mountain ranges of Northern Europe, Iceland, Alaska and the Andes. V different points the globe the climate did not change synchronously. The reasons for the onset of the Little Ice Age are still unknown. According to scientists, the climate could change due to increases in volcanic eruptions and a decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Start of meteorological observations

The first appeared at the end of the 18th century. Since that time, there have been constant observations of climatic fluctuations. It can be reliably stated that the warming that began after the Little Ice Age continues to the present day.

Since the end of the 19th century, an increase in the average global temperature of the planet has been recorded. In the middle of the 20th century, there was a slight cold snap, which did not affect the climate in general. Since the mid-70s, it has become warmer again. According to scientists, over the past century, the global temperature of the Earth has increased by 0.74 degrees. The largest increase in this indicator has been recorded in the last 30 years.

Climate change invariably affects the state of the oceans. An increase in global temperature leads to an expansion of water, and therefore to an increase in its level. There are also changes in the distribution of precipitation, which, in turn, can affect the flow of rivers and glaciers.

According to observations, the level of the World Ocean over the past 100 years has increased by 5 cm. Scientists associate climate warming with an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide and a significant increase in the greenhouse effect.

Climatic factors

Scientists have carried out many archaeological studies and have come to the conclusion that the planet's climate has changed dramatically more than once. Many hypotheses have been put forward in this regard. According to one of the opinions, if the distance between the Earth and the Sun remains the same, as well as the speed of rotation of the planet and the angle of inclination of the axis, then the climate will remain stable.

External factors of climate change:

1. Changing the radiation of the Sun leads to the transformation of streams solar radiation.
2. The movements of tectonic plates affect the orography of the land, as well as the level of the ocean and its circulation.
3. The gas composition of the atmosphere, in particular the concentration of methane and carbon dioxide.
4. Changing the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation.
5. Changes in the parameters of the planet's orbit in relation to the Sun.
6. Terrestrial and cosmic disasters.

Human activities and their impact on climate

The reasons for climate change are connected, among other things, with the fact that mankind has interfered with nature throughout its existence. Deforestation, plowing, etc. lead to changes in moisture and wind regimes.

When people make changes to surrounding nature By draining swamps, creating artificial reservoirs, cutting down forests or planting new ones, building cities, etc., the microclimate is changing. The forest strongly affects the wind regime, which determines how it will fall snow cover how much the soil will freeze.

Green spaces in cities reduce the influence of solar radiation, increase air humidity, reduce the temperature difference in the daytime and evening, and reduce dustiness in the air.

If people cut down forests on hills, then in the future this leads to soil washout. Also, the decrease in the number of trees lowers the global temperature. However, this means an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, which is not only not absorbed by trees, but also additionally emitted during the decomposition of wood. All this compensates for the decrease in global temperature and leads to its increase.

Industry and its impact on the climate

The causes of climate change lie not only in the general warming, but also in the activities of mankind. People have increased the concentration in the air of substances such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, tropospheric ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons. All this ultimately leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect, and the consequences may be irreversible.

Daily industrial enterprises throw a lot of hazardous gases into the air. Transport is widely used, polluting the atmosphere with its exhaust. A lot of carbon dioxide is produced by burning oil and coal. Even Agriculture causes considerable damage to the atmosphere. Approximately 14% of all emissions are in this area. This is plowing fields, burning waste, burning savannah, manure, fertilizers, animal husbandry, etc. the greenhouse effect helps to maintain the temperature balance on the planet, but the activities of mankind enhances this effect at times. And this can lead to disaster.

Why should you be wary of climate change?

97% of the world's climatologists believe that everything has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. AND the main problem climate change is anthropogenic activity... It is impossible to reliably say how serious this situation is, but there are many reasons for concern:

UN convention

Most governments in the world are seriously wary of the implications of climate change. More than 20 years ago, an international treaty was created - the Framework Convention on Climate Change. All possible measures to prevent global warming are considered here. Now the convention has been ratified by 186 countries, including Russia. All participants are differentiated into 3 groups: industrial with economic development and developing countries.

The UN Climate Change Convention is fighting to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and further stabilize indicators. This can be achieved either by increasing the sink of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, or by reducing their emissions. For the first option, you need a large number of young forests, which will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the second option will be achieved if the consumption of fossil fuels is reduced. All ratified countries agree that the world there is a global changing of the climate. The UN stands ready to do everything it can to mitigate the consequences of the impending strike.

Many countries participating in the convention have concluded that the most effective will be joint projects and programs. At the moment, there are more than 150 such projects. There are 9 such programs officially in Russia, and more than 40 unofficially.

At the end of 1997, the Convention on Climate Change signed the Kyoto Protocol, which stipulated that countries with economies in transition are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol has been ratified by 35 countries.

Our country also took part in the implementation of this protocol. Climate change in Russia has led to the fact that the number of natural Disasters has doubled. Even if we take into account that the territory of the state is home to boreal woodlands, they cannot cope with all greenhouse gas emissions. It is necessary to improve and increase forest ecosystems, to carry out large-scale measures to reduce emissions from industrial enterprises.

Predictions of the consequences of global warming

The essence of climate change in the last century is global warming... According to the worst forecasts, further irrational activities of mankind can raise the Earth's temperature by 11 degrees. Climate change will be irreversible. The rotation of the planet will slow down, many species of animals and plants will die. The level of the oceans will rise so much that many islands will be flooded and most of coastal areas. The Gulf Stream will change course, leading to a new Little Ice Age in Europe. There will be widespread cataclysms, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, tsunamis, etc. The ice in the Arctic and Antarctica will begin to melt.

For humanity, the consequences will be catastrophic. In addition to the need to survive in conditions of strong natural anomalies, people will have many other problems. In particular, the number of cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, psychological disorders, outbreaks of epidemics will begin. There will be an acute shortage of food and drinking water.

What to do?

To avoid the consequences of climate change, first of all, it is necessary to reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Humanity should switch to new sources of energy, which should be low-carbohydrate and renewable. Sooner or later, the world community will face this issue, since the currently used resource - mineral fuel - is not renewable. Scientists will have to create new, more efficient technologies someday.

It is also necessary to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and only reforestation can help with this.

Every effort is required to stabilize the global temperature on Earth. But even if this does not succeed, humanity must try to achieve minimal consequences of global warming.