http://www.eoearth.org/ Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 GMT 15 en-us cutler@bu.edu http://www.eoearth.org/e/i/header_logo.gif http://www.eoearth.org/ http://www.eoearth.org/article/Further_Reading_on_Climate_Change </p> <table id='toc' class='toc'><tr><td><p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Further_Reading_on_Climate_Change'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Further_Reading_on_Climate_Change Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:45:58 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/EoE_for_Educators <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/EoE_for_Educators'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/c/c5/Classroom_widget_3.jpg' width='100'/></a></p> <p>The Earth Portal and Encyclopedia of Earth are dedicated to expanding and enhancing opportunities for education on environmental topics. Please take a moment to explore the many resources below, and provide <a href="http://www.earthportal.org/?page_id=1371" class='external text' title="http://www.earthportal.org/?page id=1371">feedback</a> on using online resources for education.</p> <h2><strong>Internship Opportunity</strong></h2> <p>Accepting Applications for Spring 2010 EoE Interns. <br />Final Deadline is December 4th, 2009.</p> <p><a href="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=f2143e34-38b4-4c57-b89e-ba564f2806dc" class='external text' title="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=f2143e34-38b4-4c57-b89e-ba564f2806dc">Internship Details</a> (PDF)<br /><a href="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=08e99689-4565-45e6-8595-89e2990ca1aa" class='external text' title="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=08e99689-4565-45e6-8595-89e2990ca1aa">Student Application Form</a> (PDF)<br /><a href="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=c31406a8-d501-42de-a7ab-813ddcad50d4" class='external text' title="https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document.do?docid=c31406a8-d501-42de-a7ab-813ddcad50d4">Faculty Recommendation Form</a> (PDF)</p> <h2>Initiatives of the Environmental Information Coalition</h2><p><a href="/article/EoE_in_the_classroom">EoE in the Classroom</a><br />See how educators are using the Encyclopedia of Earth in classrooms for course preparation and teaching.</p><p><a href="/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project">Student Science Communication Project</a><br />Browse articles written by students and published on the Encyclopedia of Earth with guidance from faculty and the EoE expert community.</p> <h2>Readers and Online Courses</h2><p><a href="/article/Ecology_Reader-_Ecology_for_Teachers">Ecology for Teachers Reader</a><br />Explore a graduate level course reader developed by Mark McGinley for an interdisciplinary program to teach high school teachers to teach ecology.</p><p><a href="/article/Environmental_Contaminants_and_Toxicology_Reader">Environmental Contaminants and Toxicology Reader</a><br />Delve into a broad introductory reader developed by Emily Monosson covering contaminants and toxicology.</p><p><a href="/article/AP_Environmental_Science_Online_Course">AP Environmental Science Online Course</a><br />Utilize this thorough online course put together by the University of California College Prep to prepare students for the College Board’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science test.</p> <h2>Useful links</h2><p><a href="/article/Collections">Collections</a> of articles and resources around a topic or region</p><p><a href="/article/EBooks">E-books</a> published on the Encyclopedia of Earth</p><p><a href="/article/Environmental_Classics">Environmental Classics</a> that are often used in environmental science and studies programs</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/EoE_for_Educators'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/EoE_for_Educators Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:24:24 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_(collection) <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_(collection)'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/4/4c/Cicerbita_alpina_mg-k_300px.jpg' width='100'/></a> </p> <p><a href="/article/Ecology">Ecology</a> is the science of interactions among living organisms and their environment. It is a dynamic, rapidly advancing field of fundamental importance to human society’s intimate interaction with the natural world. Understanding the scientific foundations of ecology is accordingly critical to an informed citizenry at all levels, beginning with early childhood education. This collection is designed as a resource for students, teachers, and the general public. Articles can be accessed and used individually or in combination as the basis of a course on fundamental principles of ecological science. All contributions were written by credentialed ecologists or other environmental professionals. Authors are welcome to expand on or edit the contents list; please contact <a href="mailto:jeduffy@vims.edu" class='external text' title="mailto:jeduffy@vims.edu">Emmett Duffy</a> or <a href="mailto:mark.mcginley@ttu.edu" class='external text' title="mailto:mark.mcginley@ttu.edu">Mark McGinley</a> with suggestions. If you are interested in writing an article for this collection, please consult the How to Contribute page for more information on getting involved.</p><p><em><strong>Note: This collection is a work in progress -- stay tuned for developing content, or contact the editors to contribute yourself!</strong></em></p><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Introduction</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Ecology">Ecology (definition)</a></li><li><a href="/article/Evolution">The evolutionary context</a></li><ul><li>Fitness</li><li><a href="/article/Natural_selection">Natural selection</a> (draft) </li><li>Adaptation</li><li>Historical factors</li></ul><li>Research approaches in ecology</li><ul><li>Natural history<br /></li></ul><ul><li>Ecological models</li><li>Ecological experiments<br /></li></ul></ul><li>The physical environment</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Climate_change_FAQs">Climate</a> </li><ul><li>Precipitation</li><li><a href="/article/Temperature">Temperature</a></li></ul><li><a href="/article/Solar_radiation">Solar radiation</a></li><li>Atmospheric circulation</li><li><a href="/article/Ocean_circulation">Ocean circulation</a></li><li>Water (draft)</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Physical_properties_of_water">Physical properties of water</a></li><li><a href="/article/Hydrologic_cycle">Hydrologic cycle</a></li><li><a href="/article/Seawater">Seawater</a></li><ul><li>Physical properties of seawater</li></ul></ul><li>Spatial variation in the environment</li><li>Habitat</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Habitat_selection">Habitat selection</a><br /></li></ul><li>Heterogeneity</li><li>Space and Scale</li><li>Disturbance</li></ul><li>Individual organisms</li><ul><li>Niche concepts</li><ul><li>Fundamental niche</li><li>Realized niche</li></ul><li>Resources</li><li>Behavior</li><li>Regulation and <a href="/article/Homeostasis">homeostasis</a></li><ul><li>Acclimation</li><li>Ectothermy and endothermy</li></ul><li>Life history</li><ul><li>Growth</li><li>Reproduction</li></ul><li>Metabolism</li><ul><li>Autotrophy and heterotrophy</li><li>Stoichiometry and nutrition</li><li>Production</li><li>Respiration</li></ul><li>Resource specialization</li></ul><li>Populations</li><ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Population">Population: definition</a></li><li><a href="/article/Population_ecology">Population ecology</a> </li><li><a href="/article/Intraspecific_competition">Intraspecific competition</a></li><li>Population growth</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Population_growth_rate">Population growth rate</a> (draft)</li></ul><li>Population regulation, and dynamics</li><ul><li>Age structure</li><li>Vital rates (natality, recruitment, fecundity, mortality)</li><li>Intrinsic rate of natural increase</li><li><a href="/article/Carrying_capacity">Carrying capacity</a></li><li>Density-dependent population growth</li></ul><li>Models of population growth</li><ul><li>Deterministic models</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Exponential_growth">Exponential growth</a> </li><li><a href="/article/Logistic_growth">Logistic growth</a> </li></ul><li>Stochastic models</li></ul><li>Population fluctuations</li><li>Dispersal and migration</li><li>Metapopulations</li><li>Stability</li></ul></ul><li>Communities</li><ul><li>Community: definitions</li><li><a href="/article/Community_ecology">Community ecology</a></li><li><a href="/article/Competition">Competition</a> </li><ul><li><a href="/article/Interspecific_competition">Interspecific competition</a></li><ul><li>Exploitation competition</li><li>Interference competition</li><li><a href="/article/Competitive_exclusion_principle">The competitive exclusion principle</a></li><li>Resource partitioning</li></ul></ul><li>Consumer-prey interactions</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Predation">Predation</a></li><ul><li>Functional response</li><li>Numerical response<br /></li><li><a href="/article/Predator-prey_cycles">Predator-prey cycles</a></li></ul><li><a href="/article/Herbivory">Herbivory</a></li><li>Omnivory<br /></li><li>Apparent competition</li><li>Commensalism</li><li><a href="/article/Mutualism">Mutualism</a></li><li>Defenses</li></ul><li>Parasitism and disease</li><li>Interaction strength</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Keystone_species">Keystone species</a></li><li>Foundation species</li></ul><li>Dominance</li><li>Indirect effects</li><li>Succession</li><li>Climax community</li><li>Community assembly</li><li>Ecological networks<br /></li><li>Trophic structure</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Food_web">Food webs</a></li><li>Trophic level</li><li>Trophic transfer<br /></li><li>Trophic cascades</li><li><a href="/article/Bottom-up_control">Bottom-up control</a></li><li><a href="/article/Top-down_control">Top-down control</a></li></ul><li>Decomposition and detritus</li><li><a href="/article/Biodiversity">Biodiversity</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Species_diversity">Species diversity</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Species_richness">Species richness</a></li></ul><li>Functional diversity</li><li>Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning<br /></li></ul><li>Neutral models and neutral theory</li><li>Island biogeography</li><li><a href="/article/Ecophylogenetics">Ecophylogenetics</a><br /></li><li><a href="/article/Exotic_species">Exotic species</a> <br /></li><li><a href="/article/Invasive_species">Invasive species</a> </li><ul><li><a href="/article/Marine_invasive_species">Marine invasive species</a></li><li><a href="/article/Aquatic_invasive_species">aquatic invasive species</a></li></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Ecosystem">Ecosystems</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Ecosystem">Ecosystem: definition</a></li><li>Biogeochemical cycles</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Hydrologic_cycle">Water cycle</a></li><li><a href="/article/Nitrogen_cycle">Nitrogen cycle</a></li><li><a href="/article/Carbon_cycle">Carbon cycle </a> </li></ul><li>Nutrient cycling</li><li>Decomposition</li><li>Energy flow</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Ecological_energetics">Ecological energetics</a></li><li>Primary productivity</li><li>Trophic transfer</li></ul><li>Alternate stable states/regime shifts</li><li>Resilience</li><li>Hysteresis</li></ul><li><a href="/article/Landscape_ecology">Landscapes</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Ecotope">Ecotopes</a></li><li>Patches and patchiness</li><li>Gradients</li><li>Edge effects</li><li>Corridors and connectivity</li><li>Metapopulation</li><li><a href="/article/Metacommunity_ecology">Metacommunity</a></li><li>Source/sink dynamics</li></ul><li>The global ecosystem</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Biosphere">Biosphere</a> </li><ul><li>Major patterns in distribution of species diversity</li></ul><li><a href="/article/Earth%27s_energy_balance">Earth&#39;s energy balance</a></li><li><a href="/article/Global_material_cycles">Global material cycles</a></li><li><a href="/article/Environmental_ethics_and_the_Gaia_theory">The Gaia hypothesis</a></li><li>Global environmental change</li><li><a href="/article/Biome">Biomes</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Terrestrial_biome">Terrestrial biome</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Tundra_biome">Tundra biome</a></li></ul><ul><li>Taiga (draft)</li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Forest_biome">Forest biome</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Grassland_biome">Grassland biome</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Desert_biome">Desert biome</a></li></ul><li><a href="/article/Marine_biomes">Marine biomes</a></li><ul><li>Open <a href="/article/Ocean">Ocean</a></li><li>Coastal ocean<br /></li><li><a href="/article/Coral_reef">Coral reef</a></li><li>Estuary</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Salt_marsh">Salt marsh</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Tidal_marsh">Tidal marsh</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Seagrass_meadows">Seagrass meadows</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="/article/Mangrove_swamp">Mangrove swamp</a></li></ul><li>Polar seas<br /></li></ul><li><a href="/article/Freshwater_biomes">Freshwater biomes</a></li><ul><li><a href="/article/Wetland">Wetland</a></li><li><a href="/article/Marsh">Marsh</a></li><li><a href="/article/Swamp">Swamp</a></li><li><a href="/article/Bog">Bog</a></li><li><a href="/article/Fens">Fens</a></li><li><a href="/article/Prairie_pothole">Prairie pothole</a></li><li>Riparian zones draft</li><li><a href="/article/River">River</a></li><li>Lakes</li><ul><li><a href="/article/Chemical_properties_of_lakes">Chemical properties of lakes</a></li><li>Playa lakes</li></ul><li><a href="/article/Spring">Spring</a></li></ul></ul><li><a href="/article/Anthropogenic_biomes">Anthropogenic biomes</a></li><ul><li>Dense settlements</li><li>Croplands</li><li>Rangelands</li><li>Forested lands</li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_(collection)'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_(collection) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:09:08 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Darwin,_Charles <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Darwin,_Charles'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/6/64/Charlesdarwin.jpg/200px-Charlesdarwin.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p>Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of <a href="/article/Evolution">evolution</a> by <a href="/article/Natural_selection">natural selection</a> and transformed the way we think about the natural world. </p><p>Darwin, a naturalist, was born in Shrewsbury, England on Feb. 12, 1809. His father was also a naturalist and a physician. His mother died when he was eight. Darwin was the first of the evolutionary biologists . At age sixteen, Darwin left Shrewsbury to study medicine at the University of Edinbourgh but switched to Cambridge University to study divinity. After he graduated, he went on a five-year scientific expedition to the <a href="/article/Ocean">Pacific</a> coast of South America on the H.M.S. Beagle from 1831-1836. <em><a href="/article/On_the_Origin_of_Species_%28historical_e-book%29">On the Origin of Species</a></em> (1859) described evolution and natural selection, giving a theoretical explanation for the <a href="/article/Biodiversity">diversity</a> among living and fossil beings. His book was not well received among the general population who felt threatened at the notion that humans were descended from ape-like creatures. The scientific community, however, did grasp his theories and today his book forms the basis for many contemporary archaeological theories.</p><p>In 1839 he married his cousin, Emma Wedgewood. Charles Darwin lived with his wife and children at their home at Down House in Kent, England. Darwin&#39;s main works include <em><a href="/article/On_the_Origin_of_Species_%28historical_e-book%29"></em><em>The Origin of Species</a></em> (1859) and <em>The Descent of Man</em> (1871).</p><p>&#160;</p> <h1>Biography <br /></h1><p><br />Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is a towering figure in the history of science.  He was born into a rather wealthy English family–Josiah Wedgwood of Wedgwood pottery and fine china was his grandfather.  He was not a great student as a child: instead of school, he preferred hunting, collecting things, and playing with a chemistry set.  He went to the University of Edinburgh to become a medical doctor, like his father.  Though he hated studying medicine, he began interacting with the natural history scholars there.  After a couple years, Darwin switched to Cambridge University, intending to become a clergyman in the Church of England.  He continued with natural history, collecting beetles, mostly, and thought that becoming a country priest would give him enough spare time to devote to his nature studies.  <br /><br />Darwin sailed on a five-year voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1831-1836) mostly to South America, though it did go around the world.  He was invited to be an intellectual companion for the captain, who was not supposed to mingle with the crew, and to contribute to the scientific mission of the voyage.  He was seasick almost the entire time they were at sea.  On land, though, he felt better and mainly collected plants, animals and fossils, and observed the geology.  While on the Galapagos Islands (a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, 1200 km west of Ecuador), he was told that locals could tell the difference between tortoises from each island, a fact he didn’t think much about at the time.  While collecting on each island, he did notice differences in some of the bird species, though he didn’t always keep good records of which island each bird came from.  Examining his specimens while crossing the Pacific, it appeared that many of the birds that he thought were of different species were actually finches with significantly different features.  Tortoises were caught on the islands, too, but for food, not science, and their shells were dumped overboard after they were eaten; he unwittingly lost what later would have been useful information for his theory.  </p><p>Back in England after his voyage, Darwin made a name for himself as an explorer and geologist, writing books on his travels, South American geology, and coral reefs.  He also began studying <a href="/article/Evolution">evolution</a>.  There was plenty of talk of evolution of species by scientists trying to understand living things and by non-scientists wishing to disagree with the Church of England. (The Church of England was the established Church and it dominated intellectual life, education and government.  Some felt that Church influence on public affairs was too strong and sought to ‘disestablish’ it.  As an aside, this is the main reason for the separation of church and state in the United States Constitution.  As another aside, one of the longest words in the English language, antidisestablishmentarianism, is the belief of those opposed to disestablishing the Church.) The Church was opposed to evolution, as its official position was that God created species as separate entities as stated in Genesis.  Darwin thought that the Galapagos Islands might shed light on the problem.  <br /><br />Since Darwin’s records for the Galapagos were not in the best order, he borrowed the collections of several others on the Beagle and analyzed them.  With the help of bird specialist John Gould, better known for his bird paintings, he determined that there were twelve distinct species of finch.  Darwin concluded that at some time in the past, one type of finch arrived on the islands and slowly changed into different species.  That evolution occurs was not a new idea to science, though it was quite controversial.  Darwin’s biggest contribution to science was in his explanation for how evolution happens.  He spent a lot of time studying domesticated animals (dogs, pigeons, chickens, etc.) and how breeders get new features.  If people artificially select for certain things, then maybe the environment changes species by “natural selection.”  He was also strongly influenced by Thomas Malthus’s well known essay on human <a href="/article/Population">population</a>, predicting that population growth is faster than growth in the food supply and so in the future people will starve to death in large numbers.  When applied to natural life forms trying to survive with limited resources, this became the concept later called “survival of the fittest.”<br /><br />Darwin concluded that the different species of finch on the Galapagos became distinct because they each had a different food source, depending on which island they lived.  If their food is bugs found in holes in trees, then those with longer and thinner beaks are more likely to survive and since children generally resemble their parents, they too will have long and thin beaks.  The overall change in beaks may be very small in a single generation, but over many generations the beaks take on a new shape on that island.  On another island the food source may be nuts, which have to be cracked open with the beak.  Here, short and fat beaks are selected for and over many generations all the finches on that island will have stubby beaks.  In this way, new species develop.  <br /><br />Over time Darwin gave up the idea of being a priest and devoted himself to science, supporting his family and research on investments.  He developed his theory of evolution by natural selection in the 1830s, but did not publish it.  It was too controversial and as a young scientist he didn’t want to make too many enemies.  So, he put it aside and worked on other projects for twenty years, all the time strengthening his theory with better evidence.  Among other pursuits, he spent ten years working on the physiology and classification of barnacles from around the world and he continued his studies on domesticated animals.  <br /><br />Darwin was sickly most of his adult life, with stomach and other problems.  It was common for him to be unable to work more than a couple hours per day and sometimes he was unable to work at all for months at a time.  In spite of this, he became one of the best known and most respected scientists in England.  <br /><br />In the late 1850s, Darwin was sent a paper outlining the theory of natural selection written by Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist working mostly in Asia. Independently, the two had come up with essentially the same theory.  In science, the first to publish generally gets credit for a new idea and Darwin could have used his influence to prevent publication of Wallace’s paper until Darwin’s was published (he was well known, Wallace was not, and Wallace was in Asia).  But he didn’t.  Darwin explained the situation to Wallace and they agreed to publish simultaneously.  Darwin wrote a summary of his theory and the two papers appeared together.  (Not all problems in science are settled this amiably.)  While evolution was still a highly controversial idea and opposed by both the hierarchy of the Church of England and by many scientists, public opinion had changed to the point that many supported the idea.  And by that time Darwin was an influential scientist who could not be dismissed easily.  He then put the theory into book form and On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published in 1859.  <br /><br />The Origin of Species was a popular book and stirred quite a controversy.  For reasons of both personality and health, Darwin did not defend it in debates, but he had friends who did, most notably <a href="/article/Huxley%2C_Thomas_Henry">Thomas Henry Huxley</a>.  Some eminent scientists were convinced right away that the theory is correct, some came to believe it over time, and some went to their graves adamant that it is wrong.  The Church of England and the Catholic Church also declared it wrong, though over time both religions have since rejected a literal interpretation of the Bible and support the idea of evolution of new species by natural means.  Virtually all scientists now accept the basic premise of natural selection bringing about new species.  The details are debated, but not the general theory.  Opposition now comes mostly from religious groups who insist that the Bible be interpreted literally.  <br /><br />Darwin spent much of his research time after 1859 more fully developing the ideas in “Origin of Species,” investigating such topics as seed transport across oceans, why orchids look the way they do, and the biology of human facial expressions.  When he died in 1882, he was buried at Westminster Abbey, one of the highest honors his country could bestow.  In terms of influence on scientific thinking, Darwin ranks with such greats as <a href="/article/Galileo">Galileo</a>, Newton, and Einstein.  And like Galileo, Darwin’s theory not only advanced a scientific discipline, but also contributed to changed attitudes about the separation of science and religion.</p><p>&#160;</p><p>(Note: this biography was originally published in <em>Focus on Geography</em>,  v. 47, no. 4 (2004), p. 34-36. and is reprinted here with permission of the American Geographical Society.)  </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Darwin,_Charles'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Darwin,_Charles Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:38:36 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Erie,_Ontario <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Erie,_Ontario'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/0/04/Erie1.gif/300px-Erie1.gif' width='100'/></a> <ul><li>Altitude: 174 m above sea level</li><li>Surface Area: 25,700 sq. km <br /></li><li>Mean Depth: 19 m</li><li>Maximum Depth: 64 m</li><li>Volume: 484 cu. km</li><li>Shoreline Length: 1,400 km</li><li>Drainage Basin: 84,500 sq km </li></ul> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Erie,_Ontario'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Erie,_Ontario Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:37:10 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/6/6c/BU_logo_116px.jpg' width='100'/></a></p><p>The Student Science Communication Project (SSCP) is a faculty-supervised science writing initiative in which students develop writing skills through the preparation of articles for publication in the <em>Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE)</em>. Writing projects can take many different forms, but they all have these essential features:</p><ol><li>A faculty member directs either individual students or a class with a focus on writing and communicating science.</li><li>Students prepare an EOE article under close supervision of the faculty member and which receives expert review prior to submission.</li><li>Papers are submitted to EOE, and reviewed via the normal EoE review process, with qualified papers being published in the EOE. </li></ol><p>Full details of the SSCP are available in <a href="/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project:_Teacher%E2%80%99s_Guide">Student Science Communication Project: Teacher’s Guide</a>. </p><p>Faculty interested in learning more about the SSCP or in developing their own project should contact Professor <a href="mailto:emonosson@verizon.net" class='external text' title="mailto:emonosson@verizon.net">Emily Monosson</a>, the Director of the Student Science Communication Project.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:45:24 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thermodynamics <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thermodynamics'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/8/8d/Carnot.jpg/249px-Carnot.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p>Thermodynamics is the physical science that accounts for the transformations of thermal energy into mechanical energy and its equivalent forms (electricity, self-organization of complex systems), and vice versa. The development of thermodynamics and the introduction of the concept of entropy, a measure of energy and resource degradation, are rooted into the technological ground of the <a href="/article/Industrial_Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> (England, XVIII - XIX centuries). James Watt&#39;s steam engine (1765) paved the way to a massive use of <a href="/article/Coal">coal</a> to generate <a href="/article/Heat">heat</a> and then work. The conversion of energy from one form to another was investigated by scientists and technicians in order to deeper understand the nature of heat towards increased efficiency. Thermodynamics was founded between 1850 and 1860 by <a href="/article/Thomson%2C_Robert_William">R.W. Thomson</a>, <a href="/article/Kelvin%2C_William_Thomson">Lord Kelvin</a>, <a href="/article/Clausius%2C_Rudolf_Julius_Emmanuel">R. Clausius</a>, and <a href="/article/Maxwell%2C_James_Clerk">J.C. Maxwell</a>, building on the seminal work of L.S. Carnot&#39;s <em>Réflexions sur la Puissance Motrice du Feu</em> (<em>Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire</em>, 1824) and the experiments of J.R. Mayer and <a href="/article/Joule%2C_James_Prescott">J.P. Joule</a> about the quantitative equivalence between mechanical work and heat. These studies yielded a set of Laws of Thermodynamics, describing the main principles underlying energy transformations: First Law, energy is conserved; Second Law, entropy cannot decrease in isolated systems; Third Law; entropy is zero when absolute temperature is zero. </p><p>During the 19th Century the laws of thermodynamics were applied to the self-organization of complex, far-from-equilibrium systems (biological, economic, and social). Started as an applied science, Thermodynamics rapidly developed into a more general system of knowledge encompassing almost all branches of life sciences. <a href="/article/Onsager%2C_Lars">L. Onsager</a>, <a href="/article/Prigogine%2C_Ilya">I. Prigogine</a>, <a href="/article/Georgescu-Roegen%2C_Nicholas">N. Georgescu-Roegen</a>, <a href="/article/Lotka%2C_Alfred_James">A. Lotka</a>, and <a href="/article/Odum%2C_Howard_T.">H.T. Odum</a>, among others, contributed to this research and several statements of Thermodynamics laws were tentatively reformulated or introduced a-new. </p><p><strong>Further reading</strong><br /> <a href="http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/thermo.html" class='external text' title="http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/thermo.html">Thermodynamics,</a> NASA website </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thermodynamics'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thermodynamics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:10:54 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Layers_of_the_ocean <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Layers_of_the_ocean'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/7/75/Ocean_layers.jpg/400px-Ocean_layers.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p> Just as the atmosphere is divided into layers the <a href="/article/Ocean">ocean</a> consists of several layers itself. </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Layers_of_the_ocean'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Layers_of_the_ocean Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:19:58 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mount_Kenya_National_Park_and_National_Forest,_Kenya <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mount_Kenya_National_Park_and_National_Forest,_Kenya'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/6/64/MountKenya.jpg/300px-MountKenya.jpg' width='100'/></a> <h1><strong>Introduction</strong></h1><p>Mount Kenya National Park (0°10&#39;S, 37°20&#39;E) is a World Heritage Site located in <a href="/article/Kenya">Kenya</a>.</p> <h1><strong>Geographical location</strong></h1> <p>Mount Kenya straddles the equator about 193 <a href="/article/Meter">kilometers</a> (km) north-east of Nairobi and about 480km from the Kenya <a href="/article/Coastal_zone">coast</a>. The nominated World Heritage property includes the adjacent natural <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forest</a> between 1,600 and 3,100 <a href="/article/Meter">meters</a> (m). 0°10&#39;S, 37°20&#39;E</p> <h1><strong>Date and history of establishment</strong></h1><p>The National Park was established in 1949 and internationally recognized as a <a href="/article/Biosphere">Biosphere</a> Reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme in April 1978. Legally established as a Forest Reserve before being gazetted as a National Park. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mount_Kenya_National_Park_and_National_Forest,_Kenya'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mount_Kenya_National_Park_and_National_Forest,_Kenya Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:54:15 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sea_water <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sea_water'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/8/83/Sea_water1_NOAA.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p> If there is one thing that just about everyone knows about the <a href="/article/Ocean">ocean</a> is that it is salty. The two most common elements in sea water, after <a href="/article/Oxygen">oxygen</a> and <a href="/article/Hydrogen">hydrogen</a>, are sodium and chloride. Sodium and chloride combine to form what we know as table salt.</p> <p>Sea water salinity is expressed as a ratio of salt (in grams) to liter of water. In sea water there is typically close to 35 grams of dissolved salts in each liter. It is written as 35‰. The normal range of ocean salinity ranges between 33-37 grams per liter (33‰ - 37‰).</p> <p>But as in weather, where there are areas of high and low pressure, there are areas of high and low salinity. Of the five ocean basins, the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest. On average, there is a distinct decrease of salinity near the equator and at both poles, although for different reasons.</p> <p>Near the equator, the tropics receive the most rain on a consistent basis. As a result, the fresh water falling into the ocean helps decrease the salinity of the surface water in that region. As one move toward the poles, the region of rain decreases and with less rain and more sunshine, evaporation increases.</p> <p>Fresh water, in the form of water vapor, moves from the ocean to the atmosphere through evaporation causing the higher salinity. Toward the poles, fresh water from melting ice decreases the surface salinity once again.</p> <p>The saltiest locations in the ocean are the regions where evaporation is highest or in large bodies of water where there is no outlet into the ocean. The saltiest ocean water is in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf region (around 40‰) due to very high evaporation and little fresh water inflow.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sea_water'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sea_water Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:51:51 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mosi-oa-Tunya___Victoria_Falls,_Zambia <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mosi-oa-Tunya___Victoria_Falls,_Zambia'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/d/d3/Victoriafalls.jpg/300px-Victoriafalls.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p>The Mosi-oa-tunya / Victoria Falls (17°55&#39;S, 25°50&#39;E) is a World Heritage Site in <a href="/article/Zambia">Zambia</a> and <a href="/article/Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> which has some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The Zambezi river, which is more than 2 <a href="/article/Meter">kilometers</a> (km) wide at this point, plunges noisily down a series of basalt gorges and raises (a  sometimes) iridescent mist that can be seen more than 30 km away.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mosi-oa-Tunya___Victoria_Falls,_Zambia'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mosi-oa-Tunya___Victoria_Falls,_Zambia Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:06:42 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rip_current <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rip_current'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/1/1c/RipCurrents1.jpg/300px-RipCurrents1.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p> Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes.</p> <p>Rip currents most typically form at low spots or breaks in sandbars, and also near structures such as groins, jetties and piers. Rip currents can be very narrow or extend in widths to hundreds of yards. The seaward pull of rip currents varies: sometimes the rip current ends just beyond the line of breaking waves, but sometimes rip currents continue to push hundreds of yards offshore.</p> <p>Rip currents form as incoming waves create an underwater sandbar close to shore (#1 above), and the waves push more and more water in between the sandbar and the shore (#2) until a section of this sandbar collapses and the water rushes back toward the sea (#3) through a narrow gap. Once the flowing water pass through the narrow gap it begins to spread out (#4). It is here where the velocity and strength of the rip current circulation begins to weaken considerably.</p> <p>Rip currents can be killers as they are the leading surf hazard for all beachgoers. They are particularly dangerous for weak or non-swimmers. Rip current speeds are typically 1-2 feet per second. However, speeds as high as 8 feet per second have been measured which is faster than an Olympic swimmer can sprint!</p> <p> The United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation&#39;s beaches exceeds 100. Rip currents account for over 80% of rescues performed by surf beach lifeguards.</p> <p>The drowning deaths occur when people, pulled offshore, are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore. This may be due to any combination of fear, panic, exhaustion, or lack of swimming skills.</p> <h2 class="leftalign">Dispelling the Myth of the Rip</h2> <p>A rip current is a horizontal motion not a vertical motion. Rip currents <strong>do not</strong> pull people under the water; they pull people away from shore. The rip current is typically the strongest about a foot off of the bottom, which can cause your feet to be knocked out from under you making it feel like something under the water was pulling you. This is where the incorrect term &quot;undertow&quot; comes from.</p> <p>Also, another incorrect term used for rip currents is the &quot;rip tide&quot;. Rip currents would exist with or without tides. However, low tide can enhance the intensity of the current.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rip_current'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rip_current Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:06:22 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Weather_and_oceans <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Weather_and_oceans'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/6/61/Oceans-World_NOAA.jpg' width='100'/></a> <h1>Weather and oceans <br /></h1> <p>One cannot learn about the weather we experience without considering the ocean and its effect on our weather...and the weather&#39;s effect on it. We must consider the ocean because nearly 71% of the earth&#39;s surface is covered by it and more than 97% of all our water is contained in it.</p> <p>We must consider the ocean and its impact as more than one-half of the world&#39;s population lives within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of the ocean.</p> <p>We must consider the ocean as its ability absorb, store, and release heat into the atmosphere is huge and often directly affects us. In fact, just the top 10 feet of the ocean surface contains more heat than our entire atmosphere.</p> <p>Major climate events, such as <a href="/article/El_Ni%C3%B1o%2C_La_Ni%C3%B1a_and_the_southern_oscillation">El Niño</a>, result from ocean temperature changes. These temperature changes then have impacts on weather events such as hurricanes, typhoons, floods and droughts which, in turn, affect the prices of fruits, vegetables and grains.</p> <p>It is essential that we consider &quot;the ocean&quot;.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Weather_and_oceans'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Weather_and_oceans Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:48:17 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Morne_Trois_Pitons,_Dominica <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Morne_Trois_Pitons,_Dominica'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/2/26/Mornes_map.jpg/250px-Mornes_map.jpg' width='100'/></a> <h1><strong>Introduction</strong><br /></h1><p>Morne Trois Pitons (15°16&#39;-15°23&#39;N, 61°17&#39;-61°21&#39;W) is located 13 <a href="/article/Meter">kilometers</a> (km) east of the town of Roseau in the highlands of south-central <a href="/article/Dominica">Dominica</a>. </p> <h1><strong>Date and History of Establishment</strong></h1><ul><li>1952: Morne Trois Pitons was first proposed as a <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forest</a> reserve </li><li>1975: The area was designated as National Park under the National Parks and Protected Areas Act No. 16 of July</li><li>1997: Inscribed on the World Heritage List </li></ul> <h1><strong>Area</strong></h1> <p>6,857 hectares (ha) .</p> <h1><strong>Land Tenure</strong></h1><p>Morne Trois Pitons National Park was established from former government lands and a private contribution from the former Middleham Estate, which was originally donated to The Nature Conservancy by John Archbold. The Conservancy held the approximately 400 ha of land in trust until 1980, and then transferred ownership to the Commonwealth of Dominica for inclusion in the park. A few small private inholdings remain and certain rights-of-way have been granted to the Dominica&#39;s Electric Utility Company (DOMLEC). </p> <h1><strong>Altitude</strong></h1><p>500-1,220 <a href="/article/Meter">meters</a> (m).</p> <h1><strong>Physical Features</strong></h1><p>Morne Trois Pitons is the basaltic spike-like remains of a former <a href="/article/Volcano">volcano</a> rising to approximately 1,300 m, within 8 km of the sea. The landscape is characterized by volcanic piles with precipitous slopes, and deeply incised valleys (glacis slopes). There is also a fumarole known as Valley of Desolation (or Grand Soufriere), with fumaroles, hot springs, mud pots, sulfur vents and the Boiling Lake, which is the world&#39;s second largest of its kind. The valley is a large amphitheatre surrounded by <a href="/article/Mountain">mountains</a> and consisting of at least three separate craters where steam vents, small ponds, and hot springs bubble up through the ground. Boiling Lake is surrounded by cliffs and is almost always covered by clouds of steam. The <a href="/article/Freshwater_biomes">lake&#39;s</a> water level and colour are highly variable, often bubbling and churning at about 95°C, and making dull roaring sounds. The Valley of Desolation drains into the Pointe Mulatre River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. </p><p>Other outstanding features in the area include the Emerald Pool, fed by the Middleham Falls; Stinking Hole, a lava tube in the middle of the <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forest</a>; and the Boeri and Freshwater Lakes. The <a href="/article/Freshwater">Freshwater</a> Lake is the largest and second deepest of <a href="/article/Dominica">Dominica</a>&#39;s four freshwater lakes. The Boeri Lake is the second largest in Dominica, and is located in the crater of an extinguished volcano. Both lakes are separated from each other by Morne Macaque (1,221 m) and vary in depth with the season. Both are thought to have originated about 25,000-30,000 years ago. The park also encompasses nearly all the headwaters of the <a href="/article/Stream">streams</a> and <a href="/article/River">rivers</a> in the southern half of the island. </p><p>There are three types of <a href="/article/Soil">soils</a> groups represented within the park, allophanoid <a href="/article/Clay">clays</a>, kandoid, and protosols. These soils are primarily differentiated by the degree of chemical <a href="/article/Weathering">weathering</a> they have undergone. </p> <h1><strong>Climate</strong></h1><p>The climate is classified as <a href="/article/Atmospheric_humidity">humid</a> tropical <a href="/article/Air_masses_and_frontal_transitional_zones">marine</a>, with little seasonal or diurnal variation. During most of the year there are gentle trade <a href="/article/Wind">winds</a> averaging 14.5 km per hour (kph). Average <a href="/article/Temperature">temperature</a> range is about 19-27°C from January to June, and 21°C-28°C during the rest of the year. Relative <a href="/article/Atmospheric_humidity">humidity</a> is very high at approximately 95 percent, rarely falling below 85 percent. Nearly all the lower elevation <a href="/article/Precipitation_and_fog">rainfall</a> occurs between June and January. <a href="/article/Precipitation_and_fog">Precipitation</a> is usually short in duration but intense, with an average exceeding 7,600 <a href="/article/Meter">millimeters</a> (mm) per year. </p> <h1><strong>Vegetation</strong></h1> <p>The following five natural vegetation zones are recognized within the area, plus a small patch of encroaching <a href="/article/Agriculture">agricultural</a> land. First, elfin/cloud forest, which occurs at the highest elevations, above 914 m, and is almost constantly covered by mist and subject to high <a href="/article/Wind">winds</a>, <a href="/article/Precipitation_and_fog">rain</a>, and cold <a href="/article/Temperature">temperatures</a>. Main vegetation types consist of mosses, ferns, shrubs and stunted trees covered by <a href="/article/Lichen">lichens</a>. The two predominant species are <em>Clusia venosa</em> and <em>Lobelia cirisifolia</em>. Second, montane thicket, which is transitional between elfin and montane <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forests</a>, and is dominated by spindly trees, about 12-15 m high with small canopies. The most common tree found on steep slopes is <em>Podocarpus coriaceus</em>, the island&#39;s only native conifer. In flatter areas, the main tree is <em>Amanoa caribaea</em> (V). Third, montane rain forest, which grows above 610 m and is frequently in <a href="/article/Cloud_formation_processes">cloud</a> cover or <a href="/article/Precipitation_and_fog">fog</a>. The species composition is similar to that of mature rain forest, yet much reduced in stature. Non-vascular epiphytes cover most montane rain forest plants. Fourth, mature rain forest, which grows below 460 m. This zone contains the most luxuriant growth, and is dominated by <em>Dacryodes excelsa</em>, <em>Sloanea</em> spp., and <em>Licania ternatensis</em>. Fifth, secondary rain forest. Vestigial old stands often remain, surrounded by smaller re-growth. Common species include <em>Cyathea</em> spp., <em>Miconia guianensis</em>, <em>Simarouba amara</em> and <em>Chimarrhis cymosa</em>. </p> <h1><strong>Fauna</strong></h1><p>A full faunal inventory is yet to be completed. However, previous surveys indicate the occurrence of at least seven species of mammal, 50 birds, 12 <a href="/article/Reptile">reptiles</a> and <a href="/article/Amphibian">amphibians</a> and 12 crustaceans. </p><p>Apart from introduced opossum <em>Didelphys marsupialis</em> and agouti <em>Dasyprocta agouti</em>, there are no <a href="/article/Terrestrial_biome">terrestrial</a> mammals in the area. Other introduced mammals include feral cats and pigs and rats. </p><p>Birds include imperial amazon <em>Amazona imperialis</em> (VU) and red-necked amazon <em>A. arausiaca</em> (VU). Imperial amazon was formerly common but is now threatened in <a href="/article/Dominica">Dominica</a>. A reduced <a href="/article/Population">population</a> of the species existed in the Morne Watt area prior to <a href="/article/Tropical_weather_and_hurricanes">Hurricane</a> David, but now its existence in the park is uncertain. Red-necked amazon was also a commonly seen species, but now is rarely observed in only a few small areas of the park. </p><p>There are no poisonous snakes in Dominica. Boa <em>Boa constrictor nebulosa</em> grows to 3.6 m in length and is common in Morne Trois Pitons. Three species of lizards, including the endemic <em>Anolis oculatus</em>, exist in the park. The island&#39;s two native species of tree frogs, including the endemic <em>Eleutherodactylus amplinympha</em>, also occur in the park. </p><p>There is also a wide variety of moths, butterflies and other insects. </p> <h1><strong>Cultural Heritage</strong></h1><p>No information available.</p> <h1><strong>Local Human Population</strong></h1><p>Being located in the roadless interior of <a href="/article/Dominica">Dominica</a> there are only a few small holder farmers using land near the park boundary. Because the area contains the major source of electric power for the island, and of <a href="/article/Freshwater">freshwater</a> for several southern communities, the Commonwealth of Dominica reserved certain <a href="/article/Water_governance">water</a> and power rights when the National Parks and Protected Areas Act of 1975 was conceived. Currently, DOMLEC rights-of-way and about 2 ha of private inholdings are clustered near Freshwater <a href="/article/Freshwater_biomes">Lake</a>, a primary entry to the park. There is also a small quarry towards the northeastern border of the Park. </p> <h1><strong>Visitors and Visitor Facilities</strong></h1><p>The area receives a number of tourists which increases each year. Visitors can drive into the park at two locations: the village of Laudat on the road from Roseau, and the Emerald Pool site on the cross-island road between Roseau and Castle Bruce. Approximately 10,000-15,000 visitors walk to the Emerald Pool each year, and another 1,500-2,000 take the 6 km hike to the Boiling Lake. A number of ancient trails or footpaths, traverse the park running roughly east-west between mountains or north-south along ridges. Some of these were used in the recent past (before the development of roads to the east, completed in 1960) for access to Roseau, and are use for sightseeing. Others were used for hunting and still are used for access to the Valley of Desolation. Some facilities (picnic shelters, tables, washrooms) have been constructed in the park. In addition, a variety of publications (brochures, booklets, leaflets) pertaining to the park and its main attractions have been produced. The park&#39;s education program is facilitated through the Environmental Education Unit of the <a href="/article/Forestry">Forestry</a> and Wildlife Division. </p> <h1><strong>Scientific Research and Facilities</strong></h1><p>Scientific research in the park includes biological studies (flora and fauna distribution/abundance) in the Freshwater Lake area; assessment of environmental impact of ecotourism and recreation; measures of the flow rate of selected <a href="/article/Stream">streams</a> in the Freshwater/Boeri Lakes area; analysis of past impact of <a href="/article/Tropical_weather_and_hurricanes">tropical cyclones</a>; studies of natural regeneration of the flora; assessment of the impact of <a href="/article/Tropical_weather_and_hurricanes">Hurricane</a> David (1979) on the vegetation; and evaluations of the presence of inert gases released by fumaroles in the Valley of Desolation. A university research and training facility is located adjacent to the park at Springfield. </p> <h1><strong>Conservation Value</strong></h1><p>Morne Trois Pitons National Park includes within its boundaries the headwaters of most major streams and <a href="/article/River">rivers</a> in the southern half of the island. The area protects large tracts of almost intact tropical <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forest</a> and associated fauna. In particular, the park appears is important for imperial and red-necked amazons, as well as for other species of conservation concern. </p> <h1><strong>Conservation Management </strong><br /></h1><p>The agency responsible for the management of Morne Trois Pitons National Park is the <a href="/article/Forestry">Forestry</a> and Wildlife Division of the Ministry of <a href="/article/Agriculture">Agriculture</a> and the Environment of <a href="/article/Dominica">Dominica</a>. Nongovernmental organizations with important supporting roles include the Dominica Conservation Association (DCA) and Dominica&#39;s Electric Utility Company (DOMLEC). In 1975, the first preliminary plan outlining management guidelines for the park was prepared. In 1989, a ten-year management plan for the park was written. Guidelines for the management of the park are also included in the plan prepared by Scheele on behalf of the Organization of American States (1991). </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Morne_Trois_Pitons,_Dominica'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Morne_Trois_Pitons,_Dominica Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:51:36 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_1 <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_1'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/2/2e/F01.01a_SchneiderPPTslide11-onscreenedits.jpg/280px-F01.01a_SchneiderPPTslide11-onscreenedits.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p><strong>Summary of the IPCC Assessment Reports</strong>*</p><blockquote><p><em>The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt.</em><br />—George W. Bush, President, United States, 2005</p><p><em>While the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial step forward, that step is far too small. And as we consider how to go further still, there remains a frightening lack of leadership.</em><br />—Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations, 2006</p><p><em>Global warming has felt like breaking news a few times in recent years. But the first big pulse of coverage and public attention came in 1988, when the Amazon rain forest and Yellowstone were ablaze, a searing drought had farmers kicking dusty fields in frustration, and global temperatures had seen enough of a rise that a NASA climate expert, James Hansen, asserted before a Senate panel that statistics showed “the greenhouse effect has been detected and is changing our climate now.” ^[7]</em><br />—Andrew Revkin, 2008  </p></blockquote><p>*This content is adapted from summaries in the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/10th-anniversary/anniversary-brochure.pdf" class='external text' title="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/10th-anniversary/anniversary-brochure.pdf">UNFCCC 10th Anniversary Brochure</a>, and the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/" class='external text' title="http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC Web site</a>. </p><p>The World Meteorological Organization held the first ever World Climate Conference in 1979 to address concerns that human activities were interfering with regional and global climate patterns. In 1985, WMO, <a href="/contributor/UNEP">UNEP</a>, and the International Council for Science (ICSU) held a joint conference on the Assessment of the Role of Carbon Dioxide and of Other Greenhouse Gases in Climate Variations and Associated Impacts and established the Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases (AGGG) as follow-up. Two years later at the 10th Congress of the WMO came the call for an “objective, balanced and internationally coordinated scientific assessment of the understanding on the effects of increasing concentrations of <a href="/article/Greenhouse_gas">greenhouse gases</a> on the earth’s climate and on ways in which these changes may impact socio-economic patterns.” The WMO Executive Council asked the secretary-general of the WMO, in coordination with the executive director of UNEP, to create an “ad-hoc international mechanism” to do this. In November 1988, the WMO and UNEP collaborated to form a new panel with a long name and charged it to report back within 2 years. They called it the <a href="/article/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change_%28IPCC%29">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)</a>. </p><p>The Panel’s First Assessment Report in 1990 was a landmark synthesis of global climate information. Working Group I experts concluded they were “certain that emissions from human activities are substantially increasing the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmospheric</a> concentrations of <a href="/article/Greenhouse_gas">greenhouse gases</a> and that this will enhance the <a href="/article/Greenhouse_effect">greenhouse effect</a> and result in an additional <a href="/article/Global_warming">warming</a> of the Earth’s surface.” [4] Working Group II “highlighted important uncertainties with regard to timing, magnitude and regional patterns of climate change, but noted that impacts will be felt most severely in regions already under stress, mainly in developing countries.” [4] Working Group III “presented a flexible and progressive approach comprising shorter-term mitigation and adaptation measures and proposals for more intensive action over the longer-term. The group developed also possible elements for inclusion in a framework convention on climate change.” [4] It was this last piece from Working Group III that contained the ideas around which UN diplomats formulated the <a href="/article/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change_%28full_text%29">UN Framework Convention of Climate Change</a> that became law in 1994.</p><p>The Second Assessment Report, completed in late 1995, included a new area, namely the socioeconomic aspects of climate change, and the scope of the reporting from working groups adjusted to meet this new requirement. The membership of the Panel expanded to include all the member nations of the WMO and UNEP. The 1995 Working Group I concluded that the basic science showed the following:</p><ul><li><a href="/article/Greenhouse_gas">Greenhouse gas</a> concentrations had continued to increase.</li><li>Anthropogenic <a href="/article/Aerosols">aerosols</a> tended to produce negative radiative forcing.</li><li>Climate had changed over the past century.</li><li>The balance of evidence suggested a discernible human influence on global climate.</li><li>Climate was expected to continue to change in the future; and there remained still many uncertainties.</li></ul><p>The 1995 Working Group II concluded, in parallel findings: </p><ul><li>Human-induced climate change added an important new stress.</li><li>Most systems were sensitive to climate change.</li><li>Impacts were difficult to quantify, and existing studies were limited in scope.</li><li>Successful adaptation depended upon technological advances, institutional arrangements, availability of financing, and information exchange.</li><li>Vulnerability increased as adaptive capacity decreased.</li><li>Detection would be difficult, and unexpected changes could not be ruled out; further research and monitoring were essential.</li></ul><p>The 1995 Working Group III highlighted a number of insights for policymakers, such as the following:</p><ul><li>A prudent way to deal with climate change would be through a portfolio of actions aimed at mitigation, adaptation, and improvement of knowledge. </li><li>Earlier mitigation action might increase flexibility in moving toward stabilization of <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmospheric</a> concentrations of greenhouse gases. </li><li>Significant &quot;no-regrets&quot; opportunities were available in most countries, and the risk of aggregate net damage due to climate change, consideration of risk aversion, and application of the precautionary principle provided rationales for action beyond no regrets. </li></ul><p>The Group also stressed the value of obtaining better information about climate processes, their impacts and responses, and the need for more research and analysis of economic and social issues related to climate change. </p><p>By 2001, the Panel’s Third Assessment Report extended the earlier work and took advantage of increasingly sophisticated observation tools and modeling methods that allowed greater resolution in the findings. The key findings of 2001 Working Group I included these: </p><ul><li>An increasing body of observations gave a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system. </li><li>Emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols due to human activities continued to alter the atmosphere in ways that were expected to affect the climate. </li><li>Confidence in the ability of models to project future climate had increased; there was new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years was attributable to human activities.</li><li>Human influences would continue to change atmospheric composition throughout the 21st century.</li><li>Global average <a href="/article/Temperature">temperature</a> and sea level were expected to rise under all IPCC emissons scenarios; atmospheric climate change would persist for many centuries.</li><li>Further action was required to address remaining gaps in information and understanding.</li></ul><p>The 2001 findings of Working Group II included these: </p><ul><li>Recent regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases, had already affected many physical and biological systems. </li><li>There were preliminary indications that some human systems had been affected by recent increases in floods and droughts. </li><li>Natural systems were vulnerable to climate change, and some would be irreversibly damaged. </li><li>Many human systems were sensitive to climate change, and some were vulnerable. </li><li>Projected changes in climate extremes could have major consequences; the potential for large-scale and possibly irreversible impacts posed risks that had yet to be reliably quantified. </li><li>Adaptation was a necessary strategy at all scales to complement climate change mitigation efforts. </li><li>Those with the fewest resources had the least capacity to adapt and were the most vulnerable; and adaptation, sustainable development, and enhancement of equity could be mutually reinforcing. </li></ul><p>The 2001 Working Group III on adaptation and mitigation reported that the desired mix of options to reduce human-induced climate change varied with time and place. Some other key findings included these: </p><ul><li>Near- and long-term implications of stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases were determined. </li><li>Technologies, policies, and costs of near- and long-term mitigation were identified. </li><li>Alternative development paths could result in very different greenhouse gas emissions. </li></ul><ul><li>Interactions between climate change and other environmental issues and development were xxxxx ,</li><li>Climate change mitigation would both be affected by, and have impacts on, broader socioeconomic policies and trends, such as those relating to development, <a href="/article/Sustainability">sustainability</a>, and equity. </li><li>Significant progress relevant to greenhouse gas emissions reduction had been made since the Second Assessment Report in 1995 and had been faster than anticipated. </li><li><a href="/article/Forest_biome">Forests</a>, <a href="/article/Agriculture">agricultural lands</a>, and other terrestrial <a href="/article/Ecosystem">ecosystems</a> offered significant <a href="/article/Carbon">carbon</a> mitigation potential. </li></ul><ul><li>Although not necessarily permanent, conservation and sequestration of carbon might allow time for other options to be further developed and implemented. </li><li>Most model results indicated that known technological options could achieve a broad range of atmospheric <a href="/article/Carbon_dioxide">CO₂</a> stabilization levels, such as 550 ppmv , 450 ppmv, or below over the next 100 years or more, but implementation would require associated socioeconomic and institutional changes. </li><li>Some sources of greenhouse gas emissions could be limited at no or negative social costs to the extent that policies could exploit no-regrets opportunities. </li><li>Emission constraints in Annex I (industrialized) countries had been well established, though there had been varied “spillover” effects on non–Annex I countries. </li><li>The effectiveness of climate change mitigation could be enhanced when climate policies were integrated with the non-climate objectives of national and sectoral policy development.</li></ul><p>By 2007, the Panel’s Fourth Assessment Report, titled Climate Change 2007, reached stronger consensus on both the rapidity with which climate has been changing and the significance of the human contribution to climate disruption. Dan Perlman and James Morris of Brandeis University sum up the key new findings of the 2007 working groups on the science, adaptation and mitigation options, and policymaking insights in a few sentences, adapted below from their “What the IPCC Said” booklet:</p><ul><li>Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and it is greater than what was found in the IPCC’s Third Assessment Report in 2001. </li><li>Human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, have resulted in <a href="/article/Global_warming">warming</a> of the planet; other changes in climate; and effects on natural <a href="/article/Ecosystem">ecosystems</a>.</li><li>The climate will continue to change in the 21st century. Specifically, we will see continued increases in <a href="/article/Temperature">temperature</a>, increases in global <a href="/article/Greenhouse_gas">greenhouse gas</a> emissions, and changes in other aspects of climate, such as <a href="/article/Wind">wind</a> patterns and <a href="/article/Precipitation_and_fog">precipitation</a> (Working Group II).</li><li>We can respond to climate change in two ways. Adaptation involves developing ways to protect ourselves from climate impacts, such as building sea walls to protect communities from rising sea levels. Mitigation involves slowing the process of climate change by lowering the concentration of greenhouse gases in the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a>, for example, by reducing emissions or planting trees. </li><li>While such strategies have begun, more extensive adaptation and mitigation efforts are required to reduce our vulnerability to climate change. In addition, there are barriers, limits, and costs associated with any of these strategies. </li></ul><p>In the long term, there are many reasons to be concerned about climate change, ranging from increased risk of extinctions to rising sea levels. Adaptation (adjusting our environment to avoid climate impacts) and mitigation (such as decreasing our output of greenhouse gases) are both necessary to reduce adverse impacts of climate change. It will probably be possible to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere using technologies that are or will soon be available. We need to carefully evaluate both (1) the up-front economic costs of mitigation and (2) the noneconomic and economic costs of the impacts of climate change. </p><p>On the topic of whether and to what extent human activities influence greenhouse gases and climate, the Panel has made the following statements, summarized in Table 1.2, that show a steady march toward near certainty. This rise in certainty is due to both more information from more locations over time and higher-resolution modeling over time based on that information. </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_1'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_1 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:15:01 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions_Consensus <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions_Consensus'><img border='0' src='/media/approved/9/93/Cover_1951_blocksteincoverfrontr02pa.jpg' width='100'/></a> </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions_Consensus'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions_Consensus Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:12:23 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Umbrella_species <p>The concept of an umbrella species has been used by conservation practitioners to provide protection for other species using the same habitat as the umbrella species.  As the term implies, a species casts an “umbrella” over the other species by being more or equally sensitive to habitat changes. Thus monitoring this one species and managing for its continued success results in the maintenance of high quality habitat for the other species in the area.  Animals identified as umbrella species typically have large home ranges that cover multiple habitat types.  Therefore, protecting the umbrella species effectively protects many habitat types and the many species that depend on those habitats. Although the effectiveness of this conservation approach is debated, it is often used by practitioners to select a minimum size for protected areas.</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Umbrella_species'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Umbrella_species Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:38:45 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Shifting_mosaic_steady-state <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Shifting_mosaic_steady-state'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/7/7f/SMSS.jpg/350px-SMSS.jpg' width='100'/></a> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Shifting_mosaic_steady-state'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Shifting_mosaic_steady-state Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:31:14 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_4 <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_4'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/7/79/F04.01_IPCC_WG1_faq-5-1-fig-1.jpg/280px-F04.01_IPCC_WG1_faq-5-1-fig-1.jpg' width='100'/></a> <blockquote><p><em>As seawater warms up, it expands, increasing the volume of the global ocean</em>. [28]</p><p>—Gerald Meehl and his IPCC colleagues, 2007 </p></blockquote><blockquote><p><em>Global warming raises the potential of unlocking large amounts of fresh water now frozen in the vast Greenland ice sheet and in Arctic Ocean sea ice. Warming air temperatures could also increase evaporation in low latitudes and transport freshwater vapor toward high latitudes, where it falls as rain or snow into the oceans. Could these factors tip the freshwater balance in the North Atlantic in the future?</em> [27]</p><p>—Jerry McManus and Delia Oppo, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2006 </p></blockquote><p>As we have learned, the <a href="/article/Ocean">ocean</a> is a vast reservoir, not only of water, but also of heat. The thermal layers are not uniform. Surface water warmed by the sun tends to contain more heat than layers 100 meters below the surface or deeper. The bigger the <a href="/article/Temperature">temperature</a> difference between the warmer top water and colder bottom water, the more potential exists to convert that difference into other kinds of energy, such as electricity. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is an energy technology that converts <a href="/article/Solar_radiation">solar radiation</a> to electric power.  OTEC systems use the ocean&#39;s natural thermal gradient—the difference in temperatures of the ocean&#39;s layers of water—to drive a power-producing cycle. As long as the temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water differs by about 20°C (36°F), an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power, with little impact on the surrounding environment. As the OTEC Web site notes, “The oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to help us produce billions of <a href="/article/Watt">watts</a> of electric power.” [31] According to some experts, this potential may be as large as 10,000 billion watts of continuous baseload power generation. </p><p>Essentially, the technology involves pumping cold deep ocean water to the surface, exchanging the thermal energy between the two reservoirs in a heat engine, and returning the water to the mixed layer between the warm top and cold deep layers. Experimental OTEC stations have been in operation since the late 1990s. The by-products of the heat exchange include clean <a href="/article/Freshwater">freshwater</a> (which rivals in quality that of modern desalination plants) and cold &quot;waste&quot; water, which could be used for marine aquaculture or even for growing plants on land, as the Seawater Greenhouse project shows.*</p><p>*www.seawatergreenhouse.com </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_4'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_4 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:57:20 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_3 <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_3'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/4/4e/F03.01_ad-AR4-WGI_CO2-Rate_20kya.jpg/280px-F03.01_ad-AR4-WGI_CO2-Rate_20kya.jpg' width='100'/></a> <blockquote><p><em>A large fraction of fossil fuel CO₂emissions stays in the air a long time, one-quarter remaining airborne for several centuries.... Thus moderate delay of fossil fuel use will not appreciably reduce long-term human-made climate change. Preservation of a climate resembling that to which humanity is accustomed ... requires that most remaining fossil fuel carbon is never emitted to the atmosphere. [8]</em></p><p>—James Hansen and colleagues, 2008 </p></blockquote><p>Anyone who has traveled to the “Mile High City,” as Denver, Colorado, is known, will attest: The air is thinner in the Rocky Mountains at 1,600 meters (1 mile) above sea level than in New York City, which is at sea level. The <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a> is thickest at sea level and decreases exponentially in density and <a href="/article/Pressure">pressure</a> with elevation. Starting at sea level, we have a layer about 18 kilometers (km) thick, called the troposphere. Almost all human activity, from mountain climbing to flying in jet airplanes, takes place in the troposhere. The air in the troposphere is constantly circulating. (Tropos means “turning” in Greek.)</p><p>The Earth bakes the air from the bottom by radiating some <a href="/article/Heat">heat</a> from the Sun back into the sky. Air in the troposphere rises, expands, and cools. If the air contains moisture, the moisture may condense to form clouds of rain droplets or ice crystals. Clouds form in the troposphere. Water within the bottom 4 km of the troposphere will not freeze. Water arriving in the top 4 km can form ice. And in between, either ice or rain can form. Ninety percent of all Earth’s air lies within about 16 km (10 miles) of the Earth’s surface. At the top of the troposphere, the air is quite cold, about -55°C (-67°F). </p><p>Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere for another 30 km or so. Within the stratosphere sits a layer of large <a href="/article/Oxygen">oxygen</a> molecules, <a href="/article/Ozone">ozone</a> (O₃), that block harmful <a href="/article/Solar_radiation">solar radiation</a> from reaching us. Without this “good ozone,” the oceans would evaporate and life would cease. The air in the stratosphere is relatively stable. It does not mix with the air below it. Interestingly, air at the top of the stratosphere is warmer—about 0°C (32°F)—than the air in the troposphere just below it. The ozone layer’s absorbing solar radiation causes this warmth. </p><p>The less dense mesosphere lies above the stratosphere and is considerably colder, about -85°C (-121°F) at its top. At about 80 km above sea level, the thermosphere begins above the mesosphere. The thermosphere is the least dense zone; it contains very little gas and gradually warms to about -50°C (-58°F) because the Sun is effectively baking it from above. At about 90 km above sea level, the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a> gradually thins until there are no air molecules left and interplanetary space begins. Both the mesosphere and thermosphere are so far removed from the Earth and have so little gas that they are scarcely affected by the processes that cause warming or cooling in the lower troposphere or stratosphere. The lower two zones of the atmosphere—the troposphere and the stratosphere—are more sensitive to <a href="/article/Temperature">temperature</a> drivers such as <a href="/article/Greenhouse_gas">greenhouse gases</a>, and these are where we will focus our attention.</p><p>So what causes the Earth to warm or cool? The short answer is that many different processes contribute to warming or cooling of the Earth’s lower atmosphere and surface. For millions of years, three naturally occurring factors caused variation in the Earth’s average surface temperature: the Sun, volcanic eruptions, and the Earth’s orbit. </p><p>Our Sun is a star containing a thermonuclear furnace that ejects heat as radiation. Over time, very small but detectable variations occur in the output of heat from the Sun. Sunspots and their related solar flares and are examples. Slightly more or less heat arriving from the Sun will cause a rise or fall in the heat that reaches the Earth’s surface. Sunspots appear to come and go in 10-year cycles and cannot alone explain the rise in temperature we have observed since the <a href="/article/Industrial_Revolution">industrial age began</a>. </p><p><a href="/article/Volcano">Volcanoes</a> modify the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a> whenever they erupt. Explosive volcanic activity injects <a href="/article/Aerosols">aerosol</a> particles of soot high into the stratosphere where they form clouds that might cool the Earth. Such particle-laden clouds may prevent heat from the Sun from reaching the Earth’s surface and thereby cause a temporary cooling, However, volcanic eruptions also emit water vapor, <a href="/article/Carbon_dioxide">carbon dioxide</a>, and other gases that can have long-term warming effects. In the past century, four major volcanic eruptions have each caused a short-term drop in the Earth’s average temperature.  Volcanic activity has actually been fairly uncommon in the past 250 years, so it is not an adequate explanation for the sudden rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  </p><p>Finally, the geometry of Earth’s orbit is not a uniform ellipse. Much as a spinning top may change the tilt of its axis while its axis gradually traces a conical path, the Earth’s orbit does wobble a bit over a very long period of time. This orbital eccentricity and slight variations in axis angles occur over very long time scales of ten of thousands of years. The Earth’s orbital fluctuation or axis tilt has not changed measurably in the past thousand years or more. So planetary geometry cannot explain the sudden rise in carbon dioxide since 1850, when the industrial era began. </p><p>Other smaller natural factors that affect how much <a href="/article/Carbon_dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> concentrates in the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a> over the long term include the number of marine organisms (which we will discuss in Chapter 4) available to extract carbon dioxide to make shells, and the abundance of mountain ranges that remove carbon dioxide through chemical weathering. But the number of mountain ranges with exposed rock has not changed appreciably in the past 150 years. So the latter does not contribute to the explanation of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. We will learn in Chapter 4 why marine organisms do play a vital role, but not in a way that contributed to the already observed increase in carbon dioxide. </p><p>If all of the above processes could cause the Earth to warm up, what could cause the Earth to cool down? We saw earlier how volcanic clouds have a temporary cooling effect until they are dispersed. Three naturally occurring processes could cool the Earth over the long term and have done so in the past. </p><p>The first is the albedo effect that happens with good snow cover. When snow or ice forms and remains on the surface, it reflects most of the <a href="/article/Solar_radiation">solar radiation</a> that hits it, bouncing radiated heat back into the atmosphere and out into space. It is the <a href="/article/Albedo">albedo</a> effect that gives snow skiers a deep tan because they get sun from above and reflected from below. Soil or water would have absorbed the heat and warmed up much more than the pale ice or snow cover. More snow or ice cover leads to more albedo and more cooling and therefore more snow and ice. The albedo effect is a positive feedback loop because its effect intensifies the process that causes it. </p><p>The second process is the <a href="/article/Ocean">ocean</a>’s action as a heat conveyor. The ocean is a giant heat engine. As climates cools down, the <a href="/article/Evaporation">evaporation</a> of <a href="/article/Seawater">seawater</a> slows down. Warmer air temperature causes surface ocean water to evaporate, causing a higher salt-to-water ratio and subsequently surface waters that are denser but warmer than the layers below. The deep-sea sinking of water requires dense, salty water. This sinking drives currents such as the Gulf Stream, which moves warm surface water to the North <a href="/article/Atlantic_Ocean">Atlantic</a> and cold deep water from the North Atlantic toward the equator. Any change in the sinking of the cold northern water will alter the Gulf Stream and, with it, northern Europe’s climate, currently warmed by it. Any cooling in northern Europe might alter the albedo effect of snow cover. So these are all interconnected. </p><p>Third, the biological processes that change <a href="/article/Carbon_dioxide">CO₂</a> concentrations could also contribute to cooling the Earth. While biological processes may not initiate climate changes, they may amplify changes underway by altering the composition of the atmosphere in small but significant ways. For example, if more <a href="/article/Plankton">plankton</a> grew in the <a href="/article/Ocean">oceans</a>, their <a href="/article/Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> and shell-making process would take up and store more carbon, removing it from the <a href="/article/Atmospheric_composition">atmosphere</a> during the life cycle of the plankton. Biological processes, such as <a href="/article/Forest_biome">forest</a> growth, are carbon stores but not necessarily long-term carbon sinks.  Biological processes alone cannot explain the sudden rise in modern atmospheric <a href="/article/Carbon_dioxide">carbon dioxide</a>. Lowering the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reduce the <a href="/article/Greenhouse_effect">greenhouse effect</a> and lower temperatures. We will discuss plankton more in Chapter 4. </p> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_3'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Solutions~_Chapter_3 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:56:39 GMT http://www.eoearth.org/article/Editorial_Board <a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Editorial_Board'><img border='0' src='/upload/thumb/5/5d/Cutler_bio_image.jpg/100px-Cutler_bio_image.jpg' width='100'/></a> <?php $page_title = "Editorial Board";?> <?php include($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/e/template/header.php');?> <p><a href='http://www.eoearth.org/article/Editorial_Board'>Read Full Article...</a></p> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Editorial_Board Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:04:03 GMT