Research of Global Warming

One of the common political debates which has been around for years is the subject of Global Warming, Though scientific evidence is in the favor of global warming, there are still some people who believe that global warming is a made up phenomenom and not verified. Since global warming is destroying the planet we are living in, I will enlighten those who believe global warming is all but a hoax, with evidence that it is a real issue and affects the Earth.

Some evidence include rising sea levels, global temperatures rising, shrinking ice sheets, extreme temperature events, ocean acidification, and decreased snow cover.

Scientists have closely observed sea levels rising at unprecedented rates. A valid reason why sea levels are rising is because warming of sea water and the melting of continental ice ex. glaciers. According to some scientists, they have observed that the “global sea level had risen 17 centimeters in the last century )John Church and Neil White( This is a lot more compared to the century before that.

It is therefore obvious that global warming has very much affected the seas.

Another affect of global warming is the shrinking of ice sheets. Specifically, the Greenland and Atarctic ice sheets are decreasing in mass at an accelerated rate. Greenland which lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, and to Antarctica, which lost about 152 cubic kilometers of ice between 2002 and 2005 (NASA, 2016) This proves how global warming is a increasing problem in recent years. Not only does it show an uncertain future for animals that inhabit those ice sheets, but for humans as well since, higher ocean levels means certain masses of land will be engulfed by water.

Glaciers are also being destroyredby global warming .The National Ice and Snow Data Center presents evidence that glaciers are retreating globally. Thos areas include the Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rockies, Alaska, and Africa. )National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2016( This proves that is something that is felt all over the world and isn’t just a strange, local phenomenom. It is a global catastrophe that needs to be addressed.

Besides for ice sheets, the Arctic sea ice is retreating as well. Thedistance and thickness fo Arctic sea ice has melted quickly over the past several decades (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2016) This further strengthens the evidence that global warming is hapening and causing all thos catastrophes.

T.C. Peterson in his analysis for the Special Supplementto the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found that the most warming ever happening was in the past 35 years, including 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occuring from 2001. (T.C. Peterson et.al, 2016) Another proof that global warming is increasing with time, is that in year 2015 was the first time the global average temperature was one degree or more than the 1880-1899 average.

Another proof of global warming is the record high temperature events in the United States which have been increasing, while the amount of record low temperatures have been decreasing, since 1950. Additionally, although we will definately continue having cold winters, the extreme high temperatures which keeps increasing are becoming harsher and stronger. These extreme hot weathers can kill people or destroyed crop lands.

Another dangerous result which happens as a result of the ocean absorbing higher levels of carbon dioxide is ocean acidification. The PMEL Carbon Group states that since the start of the Industial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has grown by 30% (PMEL Carbon Group, 2016). Even more so, C.L. Sabine, in his article, “The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO2,” noted that the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is growing by near 2 billion tons per year (Sabine, 2004). This leaves many marine animals with the adverse affects. All this just proves that global warming is an ongoing phenomenom.

In addition to the affects of global warming to the ocean, the snowcapped mountains also get affected with spring snow cover decreasing over the past few decades. This is gleaned from satellite observations where it is seen that the snow on the mountains have decreases. This affects not only the fun winter sports which may have to change, but the animals living in those habitats are endangered. (National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2016)

However, despite the this overwhelming evidence from accurate sources, there are still those critics that think it’s a made up thing. One such criticism is that there is no general consensus that is real and something that is still a debate. However the fact stays that according to the authors of major climate consensus studies, about 97% of climate scientists believe in global warming (Skeptical Science, 2016) The skeptics of global warming only back up thei claims from minor studies which are funded by lobbyists.

Another major criticism of global warming as a true phenomenom is that what is happening now is a part of Earth’s geophysical processes. This is a process which occurs every 1,500 years,that the heat distribution of Earth switches between hemispheres, though the total heal globally stays the same. However this is very different than the human produced global warming, which has has been produced by emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere within the last 200 years. Unlike the natural heat variations, the present temperature increase made by CO2 is being recorded globally-on ground, in the air, and in the oceans(Skeptical Science, 2016) So, therefore this claim made by the critics is wrong since global warming is an issue that has been happening since the Industrial Revolution.

All in all, although this is just a drop of the mountain of evidence which points to the fact that global warming is a real issue with many results it is not a topic to dismiss. Since the increase of global warming causes so much destruction such as water levels rising, having more acidity, frozen waters melting more rapidly etc., global warming is evident everywhere. Even those who don’t believe in global warming are only backed up illogically. The overwhelming evidence presented in this essay definately portrays the issue of global warming in a real way.

Works Cited:

1. Church, John A., and Neil J. White. “A 20th century acceleration in global sea-level rise.” Geophysical Research Letters 33.1 (2006): n. pag. Web.
2. NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
3. National Snow and Ice Data Center.” SOTC: Sea Ice | National Snow and Ice Data Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
4. T.C. Peterson et.al. “NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal Record-Shattering Global Warm Temperatures in 2015.” NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
5. What is Ocean Acidification?” What is Ocean Acidification? PMEL Carbon Group, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
6. Sabine, C. L. “The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO2.” Science 305.5682 (2004): 367-371. Web.
7. Climate Science Glossary.” Skeptical Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.