Climate change can affect the precipitation of snow and subsequent melting on a global scale in various ways. Increased global temperatures can affect the timing of the seasons, causing a delay in the first snowfall of winter and earlier spring melts. This lengthens the snow-free summer season. Additionally, there can be periods of warm, spring-like weather during winter. This can result in rain instead of snow. Warm periods can also induce premature and unusual melting during the typically cold winter months (Snow and Climate). These changes are represented in the region of focus: the northern Rocky Mountains from southern Montana to northern Alberta. Anthropogenically induced climate change and increased temperatures will likely affect the timing of first snowfall and snowmelt, alter the snow to rain ratio during the winter months, and cause abnormal melting mid-winter in the specified northern Rocky Mountain region.
Researchers from the Canadian Water Resources Association modified a Simulated Grid microclimate model (SIMGRID) and applied to a simulation of snow water equivalent (SWE) and spring streamflow volume. They tested the functionality of the new model using historical data from 1961-1990 and it was successful (Larson et al., Model Development, Calibration and Historical Analysis). Doing so allowed them apply the proven model to future climate scenarios.
In a second study they reviewed a series of global circulation models to estimate the trend and magnitude of possible changes in temperature and precipitation through the year 2099. The estimated increase in temperatures for that time period was between 2 and 6°C. The estimated increases in seasonal and annual precipitation were modest and not quantified in the report...
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...rtages in the future (Harris, Thinning Snows In Rockies Tied To Global Warming). The changing climate could also affect the fire season length and intensity (Larson et al., Runoff Change Projections Using Future Scenarios). These are just a few of the many possible implications of climate change’s effects on the snowfall and snowmelt in the northern Rocky Mountain region.
Climate change induced from anthropogenic sources will result in warmer global annually averaged temperatures. This means warmer seasons in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Warmer winter months will result in delayed snowfall, a negative change in the snow to rain ratio, and abnormal winter snow melting. Warmer spring months will result in earlier and more intense snowmelt. The implications that result from these changes will be many. Most notably, there will be concerns about water shortages.
Glaciers are an integral part of the world’s climate. In fact, as Richard Armstrong of the University of Colorado says, “Glaciers are key indicators in monitoring and detecting climate change” (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, 2003, p. 1). Not only are they an important part of monitoring current climate, they can hold many keys to the past. Glaciers are in fact, “a source of paleoclimate data…” (Meier and Dyurgerov, 1980, p. 37). This paleoclimate data can give geologists information on the conditions that were present at the time of the glaciers birth, as well as the approximate age. This has an important role in the geologic time scale of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. These Glaciers played a role in the carving of the present day Rocky Mountains in Colorado, which will be the primary focus of this paper. In addition, glacial formations will be discussed to give the reader background information and the future of the Glaciers in Colorado will close this paper.
Lake-Effect snow has a range of different intensities depending upon certain factors. The difference between the air temperature and the water temperature will determine how much moisture is taken into the air. Warmer water and colder air makes for more snow. Also the distance the air has to travel across the lake will determine how much moisture the air is able to obtain. The ability of the storm to travel inland will be determined by the intensity of the storm’s winds. Storms also are able travel farther inland in late fall and early winter.
It is an unquestioned fact that the climate is changing. There is abundant evidence that the world is becoming warmer and warmer. The temperature of the global land average temperature has increased by about 8.5 degrees centigrade from 1880 to 2012 (Karr, et al 406). The one or two degrees increase in temperature can cause dramatic and serious consequences to the earth as well as humans. More extreme weather occurs, such as heat waves and droughts. The Arctic Region is especially sensitive to global climate change. According to the data in recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has increased by more than 2 degrees centigrade in the recent half century (Przybylak 316). Climate change has led to a series of environmental and ecological negative
Ficklin, Darren L., Iris T. Stewart, and Edwin P. Maurer. "Climate Change Impacts On Streamflow And Subbasin-Scale Hydrology In The Upper Colorado River Basin." Plos ONE 8.8 (2013): 1-17. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
The warming of the air brings with it a change in weather patterns across the globe. This change in weather patterns will include an increase in weather extremes such as, storms and drought. The type of extreme depends on a specific region with drought expected to increase in the dry tropics and with the frequency of tropical storms and rainfall expected to increase in the wet tropics.
The winter season can be a major hassle for some people while others just have to deal with a slight cool down in temperatures. Over the northern portions of the country, people are faced to deal with the harsh conditions that Mother Nature has in store. Some winter seasons are less brutal than others. Besides the typical storm systems that come through the area and drop different types of precipitation whether it is snow, sleet, or freezing rain, there’s another weather event that affects not everyone in the country, but primarily around the Great Lakes. Lake effect snow is a very interesting mesoscale convective phenomenon that occurs mostly during the heart of the winter season and adds greatly to the annual snowfall that areas around the lakes receive.
Earth’s average temperature has increased about 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1880 and another degree could cause even more problems than there already are. Climate change is an important issue to be aware of because it is real and it affects you and the things around you each and every day. Every day animals lose habitats and die because climate change caused there home to burn, or their food sources started to deplete, etc. Along with these, more and more CO2 is being released into the air due to wildfires burning which is causing the atmosphere to heat even more. With the temperature increasing the oceans will become warmer and evaporation and rainfall patterns will change which will affect humans and animals, because we all work together in a system. There are many consequences of climate change like human health issues, and more animals becoming endangered, but the most important consequence is the rising amounts of wildfires.
This could be a change in how much rain a place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place 's usual temperature for a month or season” (Dunbar). Climate change is a very serious problem that everyone should be working on to find a solution for it. For the reason being that the effects of climate change can be devastating to everyone and our environment. People will be affected in different ways, some may even benefit from climate change if they live in temperate zones. They may profit from milder winters, more rainfall and more crop production zones. The other people would suffer from elevated heat waves, coastal erosion, rising sea level, more erratic rainfall, and droughts. Poor regions of the world will be greatly affected by it since the would be able to provide themselves with protection from the heat waves and other impacts, this will most likely lead to losing a great number of our human population in our
The changes in the quantity and timing of precipitation and the availability of water will profoundly affect people and other life forms. Ecosystems will change and wildlife behavior and habitat as well as crop yields will eventually be affected. Climate change will also have an impact on water-related economic activity – not just agricultural methods, for example skiing areas, may experience decreased snowfall, having an adverse impact on the economies of mountain towns and cities.
These changes include changes such as the atmosphere and the ocean becoming warmer, decreasing amounts of snow and ice, increase in the sea level and increase in the levels of greenhouse gases.
Personally in my opinion, I feel that all these less studied implications of climate change all fall hand in hand, in terms of the cause and effects associated with them. For instance, with economical implications we can almost automatically assume that there will be social and political implications along with effects of the distribution of goods within our society due to the fact that if climate change did affect the economy in a detrimental way, it would ultimately affect a society’s social and cultural norms as well as cause chaos within the political world.
“Climate change: How do we know?” NASA. NASA n. d. n. pag. Web. 28 November
There is no longer any question that our world climate has changed (King, 2004). Over the last 100 years, "temperatures have risen by about 0.6 degrees Celsius and global sea level has risen by about 20cm" (K...
Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)
According to the Canada’s Action on Climate Change, Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, extreme events. Climate change is one of the biggest crisis in the earth. It will cause a huge damage to the eco-system and human. We are the victims of the climate change. However, we are the one who cause the climate change.