The Continuously Changing Physical Environment

1st Semester - Module 2

I. THE EARTH SYSTEM II. FEEDBACK LOOPS: HOW NATURE GETS ITS
Scenario: how different forms of a key element, carbon, moves among the
RHYTHM
components of the Earth’s system  mutual causal interaction - x affects y, y affects x, and so on
 help us to get some kind of global vision as to how the different
Atmosphere contains all the weather Carbon (dioxide) is from: elements within the system interact
that we experience plus decomposition of organic  effect that change in one part of the ecosystem has on another
all the air that we breathe materials and forest fires  forms the basic dynamics for regulating the overall state to the
includes a small fraction Fossil fuels ecosystem
of carbon dioxide Keeling Curve, records
the study increase of A. Positive feedback (promotes change)
carbon dioxide in the  essential force in the buildup of ecosystems
atmosphere  self-reinforcing
 amplifies a particular effect or change from previous conditions
Hydrosphere world's oceans Carbon is from:  responsible for the sudden appearance of rapid changes
carbonate ion that  can also be harmful
combines with calcium to  Examples:
form the mineral calcite  plants die > dead material enriches the soil with humus >
rock limestone more plants grow and die, the more humus is produced (+)
Biosphere all the living organisms  removing a forest > erosion > removes organic matter and
nutrients from the earth > less plants to anchor the soil > more
Geosphere continents and ocean Carbon is from: erosion
floors Rocks  Exponential population
rocks and minerals in fossil fuel
Earth's crust, mantle and 1. Vicious Cycle
core  Negative outcome
Largest carbon reservoir  reinforce themselves through a positive loop
 Eg. melting of polar ice caps; pollution of the lagoons that
 If we wanted to halt the increase of carbon in the atmosphere we'd have to surround a small South Pacific Island
either, reduce human production of carbon by about half, or find ways to
increase the uptake of carbon in other earth system components. 2. Virtious Cycle
 Favorable outcome
 chain of events which reinforce themselves through a positive
feedback loop
 Eg. Philippines fishery after World War Two
B. Negative Feedback (resists change) III. EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM
 diminishes or counteracts changes in an ecosystem to maintain a
more stable balance
 up and down wavelike pattern A. Advantages of Earth from other Planets
 state of one element affects the other in the opposite direction  has a runaway greenhouse effect (right temperature)
 Examples:  Rock, atmosphere, greenhouse gases
 predators and their prey  Aerosols (shiny/soot) - reflect some of the sun's energy back to
 Population regulation space; absorb solar radiation

1. Attractor B. Three big factors and energy flows

 relatively stable set of states that the system cycles through  incoming energy from the Sun
 For systems that tend towards an equilibrium  our planet's reflectivity
2. State Space  greenhouse effect
 model that tries to capture all of the different states to that
system
3. State of the system IV. CLIMATE CHANGE
 defined by their current combined values creating one unique
points within the state space that represents the overall
A. The Causes
makeup to that system.
 For thousands of years our average surface temperature has been
4. basin of attraction
mostly stable. But now, just the past few decades, it has shot up.
 constitutes all initial conditions that will tend towards the
1. Global Warming
equilibrium state with it being held within that equilibrium by
 oceans get hotter > expand > sea levels rise > heat also melts ice
negative feedback of some kind
and glaciers
5. stability landscape
2. Greenhouse Effect
 various basins that a system may occupy, and the boundaries
 Rising CO2 levels > higher temperature
that separate them
 Carbon is neither created nor destroyed; it just cycles around our
 exogenous drivers : rainfall or sunlight availability ;
biosphere as plants and animals live, breath, and die.
endogenous processes : plant succession or predator-prey
3. Fossil Fuels
cycles
 Every year we end up adding about 50 billion tons of greenhouse
 changes in the number of basins of attraction
gases to our atmosphere.
 changes in the position of the basins within the landscape
 changes in the positions of the thresholds between basins
 changes in the depths of basins B. The Consequences
1. flooding, extreme rainfall, extreme storms
 Each feedback is the product of the links in the loop. 2. extreme drought > kills crops and causes starvation
 (-) - reverse 3. heatwaves, wildfires, water shortage
 Weak - reduce
 Lose - broken C. Vicious Cycles that Accelerate Climate Change
 Resilience - capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and 1. Water vapour
reorganize while undergoing change 2. Reduced ice cover
3. Permafrost
D. What can we do?
1. Instead of coal and oil we can use solar panels and wind turbines to generate the same electricity without screwing up the climate.
2. Use of non-fossil energy alternatives such as nuclear, hydro, biofuel, geothermal
3. More energy-efficient appliances: Smart energy distribution systems
4. carbon emission tax
5. use your personal network, voting power, and purchasing power.