Climate change Definition and 119 Threads

Hey guys, I have a question... first some backround. I am asking this question is so I can build a backyard skating rink in the fastest way possible. I live in south Jersey so winter is allot of freeze/thaw. The common way for a backyard rink is 1) place a liner 2) fill 2-3 inches 3) let...

Hello all, I am currently applying for math REUs and I was wondering if anyone would help me proof read my essay and criticize it (as much as you'd like please). I know most of them accept mostly juniors and seniors, but I really want to get into at least one of the programs so that's why I...

This is pretty good! Can anyone add to the list? http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/12/the_five_elements_of_denialism.html

Hi all, I'm a 1st year physics student in the UK and I'd like to ask if anyone could point me to where I can learn about the in-depth science of global warming/climate change. I don't like having to appeal to authority (even when the authority is legitimate) during debates on global warming and...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow I don't know about the rest of you, but the snow and the very cold weather came very early this year in my part of the world. So with apologies to those of you living in the warmer/tropical climate, our theme this week will be on snow! Zz. Contest...

I read of the Milankovitch Cycles which explains the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements upon its climate or in other words long term climate change. There is a flash animation here http://www.wwnorton.com/college/geo/egeo2/content/animations/18_2.htm I have also read that...

I was fortunate to spend a few weeks recently with the director of Chasing Ice, Jeff Orlowski. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/cinetology/files/2013/04/jefforlowski.jpg I'm going to plug Chasing Ice because it's an amazing film. Jeff along with EIS (http://extremeicesurvey.org/) filmed glaciers...

There's been a lot in the news recently about climate change, global warming, and whether or not it is primarily caused by human activity. I know many studies have been done on the issue, but it seems for every study done saying it is man-made, another comes out saying it is not, and vice versa...

Though this topic mentions climate change, I don't think it really is about it that, strongly anyway. I've just joined and noticed a ban on climate change discussions before posing this one, I don't think this is one, but if it is, I suppose the beast must have one of it's many heads chopped...

So my question which part of the Em spectrum(sun) is responsible for heating of the atmosphere ? Is it visible or infrared or both ?

A four minute video from NASA http://www.space.com/22264-sun-s-magnetic-field-will-soon-flip-stormy-space-weather-ahead-video.html Let's hope the climate scientists start talking with the solar scientists.

I recently saw a documentary about our energy usage and how we derive our energy. Obviously it was a pessimistic viewpoint but I think it might actually be true (It's called Blind Spot, I recommend it). One thing about it that spoke to me was that people don't worry about climate change because...

Hi everyone, I’m a 23 year old female, currently in my final semester of a mechanical engineering degree. I’ll start with some background information... I've loved physics and astronomy since first reading about black holes and the life cycle of stars in Dad's ancient Encyclopedia...

Meet a Mentor is a biweekly (twice a week) series to help you get to know your wonderful Mentors better. Constructive questions and comments are welcome! Today we meet: ZapperZ https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/interview-physicist-zapperz/

I am working on an independent study that involves housing typologies and their adaptation to climatic conditions. I am looking at row housing and how their facades may become more adaptable and responsive to changes during storm conditions. My site is beach front and prone to hurricane/ cyclone...

As an aspirant scientist, physicist to be more precise, I believe it would be "normal" to be an ecologist. In fact I've always taken care of the Earth in my life since I've been taught to be respectful toward it. This means don't throw objects in nature, don't kill amphibians, don't burn...

Greg Bernhardt submitted a new PF Insights post Interview with an Engineer: Russ Watters Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.

To the layman 2nd law of thermodynamics states that over time systems become more "disordered." You hear a lot of people trying to argue that Evolution contradicts the second law of thermodynamics, which we all know isn't the case. But, I find it interesting that while a species has managed to...

I am trying to understand why, if the first life on Earth appeared so soon after the Hadean between 4 and 3.5 billion years ago, its development since then has been so slow. The fact that life appeared so soon, suggests that the prevailing conditions were favorable. So why didn’t those...

Space Elevators --> US Transportation Infrastructure Alright, I really wasn't sure where to post this question regarding space elevators. I'm on the debate team at my school, and I've found that I can't get motivated with the current topic of "transportation infrastructure." until I realized...

3rd class in final year (2.3 GPA)...any advice? Just incase anyone is wondering, a 3rd class is approximately 2.3 GPA http://www.ten-percent.co.uk/conversion-table-for-us-gpa-to-uk-class-degrees So I'm in my 3rd year and final year struggling with my degree in physics and just can't seem to...

Homework Statement If you lie on the ground at night with no cover, you get cold rather quickly. Much of this is due to energy loss by radiation. At night in a dry climate, the temperature of the sky can drop to -40°C. If you are lying on the ground with thin clothing that provides little...

a function for a line in a square (or a triangle or a pentagon etc) I don't have one off the top of my head (my maths is very rusty) but I think that ,starting from a cartesian point it is possible to create a function that allows one to draw a polygon in 2 or 3(?) dimensions. This...

Assume the following hypothetical situation: an enormous body, 20,000 ly in diameter (I recognise that 'asteroids' per se tend to be smaller), approaches the Milky Way, perpendicular to its equatorial plane, and headed straight for planet Earth, or at least on a trajectory where it will...

I have been reading about climate change recently and I have run into a problem understanding the Earth's energy budget. I will try to summarise my question but am happy to try to expand if needed. Bear in mind I am just an interested average Joe with little science background and probably a...

I know the two seem very unrelated at first, but actually I think the partial melting of the polar ice caps would actually give us longer days and nights. Most of the ice that would be melting is relatively close to the poles, the axis of Earth's rotation. But, when it melted, the mass of the...

Hi. I was hoping you guys could help me for my university dissertation project. It's basically a questionnaire about climate change, it shouldn't take any longer than 10 minutes (or quicker) and it would be really helping me. If you have any comments about it please feel free to message me on...

1. Kangaroos hop around to get to one place to another and do so extremely efficiently, more efficient than walking or running. Furthermore, kangaroos can hop up to 40mph and can do so for relatively long periods of time. By replacing motor vehicles with kangaroos, the efficiency of our...

There is a belief that a complete interruption of the North Atlantic drift current could cause abrupt climate change. The amount of heat transported by the North Atlantic drift current and the Gulf stream is 8 times smaller than the amount of heat transported by the atmosphere transferring...

There are a series of papers that support the assertion that geomagnetic excursions cause Younger Dryas magnitude abrupt climate change events. There is a geomagnetic excursion that correlates with the Younger Dryas abrupt climate change and with similar abrupt climate change events. Looking...

Attention: These rules are deprecated as of 6/9/2014 PF is announcing its regrettable decision to ban all topics of global warming and climate change indefinitely. At this time we are unable to effectively moderate on the issue of climate change and global warming. We hope this ban will be...

Twenty years ago, July 5, 1989, we heard this: So when the warnings expire they are just renewed: World has only ten years to control global warming, warns Met Office But how scientific are these tipping points...

i saw a chart that showed that the temp has gone up single digit degrees every 100k years in a rapid manner and then followed by a downward ratcheting of temp into the levels where Earth experiences an ice age. What is the dynamic that causes the temp drop after a rapid rise? Do we need a...

Hi... As many probably know, there is about to be a climate meeting in Denmark within 2 months, where they will discuss the climate. And some people wants the world to spent a lot of money reducing the CO2 from humans, which is a lot of money ! But has it been proved that CO2 is that bad...

Here is a news release from the US Geological Survey. I've copied some parts of it, but please read the entire release before commenting. http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article_pf.asp?ID=2326 In brief, there are lots of uncertainties and potentials for climate change to impact the role of...

In The discovery of global warming Spencer Weart elaborates extensively about the discovey of large climate swings, inferred from the ice core research in Greenland. You can read the book online there, but also http://www.aip.org/history/climate/. A few quotes from the chapter...

http://sciences.blogs.liberation.fr/home/files/Courtillot07EPSL.pdf I have been looking into puzzling cyclic changes the geomagnetic field which appear to be solar driven as they match the solar magnetic cycle timing. The sun is moved by the large planets about its barycenter. The change in...

http://webusers.ct.astro.it/gca/papers/telluric.pdf Would it be possible to use telluric lines to give accurate measurements of atmospheric gases along with synchronous Earth temperature measurements, thus giving an index for gas abundance and variation of heat transfer through same gases...

Will may be uniformed, (i admit i have no idea how informed these people are), activists overwhelm scientific debate on climate change? http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iFQ7Lrr0hVIEdXnd39qmMYDJeDSg

Did climate change aid the fall of the Roman empire in the eastern Mediterranean between 100ad and 700ad ? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081205171005.htm I would think there are some ancient written records to check against.

Has anyone ever researched what contribution, if any, the actual combustion of fossil fuels contributes to global warming? If you added up all the BTU's of energy which have been released in the last few decades, would it add up to something or is it negligible? Of course, all motion due to...

While I have quickly looked at Monique's sticky thread on ‘Reviews on Global Warming’ I believe the scope of this thread is still relevant. If not, please delete, as I was only making a general inquiry. -------- It appears that the media, in general, is now committed to constantly...

For a brief moment it appeared that the American Physical Society had reversed its stance on climate change: http://www.dailytech.com/Myth+of+Consensus+Explodes+APS+Opens+Global+Warming+Debate/article12403.htm However look at the red text above the article...

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20081007-17643.html It’s an assertion repeated by politicians and climate campaigners the world over: “2500 scientists of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agree that humans are causing a climate crisis.” But it’s not...

“Climate” is distinguished from “weather”, in that weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere and environment, whereas climate is the statistical average of weather patterns over a limited region and a long period (usually, minimum 30 years). A number factors have some influence on...

Who Believes In Climate Change?? Random question, but I'm not sure if the government is just using climate change as a reason to push forward carbon taxing etc. :approve: Btw, I recycle. :cool:

I posed this question to my brother and father-in-law yesterday and they disagreed with the premise of the question, let alone the result. They debated the physics involved. Weather is generally a result of the sun's uneven heating of the atmosphere and the resulting convection currents, ie...

The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom Do you think it is appropriate for a religious leader of billions to make such statements about things that are, honestly, quite outside his range of 'expertise'? If one called the IPCC biased and/or politically motivated, what can one...

The global warming skeptics advance arguments against the conclusions of the IPCC. They argue that anthropogenic global warming has not been "proven". But there is no such thing as scientific proof. There are merely falsifiable theories. The 'proof' of a positive theory is simply the result...

Oh no, not another global warming thread! But seriously, I read that CO2 accounts for ~20% of the greenhouse effect on Earth, we are undoubtedly raising the amount of this (and other) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is very important in determining the lower...