Lecture 8: Terrestrial Effects of Climate Change, Part 2

• Many areas around the world depend on snow falling in winter and slowly melting through summer for water sources
• Warmer temperatures lead to more evaporation and transpiration
• Droughts are a major concern with climate change as water is essential for humans, agriculture, and industry
• Terrestrial means land
• Warmer temperatures lead to more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow, resulting in smaller snowpack
• Changes in weather patterns can shift precipitation away from some areas
• Warmer temperatures, biome shifts, species extinctions, and severe storms are discussed in relation to climate change
• Global climate change can increase drought without reducing precipitation through snowpack
• Warmer temperatures and rain can cause snowpack to melt faster, so water supplies run out earlier in the summer
• Big floods can occur early in the spring if the snowpack melts quickly
• Forest management and settlement patterns play roles in the destructiveness of wildfires
• Droughts create conditions conducive to wildfires, particularly in the western US and Canada
• Areas to the west of the 100th meridian generally require irrigation due to low rainfall
• April snowpack has decreased significantly from the 1950s until now, attributed to climate change
• By the end of summer, water scarcity can occur if the snowpack melts too fast
• Warmer temperatures and rain can cause the snowpack to melt faster
• Anomalies are abnormal occurrences
• Intense storms due to climate change may not alleviate droughts as the water runs off instead of being absorbed into the ground for long-term storage
• Wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, necessary for certain species like sequoias and redwoods to reproduce
• Patterns of settlement play a role in wildfires as people move into more remote and susceptible areas
• Wildfires are more expensive to fight, with costs increasing dramatically over the years
• Wind moves wildfires quickly to new areas, especially in areas of high pressure to low pressure, intensifying with global climate change
• Significant wildfire events have occurred in the last several years
• Wildfires are increasing in acreage and costs
• In 2020, five out of the 20 largest wildfires in California history occurred
• Wildfires are not caused by GCC. Global climate change is helping wildfires become larger, deadlier, costlier, more frequent, and more intense
• We've suppressed wildfires for decades
• Wildfires are burning more area each year
• Boom bust cycles of intense storms

  Lots of rain in winter creates lush plant growth, followed by drought in summer drying out the fuel, making it easy to burn
• In 2020, almost the entire state of Maryland's equivalent acreage was burned in California and Oregon
• Inhaling smoke from wildfires is toxic and can have damaging health effects
• Inhaling tiny particles from wildfires is not good for health
• Colder winter temperatures can be experienced in some areas due to a warming Arctic
• Effects of inhaling wildfire smoke can include sore throat, itchy eyes, bronchitis, and increased risk for individuals with asthma, lung disease, or heart disease
• Changes in the Arctic due to warming will impact various regions
• Inhaling smoke from wildfires is toxic
• Wildfire smoke can travel long distances and affect health in other regions
• Wildfires can be really damaging to health
• Transpiration is basically evaporation from plants through photosynthesis
• Many areas worldwide depend on melting winter snowpack for their water: Great Plains, Rockies, West Coast, Indian subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia, parts of Europe, and Western South America