Climate Change: Defining Weather & Climate Patterns - Essay Sample

Introduction

Climate change is normally defined as the change in weather patterns, which are mainly related to changes in ice sheets, oceans, and land surfaces that tend to occur for decades or over longer time scales. Weather is normally known as the state of atmosphere that includes wind, temperature, rainfall, and humidity over a couple of weeks or hours. Climate also can be regarded as the statistical description of the climate system. Change in climate is related to change in the statistical properties of the state of climate over a longer period. This can even take place for about 30 years. The ecosystem is known as the biological community that consists of living organisms in their physical environment. The interaction also involves both abiotic and biotic components. Climate change has a lot of influence on the ecosystem. The influences may be either negative or positive to our ecosystem. The effects include global warming due to the increased temperatures, the rise of sea level, and also a saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems causing species to die or relocate. The ecosystem is highly affected by the change of climate in a variety of ways.

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Climate change does not only have adverse effects on species and ecosystem but also it highly interacts with human stressors, for instance, the development. Stressors may be associated with minor effects, but when they accumulate, they tend to cause dramatic ecological changes. For example, logged forested areas are likely to be at a high risk of soil erosion if climate change results in heavy rains and storms. Natural processes like volcanoes can cause climate change, change in radiation, human activities influences, and variability in the climate system. Climate change effects can be detected through weather forecasting processes both on short and long term influences.

Climate Change Effects on Coastal, Sea Ice and Lakes Ecosystems

Climate change results in a change in patterns of most of the marine productivity due to the warming of the oceans, lakes, and seas, causing ice to melt, making the seal level rise steadily. The marine life is highly threatened, especially the mangroves and corals that are mainly found in the coastal ecosystems (Ahmed et al. 59). The livelihood of people that live along the coastal regions is also affected. Recent research shows how the increased temperatures have resulted in large lakes warming more than the air that is surrounding them. This results in into decrease of the ice cover on the lakes interfering with the ecosystem.

The high rate of precipitation results in reduced water transparency interfering with the ultraviolet radiation from reaching the surface waters to disinfect. Epidemics are therefore increased in the sea waters resulting in parasites species (Ahmed et al. 59). The insect's outbreak, climate change-related disturbances, and wildfires are causing by the increased heating on the lakes interfering with the terrestrial vegetation.

The terrestrial vegetation in this context is affected through dissolved organic matter being altered, which results in the production of carcinogenic disinfection found in by-products mainly meant for chlorination of surface waters for human consumption (Ahmed et al. 59). An increase in thermal stratification is another effect of climate change on both oceans and lakes, which reduces the mixing of deep nutrient-rich waters with surface waters. Increased thermal stratification is the recently identified cause of reduced primary productivity in major oceans basins worldwide.

Ocean ecosystems are known to cover the earth, and climate change is highly changing their fundamental ways based on their response to climate change. The increased temperatures warm the water bodies causing several effects such as loss of Arctic sea ice and also a rise in sea levels (Lawson 7). The estimated disappearing of sea ice by the mid 21 century is likely to result in increased heat being absorbed by the lakes and oceans that are going to accelerate warming-melting land ice and the rise in sea level results in the expansion of water bodies such as oceans and lakes.

Coastal human populations are affected by increased warming on sea waters, which is dangerous to their economy. They are left to repair extensive damage, and as they try to adapt to the rise in sea levels that are taking place steadily (Lawson 7). Coastal ecosystems such as corals and mangroves are complete declines leaving the marine species with no food to consume and, at the same time, destroying their habitat.

Due to increased ocean temperatures, carbon IV oxide concentration is also increases leading to extensive bleaching of the coral reefs along the coastal regions (Pernetta et al. 18). The coastal algal blooms also increase in this climate change leading to a decrease in oceanic productivity. The increased warming destroys marine life in oceans since acidification interferes with the skeletal formation in invertebrates, causing death and extinction of life.

Climate change in coastal regions affects mangrove species, which displays a certain elevation to the tidal range. They are responsible for controlling groundwater availability, controls salinity and strength of the wave action. When mangrove species die, the coastline is also destroyed in a way that the heterogeneous conditions of the coastal lines are destroyed (Pernetta et al. 19). Erosion is also left to take place along the coastal lines since they act as a natural wave and water breaker protecting the coastline in a great way.

Effect of Climate Change on Winter Warming

Climate warming has been commonly pronounced during the winter seasons, especially in the United States. Winter warming has resulted in unanticipated consequences for the ecosystem. The effects of winter warming have caused snowpack reduction, and the snow season is also shortened (Krab et al. 599). Soils have been highly exposed to freezing events, frequently altering the water runoff seasons to reservoirs and streams. Ecosystems tend to observe more energy in high latitudes where the snow duration and extent are declined, causing more strength to the winter warming trend.

Snow is important to soils since it acts as an insulator and when it lacks unexpected phenomena of frozen soils are produced in warmer conditions. Some of the experiments that have been carried out initially stimulated cover snow reduction leaving soils freezing in Canada and the eastern region of the United States, which caused an increased rate of root mortality (Krab et al. 599). This causes losses of base actions, nitrogen, phosphorus, and increased fluxes of nitrous oxide. This causes increased delivery of soil nutrients to the water systems causing negative effects on the quality of the water. When changes in winter conditions occur, the runoff patterns and drinking water provision are highly affected.

Water shortages are experienced in river basins due to warming on winters, which causes consequences of snow melting changes that are likely to occur. During the summer period, water may lack in some regions when it most needed. Winter warming causes increased winter rain resulting in more runoff during winter, causing a shortage of water during summer (Krab et al. 599). Water storage systems, such as reservoirs, are highly affected. Agricultural ecosystems are highly affected by the climate changes that occur during winter, causing a reduction of C sequestration in the ecosystem and soil C levels. Increased winter temperatures affect the agricultural system negatively based on the adverse effects on soil.

Biome Shifts

Climate change is known to induce certain shifts in plant species characteristics and distribution. In this context, the plant life is altered in both ecosystem functioning and structure. Climate change on biome shifts can be explained clearly by observing how increased tree growth occurs in altitudinal and latitudinal forest areas resulting in tress moving into adjacent tundra (Grimm et al. 474). Shift on species mainly likely to take place in great climate change velocity areas, which is known as the rate at which a certain area of constant temperature tends to be spread throughout the globe. Recent research shows how these velocities have been increasing rapidly over the years compared to 21,000 years ago. Biome shifts due to warming result in increased net primary productivity in forest zones. Decreased net primary productivity is highly noticed in areas with drought stress due to the transition of boreal-temperatures.

The biome shifts have occurred in various areas due to climate changes such as tropical woodland, temperate grasslands, deserts, alpine, shrublands, evergreen forests, tundra, and tropical grasslands, among others. Based on historical climate changes, biome shifts have adverse effects on ecosystems. Human management on the release of carbon IV oxide in the atmosphere has resulted in increased velocities causing biome shifts, especially across the land area in the United States (Grimm et al. 474). The North American ecosystems appear to be highly vulnerable to biome shifts causing expansion of tree cover that led to increased canopy closure, biomass, increased leaf area, and reduced grass to tree ratios, among others. Temperate woodlands can be converted into easily to temperate grassland due to biome shifts.

Diseases, Pathogens, Wildfires, Mortality, and Parasites

Climate change affects the ecosystem due to certain shifts that occur, resulting in unfavorable conditions that support the spread of diseases, pathogens, and parasites, causing serious epidemics in the health status of human beings, fisheries, and agriculture (Grimm et al. 474). A good example is the spread of an oyster parasite that causes the oyster to die in large numbers. It is widely spread when the winter temperatures are above their average range.

Climate change results in reduced agricultural production due to infection of crops by diseases causing them to die. It has an adverse effect on agriculture in general by affecting food supply processes (Grimm et al. 474). The health of People is a risk when they consume agricultural produce that is contaminated with crop diseases. Insect's outbreak is highly associated with climate change, which can cause extensive damage to the ecosystem.

Wildfires cause a lot of damage to the ecosystem, such as the death of animals and plants, and also interfere with forest productivity. Burned areas are left bare, and they are highly vulnerable to soil erosion. Increased mortality due to the wildfires outbreak can result in the extinction of certain animals and plants species on earth (Pecl et al. 13). Greater tree mortality due to increased human activities such as logging affects our ecosystem negatively. Forest growth is also negatively affected by climate change due to an outbreak of wildfires, causing tree mortality.

Mangrove Landscape Photograph on Effects of Climate Change on Ecosystem

The Ariel photograph of mangrove landscape is contained in the National Museum of Natural History located in Washington, D.C, United States of America. This particular photograph was taken to show the effects of change in climate on Mangrove in Twin Cays. The photograph was taken with black and white color and multispectral IKONOS in order to display clearly the distribution of deforestation and mangrove vegetation between the years 1986 and 2003 (Rodriguez et al. 24). The tropical mangrove ecosystems appear to be highly affected based on the photograph information.

Mangrove landscape is deeply analyzed based on deforestation, growth status, and species, which make it easier to understand the effects of climate change on mangrove vegetation. The climate change effects on the ecosystem will continue to increase with an increase in globalization. Env...