Paper Topic:

US Geography

Some ways the US Will Change in 50 years due to Global Warming

Within the next fifty years the US may experience shifting and changing length of the seasons , changes in vegetation including habitat and diversity , changes in precipitation intensity and distribution , a rise in sea-level , an increase in storm intensity and an increase in erosion events

Shifting seasons

The principle sources for this idea were

Global Warming in the Temperate Zone , Geography Chapter 2 , IPCC Fourth Assessment Report : Summary for Policy Makers , Alaska Survey (Us Global Change Research Program

p Why

As global warming effects advance , colder seasons become milder and of shorter duration . Climate . refers to the annual pattern of atmospheric conditions in a place (Lew 2004 . Since the seas change temperature more slowly than land , an increase in temperature of the sea would maintain warmer patterns for longer periods of time

Impact on Physical Geography

Throughout the temperate zone , changes are being recorded in where and when plants bloom and thrive (Global Warming in Temperate Zone 2007 Another effect is that as the temperature rises , the altitudinal zonation normally present (Lew 2004 ) becomes attenuated . In some areas the top zones are disappearing , the temperature variations no longer dip far enough to maintain snow caps , glaciers or other physical attributes wildlife depend upon .Global Warming in Temperate Zone 2007

Impact on Human Geography

Changes in seasonality have not yet had much affect upon the lower United States human geography . Change in seasonality has had profound impact upon populations in Alaska and Canada . [The Inuit 's] winter hunting and fishing is limited severely by loss of ice (Global Warming in the Arctic 2007

Seasonal use of Ice roads , loss of sea-ice and lengthening summers all will have a profound impact on trade and national defense ( Climate Change : Alaska ' 2000

According to the IPCC report there is little that can be done to immediately reverse this trend as temperatures will continue to increase on inertia of the GHGs already in the atmosphere (Alley 2007

Changing vegetation and Ecology

The principle sources for this idea were

Global Warming in the Temperate Zone , Geography Chapter 2 , IPCC Fourth Assessment Report : Summary for Policy Makers , Alaska Survey (Us Global Change Research Program

Why

The changes in seasonality and accompanying changes in temperature constitute changes in climate (Lew 2004 . Plant organisms and their distributions are usually sensitive to climate changes

Impact on Physical Geography

Climate has a direct impact on the biogeographic distribution of the natural vegetation in a region (Lew 2004 ' Observed changes in altitudinal zonation are expected to accelerate if temperatures continue to rise rapidly (Global Warming : Temperate Zone 2007

Impact on Human Geography

This effect is not likely to have an immediate impact on humans , though there may be some benefit from a longer growing season and perhaps a larger farmable area

Changes in Precipitation

The principle sources for this idea were : Geography Chapter 2 , IPCC Fourth Assessment Report : Summary for Policy Makers , Regional Overview (Us Global Change Research Program

Why...

6 pages

46.0 KB

Free sing-up