Gradute Research course

Week 1Discussion

What areas of APA formatting are familiar to you? What areas do you need to improve? Demonstrate your ability to complete a successful search and cite sources by selecting a topic of interest to you; it can be anything! Using the library website, locate three scholarly resources and cite them using APA format. Share in your post topic you selected and why these resources are relevant. Initial post should be 300-500 words.

You can finish your post asking a question related to conducting research for others to answer  OR you can respond to two peers. Responses should be 100-200 words.  (LO1) (LO2)

Essential Activities: 

1. Reading Start Here, Library Search, A Boolean Search, and How to Successfully Search in 5 Minutes will assist you in writing this discussion forum.

2. Reviewing APA Style Quick Reference Guide and APA 7th Edition Common Reference Examples Guide will assist you in writing this discussion forum.

Answer

Throughout its long history, Earth has warmed and cooled time and again. Climate has changed when the planet received more or less sunlight due to subtle shifts in its orbit, as the atmosphere or surface changed, or when the Sun’s energy varied. But in the past century, another force has started to influence Earth’s climate: humanity

         TEMPERATURE

1. a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

2. Climate 

Greenhouse gases are only part of the story when it comes to global warming. Changes to one part of the climate system can cause additional changes to the way the planet absorbs or reflects energy. These secondary changes are called  climate feedbacks, and they could more than double the amount of warming caused by carbon dioxide alone.  The primary feedbacks are due to snow and ice, water vapor, clouds, and the carbon cycle.

3. HOTTER SUMMER'S :and more frequent fires will lead to more cases of heat stroke and deaths, and to higher levels of near-surface ozone and smoke, which would cause more ‘code red’ air quality days. Intense droughts can lead to an increase in malnutrition. On a longer time scale, fresh water will become scarcer, especially during the summer, as mountain glaciers disappear, 

4. ECOSYSTEM :This change in the growing season affects the broader ecosystem. Migrating animals have to start seeking food sources earlier. The shift in seasons may already be causing the lifecycles of pollinators, like bees, to be out of synch with flowering plants and trees. 

5. Rising Sea Levels

The weather isn’t the only thing global warming will impact: rising sea levels will erode coasts and cause more frequent coastal flooding. Some island nations will disappear. The problem is serious because up to 10 percent of the world’s population lives in vulnerable areas 

6. Changing Weather

For most places, global warming will result in more frequent hot days and fewer cool days, with the greatest warming occurring over land. Longer, more intense heat waves will become more common. Storms, floods, and droughts will generally be more severe as precipitation patterns change

7. Clouds

Closely related to the water vapor feedback is the cloud feedback. Clouds cause cooling by reflecting solar energy, but they also cause warming by absorbing infrared energy (like greenhouse gases) from the surface when they are over areas that are warmer than they are.  In our current climate, clouds have a cooling effect overall, but that could change in a warmer environment

8. SUMMER : In autumn, the leaves on deciduous trees change colors as they lose chlorophyll, the molecule that plants use to synthesize food. Chlorophyll makes plants appear green because it absorbs red and blue sunlight as it strikes leaf surfaces. It is not a stable compound and plants have to continuously synthesize it to keep their leaves green—a process that requires ample sunlight and warm temperatures. When temperatures drop and days shorten, levels of chlorophyll drop as well.

9. CONCLUSION: 

The changes to weather and ecosystems will also affect people more directly. Hardest hit will be those living in low-lying coastal areas, and residents of poorer countries who do not have the resources to adapt to changes in temperature extremes and water resources. As tropical temperature zones expand, the reach of some infectious diseases, such as malaria, will change. More intense rains and hurricanes and rising sea levels will lead to more severe flooding and potential loss of property and life

REFRENCES: 

1.

1. Anthes, R.A., Corell, R.W., Holland, G., Hurrell, J.W., MacCracken, M.C., & Trenberth, K. (2010, February 12).  Hurricanes and Global Warming—Potential Linkages and Consequences.   Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 87: 623-628. Accessed April 15, 2010

2.         Bonan, G. B. (2008).  Forests and Climate Change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests.   Science, 320(5882), 1444-1449

3.

1. Cazenave, A. (2006).  How fast are the ice sheets melting?   Science, 314, 1251-1252.

2.

1. Dessler, A., Zhang, Z., Yang, P. (2008, October 23).  Water-vapor climate feedback inferred from climate fluctuations, 2003-2008.   Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L20704.