Earth, Moon and Mars: How They Work

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Earth, Moon and Mars How They Work
Professor Michael Wysession Department of Earth
and Planetary Sciences Washington University, St.
Louis, MO Lecture 8 Human Impacts
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Global Carbon Dioxide Cycle
Barrow, AK CO2
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Global Methane
Barrow, AK Permafrost Melting?
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Nitrous Oxide (N2O), a Powerful Greenhouse Gas,
is Produced by Combustion and Agricultural
Practices
Nitrous oxide is the third strongest greenhouse
gas. Although it presently is in relatively low
concentrations in the atmosphere, concentrations
are steadily increasing. The north-to-south
gradient between the NOAA observatory
measurements at Barrow, Alaska (representative
of northern hemisphere sources) and the South
Pole, are evident in the graph. Nitrous oxide is
also a major source of stratospheric nitric
oxide, a compound that helps to catalytically
destroy stratospheric ozone.
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More tornadoes in 2008 than in any year of the
past half-century.
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Projected Temperatures, 2080-2090
(Base years 1980-1990)
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Projected Precipitation, 2080-209 9
(Base years
1980-1990)
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Wheat will not Grow on Rock and in Lakes.
Canadian Shield
Sierra Magazine, March/April 2007, pg. 11, on
warming climate moving wheat growing north. The
article neglected the Canadian Shield of rock and
water.
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Areal Extent of Arctic Sea Ice
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• The Four Critical Responses to Atmospheric
  Warming (by 2100)
• Rapid change in ice sheets and hence sea level
  Occurring, IPCC probably underestimated
• (2) Widespread changes in precipitation
  Probable
• (3) Abrupt change in the Atlantic conveyer belt
  (Gulfstream water to the Arctic) Improbable
• (4) Rapid release of methane trapped in
  permafrost Probable, but not catastrophic
  climate tipping

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Permafrost
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Permafrost Melting, Tana Flats, Alaska Tundra
(1978) to Wetlands
(1998)
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Permafrost Temperatures East Teshekpuk Well
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United States at night.
US paved land is now the size of state of
Georgia. US developed land is now the size of the
state of California.
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Water Pollution
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Ground can clean out pollutants, given enough
time.
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Different types of groundwater pollution
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The Lord can make you tumble, The Lord can make
you turn, The Lord can make you rock and roll,
But the Lord cant make you burn. Burn on, big
river, burn on. (Randy Newman, Burn on, Big
River)
Cuyahoga River fires 1952, 1969
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About 2 billion tons of U.S. soil are eroded
every year.
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U.S. Municipal Waste and Recycling
Year   1991 2001 U.S. Population 249,439,5
45 286,345,000 Municipal Waste Generated
(tons) 293,613,000 409,029,000 Percentage
Recycled 11.5 32 Tons Disposed 259,847,0
00 278,139,720 Tons Disposed Per Person 1.041
0.979
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WASTE IMPORTERS, 2000 ( TONS)    1.Pennsylvania
9,764,000  2. Virginia 3,891,000 3. Michigan
3,124,000 4. Illinois  1,548,000 5.
Indiana    1,531,000      WASTE EXPORTERS,
2000  ( TONS) 1.New York 5,600,000 2.New
Jersey 1,800,000 3. Missouri 1 ,793,000 4.
Maryland 1,547,000 5.Massachusetts  1,218,000
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INTERNATIONAL WASTE TRADE (2001) Waste Imported
into the U.S. 30,567,000 tons Waste Exported
out of the U.S. -18,255,030 tons Net Import of
Waste Into the U.S. 12,311,970 tons
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(U.S.)
4.5 pounds of garbage per person per day.
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(2005)
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(Municipal Solid Waste)
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Percentages of biomes impacted by human activity.
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End of the CENOZOIC ERA! Start of the
ANTHROPOCENE!
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At noon today 6,666,250,300
http//www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw
http//www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop
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Density of the human population 1994
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Source United Nations, World Population
Prospects, The 1998 Revision and estimates by
the Population Reference Bureau.
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