subreenas

TOPIC 6: Describe how climate change affects natural systems : Regionally and globally our climate is changing, to fully grasp the implication of a changing climate upon Earth and ourselves, we need to have an appreciation of the range of natural systems and how they are interconnected.

The main 7 natural systems of earth include biological systems (individuals, species populations, and communities), ecosystems (the interactions amongst living organisms and physical and chemical factors in the environment), global energy budget (flow of energy originating from the Sun into and out of Earth’s systems), water cycle (hydrological cycle), cycling of carbon and nitrogen (bio geochemical cycles), rock cycle (geological processes) and last but not least global climate system (the interactions that create the climates and weather patterns throughout Earth). Impacts of climate change on natural systems are far ranging. For example, the impact on the water cycle includes changes in the size of fresh water reservoirs as seen by the melting of glaciers,ice caps, and permafrost and the evaporation of lakes; and increased amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, which affects the amount of solar energy that is reflected back into space or absorbed within the atmosphere and increases the amount of precipitation. These changes can then have an effect on the global energy budget and subsequently the global climate system leading to further climate change.

Link: http://www.wildbc.org/publication-resources/climatechange/impacts on natural systems.pdf

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