Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 10:55
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Arctic Sunlight and Microbial Interactions

Hello Mr.T, My name is Timothy Iversn and I am going to be in your Pd 3 EnviSci class this upcoming year. I am curious as to how the release of CO2 into our atmosphere will affect our weather. Will the CO2 cause weather problems for us in NJ? For example, will our temperatures increase/decrease? And this may sound stupid, but do you think these increases in CO2 are causing clashes in temperature resulting in stronger tornadoes and hurricanes? (ie Sandy)

Tue, 08/27/2013 - 05:53

Anonymous

Timothy -
These are great questions that scientists are working hard to answer right now. Temperatures and sea level in NJ have increased over the past 100 years - that's pretty clear. In fact, we'll look at the data from the NJ State Climatologist about this. Your question about Sandy certainly is not stupid - lots of people are arguing whether Sandy's intensity was a sign of climate change and what we can expect in the future. However, it's very hard to link one specific weather event with long-term climate patterns. Many scientists think that Sandy was a strong as it was because of the higher sea levels and warmer ocean temperatures that we have now. Just last week a federal task force issued a report warming that we can expect future storms like Sandy because of the effects of climate change. Governor Christie has refused to say whether he thinks Sandy's intensity was a result of global warming. It's a fascinating issue that has direct impact on us.
- Mr. T

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 09:05

Anonymous

Hello Mr T,
After reading your response to Tim and your journal entries I had the following question that if in fact storms such as Sandy are related to the increase in temperature and climate changes, then why does the changing sea level and temperatures cause more powerful storms? What argument would be made to support the relationship that climate changes, specifically temperature increases, result in stronger storms?
Thank you,
Brad Theiss

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 10:03

Anonymous

Brad -
That's exactly the type of question I love to hear from students in my class! I hope you continue to dig deeper into the answers you get from me, your other teachers, and anyone else trying to explain something to you. Why does CO2 promote climate change? Why are warmer oceans associated with stronger storms? Why might climate change cause drought, malaria, and lots of other problems people are worried about? You should definitely ask these questions, and we will try to answer them, or at least educate ourselves about them, during Envi Sci class this year.
The short answer to your question is that basically, hurricanes are fueled by latent heat from warm ocean water in the tropics. The warmer the water, the more energy available for the storm. But weather, as always, is a complex system with lots of other things affecting it.
- Mr. T
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