During Summer 2021, I conducted research on climate change-related impacts to the forests of Southern California and Interior Alaska. Before we launched into our field work, we researched some of the common themes that could be addressed by the research teams in both location. The essay below describes my thinking and showcases my ability to synthesize scientific information from different sources.
There were about 30,000 fires in the Amazon in August of 2019. This is three times more than usual. Earth's forests are being decimated, as evidenced by this image. And they're being demolished at a fast pace. To destroy a forest can take several hours, or perhaps just a few minutes. A mature forest, on the other hand, will take at least 100 years to grow. Human actions are to blame for climate change, which is a real and significant concern. The industrial revolution taught us how to make the most of the natural resources around us. As a result, human consumption of natural resources has escalated, and greenhouse gases have been discharged into the atmosphere, posing a threat to our world.
As a result of climate change, the Earth's temperature abruptly increases. Since the last century, the temperature is estimated to rise between 1.2- and 1.4-degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, climate change may accelerate erosion, organic matter loss, salinization, soil biodiversity loss, landslides, desertification, and flooding, among other problems. Intense droughts, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels and melting glaciers, as well as warmer waters, can hurt wildlife, destroy habitats, and wreck havoc on people's livelihoods and communities as a result of global warming. Due to the worsening of climate change, extreme weather events are becoming more common or more intense.
Coastal ecosystems in Alaska range from steep cliffs and sandy beaches to tidal flats, marshes, and eelgrass beds, all of which are incredibly diverse. Alaska has warmed more than twice as rapidly as the rest of the United States over the last 60 years. Temperatures have risen by 3 degrees Fahrenheit on average each year as well as by 6 degrees Fahrenheit each winter. In Alaska, climate change is already causing early spring snowmelt, glacier retreat, drier landscapes and an increase in bug outbreaks, wildfires and wildfire smoke. Before the middle of the century, the Arctic summer sea ice is likely to be gone. Sea ice in September has shrunk by roughly half since 1979, when satellite data began. Storms cause higher waves and more coastline erosion now that the late summer ice edge is located farther north than it used to be. The relocation of one Alaskan town has already started, and numerous more are in the process of moving. The temperature of the permafrost in Alaska is increasing. The interior and southern parts of Alaska, as well as northern Canada, are already seeing a thaw, which will likely continue. To compensate for uneven ground settlement caused by permafrost thawing, buildings, pipelines, roads, and other infrastructure are expected to cost up to $6 billion over the next 20 years.
With the highest number of distinct plant and animal species of all 50 states, and the highest number of endangered species, California is similar to Alaska. As a result, climate change will have a negative impact on plant and wildlife habitats, and on the ability of the state's diverse ecosystems to provide clean water and other commodities and services that are essential to our well-being According to scientists, the sea level has risen roughly 8 inches along California's coasts in the past century, and it is expected that it will rise another 20 to 55 inches by the turn of the century. It is estimated that coastal erosion costs California's economy $46 billion every year. Increased saltwater pollution of Delta and Levee systems will occur as sea levels rise. In the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, the presence of saltwater poses a threat to wildlife and the drinking water supply of 20 million Californians. Contaminated salt water also has the potential to damage low-lying farmland. In 2007, California's agriculture business brought in $39 billion in income and produced more than half of all fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States.
Globally, climate change has had a major impact on the world, and the United States in particular, as a result. It poses a threat to people's health, their lives, and their very existence as a result. Hotter temperatures cause more smoke, which can damage the lungs and increase childhood asthma, respiratory and heart problems, and mortality among young people. To address the problem in one or a few days is not an easy task. Most importantly, people must be aware of the problem in order to improve it.
Impacts of Climate Change in Alaska’s forests:
Impacts of Climate Change in Southern California forests: