Climate Change NASA’s Perspective

Amaya M. Davis, PhDSolar System Ambassador

- Climate Change is a FACT

- Causes & Effects

- Is There Hope?

Objectives

- Global Temperature Rises- Warming Oceans- Shrinking Ice Sheets- Glacial Retreat- Decrease Snow Cover- Sea Level Rise- Declining Artic Sea Ice- Extreme Events- Ocean Acidification

Climate Change is a FACT

Increased Temperature

• Greenland lost an average of 281 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2016

• Antarctica lost about 119 billion tons during the same time period

• September Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 12.8 percent per decade

• In 2018, the Arctic minimum sea ice covered an area of 4.15 million square kilometers,vs 6.73 million square kilometers

Melting Ice Caps

Why it Happens?

• Is it the Earth’s Orbit?

• Is it the Sun?

• Is it Volcanoes?

• Is it all Three of These Things Combined?

• Is It Deforestation?

• Or Ozone Pollution?

• Or Aerosol Pollution?

• So what causes Global Warming?

Causes: Natural or Manmade?Missions that observe CO2

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2)

Future Effects

- Can we reverse Global Warming?

NO- Can we stop Climate Change?

NO- What we can do is slow it down…. And learn to adapt.

Is There Hope?

- Mitigation- Adaptation- Energy Innovations

Solutions

Geo-engineering

Aerosol Injection Removing CO2

Radiation Management Renewable Sources

Scientific Innovations for the Future

Ultimately: Consume Less