Possible presentation topics Historical climate • K-T extinction – was it caused by a meteorite? • Little ice age – what was it? Was it global in extent? • Proxies – climate variability from tree rings, ice cores, pollen, etc. • Theories of snowball earth Climatology • Deserts – causes • Droughts – predictions; American dustbowl; is drought increasing? • Large ice sheets – dynamics of ice sheets; is Greenland melting? • Impacts of volcanic eruptions • Role of warm boundary currents (Gulf stream) in coastal climates • Impacts of El Nino – climate; economics • Hurricanes – predictions; change in frequency – past or future • Role of desert dust on climate • Air pollution trends • Impact of rainforest on climate Climate prediction • Do climate models make accurate predictions? • How does chaos affect our understanding? Climate forcing • Role of greenhouse gases • CO2 changes – past and future • Methane • Ozone and the ozone hole Climate change impacts • Effects on ecosystems – corals, mangroves, forests • Ocean acidification • Impacts of sea level rise • Impacts on small Pacific islands (Marshall Islands) • Impacts on the Pacific northwest – energy, water use, fisheries • Arctic and Antarctic sea ice Responses to climate change • Adapting to climate change – planning for the future • The skeptics – what are their arguments? Are they sound? • Moral and ethical dimensions of climate change • Impact of Kyoto protocol • Developed vs. developing countries • CO2 sequestration • Role of nuclear power Planetary climate • Mars – NASA observations of Martian climate; water on Mars • Venus – the runaway greenhouse • Titan – methane cycling in Titan’s atmosphereRenewable energy and climate • Solar energy • Wind energy • Biofuels – Corn ethanol; ethanol in Brazil • Hydrogen fueled automobile – the Freedom car • Geothermal energy • Tides and waves Geoengineering • Using particles to reflecting solar radiation • Altering clouds • Fertilizing the ocean Biographical • George Hadley • Gilbert Walker • Svante Arrhenius and John Tyndall (early greenhouse studies) • Charles David Keeling (CO2 measurements on Mauna Loa) • Lonnie Thompson (ice core research) • Jim Hansen (global climate
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