Gasses
This gas has increased by about 40% since data was collected in 40%
What is CO2?
Water ________ in volume as it warms, which leads to sea level _____.
What are two of the three methods researchers used to estimate the size of the GPGP
fleet of 30 boats, 652 surface nets and two flights
2x Texas
3x France
What percent of GPGP ocean plastics is from fishing activities?
75% to 86%
This gas has nearly doubled in PPM since data was first collected in 1900.
What is Methane?
What is the largest solar energy collector on the planet
Our global oceans
For about how many years have we been measuring ocean surface temperatures?
Ocean surface temperatures have been measured by ships and buoys for more than 100 years.
More than half of this plastic is less dense than the water, meaning that it will not sink once it encounters the sea
How many times faster is this current climate change occurring compared to the last major climate change
about 10 times
The concentration of global atmospheric CO2 is now more than 400 parts per million. When was this last the case?
—a level we last saw about 3 million years ago, when both global average temperature and sea level were significantly higher than today.
Why do warmer temperatures at the surface of the ocean increase intensity and frequency of storms
energy in the form of heat for these atmospheric disturbances is drawn from the upper ocean.
The January–December 2020 average global and ocean surface temperature was the highest since global records began in what year?
1880
What percent of sea turtles diet was plastics?
74% (by dry weight) of their diets composed of ocean plastics
1.8 trillion plastic pieces in the GPGP is equivalent to
250 pieces of debris for every human in the world
How are greenhouse gasses contributing to climate change?
over the past several decades, increasing levels of greenhouse gases are preventing excess energy from escaping to space, contributing to the warming of the planet.
How many inches has sea level risen?
Since 1900, global average sea level has risen about 8 inches
What is Earth's Energy Budget?
Earth’s energy budget represents the balance between the amount of energy incoming to Earth from the Sun and the amount of energy outgoing from Earth back to space.
What does persistent bioaccumulative toxic mean
What percent of excess heat do oceans absorb?
by absorbing more than 90 percent of the excess heat in the Earth's system.
Even if greenhouse gas emissions were completely halted today how would that affect the future
heat already stored in the ocean will eventually be released, committing Earth to additional surface warming in the future.
Why is sea salinity measured
salinity directly affects seawater density (colder salty water is denser than warmer fresher water) and therefore can affect the circulation of ocean currents
Sea surface salinity is intimately linked to Earth’s overall water cycle and to how much freshwater leaves and enters the ocean through evaporation and precipitation.
How does pollution effect the economy? (How much $ or 2 effects?)
yearly economic costs due to marine plastic are estimated to be between $6-19bn USD
its impact on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture, and (governmental) cleanups. (These costs do not include the impact on human health and the marine ecosystem)
Why are microplastics a problem?
microplastics are very difficult to remove and are often mistaken for food by marine animals
Microplastics have been discovered floating within the water surface layers, but also in the water column or as far down as the ocean floor
How much has the earth warmed since 1900?
Bonus: When did most of the increase occur?
Earth’s average surface air temperature has increased by about 1.8°F (1°C) since 1900
with much of this increase taking place since the mid-1970s