Variations in carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere
http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Carbon_Dioxide_400kyr_Rev_png
http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Carbon_Dioxide_400kyr_Rev_png
Robert A. Rohde, Global Warming Art
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Climate Literacy
About Teaching Climate Literacy
4e 
4eBased on evidence from tree rings, other natural records, and scientific observations made around the world, Earth’s average temperature is now warmer than it has been for at least the past 1,300 years. Average temperatures have increased markedly in the past 50 years, especially in the North Polar Region.
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Environmental observations are the foundation for understanding the climate system. From the bottom of the ocean to the surface of the Sun, instruments on weather stations, buoys, satellites, and other platforms collect climate data. To learn about past climates, scientists use natural records, such as tree rings, ice cores, and sedimentary layers. Historical observations, such as native knowledge and personal journals, also document past climate change.
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The overwhelming consensus of scientific studies on climate indicates that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the latter part of the 20th century is very likely due to human activities, primarily from increases in greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.
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Benchmarks for Science Literacy
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Scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant data, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected data.
The earth's climates have changed in the past, are currently changing, and are expected to change in the future, primarily due to changes in the amount of light reaching places on the earth and the composition of the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels in the last century has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has contributed to Earth's warming.
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- Discussion of this visualization should include information about how ice cores are collected and analyzed as well as the Mauna Loa Observatory data.
- Also link to Milankovitch orbital cycles, which play an important role in climate change over millennial scales: http://serc.carleton.edu/resources/36458.html
About the Science
- This figure was developed from credible data sources, e.g. US Department of Energy, Nature Earth and Planetary Science Letters. While the figure does not contain the most recent data from the Mauna Loa Observatory, available elsewhere, it does illustrate several important ice core records.
- The graph clearly shows that since the Industrial Revolution, circa 1800, the burning of fossil fuels has caused a dramatic increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, reaching levels that are likely unprecedented in the last 20 million years.
- Comment from expert scientist: It points out CO2 has a natural variability, but since the industrial revolution, anthropogenic sources have caused changes to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere beyond the natural variability.
About the Pedagogy
- This visualization illustrates some of the main evidence that the current levels of global carbon dioxide are historically unprecedented. It is central to any discussion of human-induced climate change.
- Discussions around this visualization can include the different sources of CO2 data that scientists validated and merged to produce the graph, including the Vostok Ice Core, EPICA ice core, Law Dome ice core, Siple ice core, and Mauna Loa Observations.
Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN
This is some background information at: http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/climate-basics/climate-primer.shtml where the same figure appears.Have you used these materials with your students? Do you have insights to share with other educators about their use? Please share with the community by adding a comment below.
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