How did scientists come to current conclusions about climate change? (U.S. National Park Service) (2024)
When faced with a question, scientists first develop a "hypothesis" and then subject their hypothesis to rigorous experimentation and observation, a process called the "scientific method."
Scientists test their theories and laws using data, preferably multiple types of data from multiple sources. A few sources of data are pollen, carbon trapped in ice cores, fish bones, and traditional knowledge passed from generation to generation. Scientists test their hypotheses against the data, using a set of steps that forms a methodology. They develop research processes that other scientists can replicate using the same data and steps to prove that the conclusions are sound.
Multiple proven hypotheses may be collected into a "theory," which summarizes several experiments and observations. Theories are lines of thinking that scientists accept as true. Scientists, however, make room for an exception, or for science to come along with new discoveries that can disprove previously accepted hypotheses and theories. A theory need not have 100 percent agreement to be valid, and theories seldom achieve unanimous approval. As new facts come to light, science adjusts its theory.
A "law" is a predicted set of observations with no significant exceptions. Theories do not "grow up" to be laws once they are proven. In fact, scientists are still refining Newton's laws of gravity, even though you probably agree that gravity is real and you are experiencing it right now.
As a scientific agency, the National Park Service's mandate requires that we base management decisions and policies on the best available science. The specific effects of climate change are uncertain: how fast and how much the temperature will increase, what future rainfall levels will be, and how many or how severe storms will be. Despite this, it would be far riskier to do nothing and leave the preservation of our nation's treasures up to chance. We must move forward with the best science we have today. Our mission demands that we do so.
Scientists test their theories and laws using data, preferably multiple types of data from multiple sources. A few sources of data are pollen, carbon trapped in ice cores
ice cores
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier. Since the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper ones, and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years.
Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate.
The easiest way to do this is by planting new forests (afforestation) or restoring old ones (reforestation). Other enhanced land management practices can help, as can new technologies that suck CO2 out of the air (“direct air capture”), or prevent it from leaving smokestacks (“carbon capture and storage”).
National parks and their surrounding communities are working to slow the rate of warming. Sustainable practices, such as reducing water use and switching to renewable energy sources, are local actions that limit future climate change risks.
The observed global surface temperature rise since 1900 is consistent with detailed calculations of the impacts of the observed increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases (and other human-induced changes) on Earth's energy balance. Different influences on climate have different signatures in climate records.
Climate researchers utilize a variety of direct and indirect measurements to investigate Earth's climate history comprehensively. Direct measurements include data from satellites in space, instruments on the International Space Station, aircraft, ships, buoys, and ground-based instruments.
Scientists use different types of clues to study the myriad ways that Earth's climate has changed during the past 4.6 billion years, including direct measurements, historical accounts, and paleoclimate proxy data, which are evidence of past climate preserved in fossils, sediments, ice and other places.
Scientists study Earth's climate and how it changes in a variety of different ways, using satellite, instrumental, historical, and environmental records. One challenge of using satellite and instrumental data is that their lifespans have been rather short when compared to Earth's life.
It describes goals and objectives to guide our actions under four integrated components: science, adaptation, mitigation, and communication. The NPS will collaborate with partners to identify and monitor climate change effects in parks and to apply accurate and relevant science to management and policy decisions.
Final answer: The biggest problems for U.S. national parks today stem from the impacts of a growing human population, resulting in habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and social conflicts known as the 'people-versus-parks debate'.
Wildfires have always been a part of the park's natural landscape, but drought, made worse by warmer temperatures, has driven more intense fires in recent years across California as a whole.
Modern observations mostly come from weather stations, weather balloons, radars, ships and buoys, and satellites. The Global Historical Climatology Network daily (GHCNd) contains records from more than 100,000 stations in 180 countries and territories.
We know that carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. And we know that humans are burning fossil fuels, releasing huge amounts of carbon pollution and trapping more and more heat in the atmosphere.
In 2013, a study which found that out of over 4,000 peer-reviewed papers on climate science published since 1990, 97% agree, explicitly or implicitly, that global warming is happening and is human-caused.
Climate change is happening now, is largely due to human activities, and is amenable to action to slow its pace and reduce its impacts. Climate change is a global phenomenon, but it is people and communities at the local level that experience its consequences.
Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which has changed the earth's climate.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
