Climate Change

Chapter Overview

Climate change refers to significant, long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. These variations are driven by natural factors (such as solar radiation changes, volcanic eruptions, and orbital shifts) and anthropogenic factors (primarily human activities like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, industrial processes, and agriculture that release greenhouse gases). Anthropogenic drivers have dramatically accelerated warming over the past century, causing global disruptions to ecosystems.

The consequences for biodiversity are severe. Changing temperatures and altered precipitation patterns shift biological niches, threatening both terrestrial flora (plants) and fauna (animals) that cannot adapt or migrate quickly enough. The marine environment is equally affected. Rising atmospheric CO2 dissolves in ocean water to form carbonic acid, causing ocean acidification (lowening ocean pH). High ocean temperatures combined with low pH damage coral reefs, disrupt calcification in shell-forming marine organisms, and harm fish populations, threatening marine biodiversity.

As ecosystems degrade, species extinction rates accelerate. Climate change forces habitat loss and fragmentation, driving vulnerable species to extinction while pushing others onto endangered lists. Protecting biological diversity requires a deep understanding of these ecological pressures and global mitigation efforts. Studying these climate change dynamics is vital for HSSC-II SLO-based assessments.