Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
soil development, rock weathering rates, the development of
periglacial patterned ground, and moraine-ridge formation by the
glaciers themselves.
The geography of global warming
Of the many new topics to be taken on board by physical
geography in recent years, global warming has undoubtedly had
the most far-reaching effects on what geographers do. The latest
report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) concluded that global mean surface temperature rose
by about 0.76 degrees Centigrade over the last 100 years and,
if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations double, a further
rise of about 3.0 (likely range 2.0 to 4.5) degrees Centigrade
can be expected to follow. Past uncertainties about the rate and
underlying human cause of this global rise in temperature have
now been largely removed. Its likely worldwide impacts on
natural environments and on people are much clearer, and there
is increasing support, for example from the Stern Report, for
an economic case for taking action to reduce carbon emissions.
Furthermore, it is also clear that a global response is required to
this global environmental problem.
Why are physical geographers in particular taking an interest, and
how do they contribute to solving this environmental problem?
The answer is that global warming has many geographical
aspects. These can be illustrated with reference to several different
dimensions of the global warming problem: namely, detection,
prediction, impacts, and mitigation.
Detection of the problem in the fi rst place requires measurements
of air temperature taken from many parts of the world. Similarly,
geographical variations in temperature over the Earth's land
surfaces and over the oceans must be taken into account in
calculating accurate estimates of globally averaged temperatures
and to refi ne our knowledge of the rate of global warming. The
term 'global warming' also tends to hide the fact that different
