The average change in temperature per
decade from 1950 to 2005, in degrees
Celsius. (If the scale were in °F, it would
go from -.72 to .72.) Image courtesy of the Joint Institute for the Study of the
Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington.
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Carbon dioxide has increased dramatically
since the Industrial Revolution.
Adapted from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science
Basis. Working Group 1 Contribution to the 4th Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Figure SPM.5. Cambridge University Press.
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Plant hardiness zone maps, used by gardeners to determine which areas are suitable
for certain plants. Warmer colors indicate warmer zones. A new map was created in
2006 to reflect changes in climate since the 1990 map was created.
2006 map courtesy of the National Arbor Day Foundation.
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Artist's depiction of the mastodon,
driven to extinction by human hunting
compounded by a reduction in habitat due
to climate change. (Public domain image)
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Quino Checkerspot. Image courtesy of Dr. Gordon Pratt, www.quinocheckerspot.com.
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Scientists retrieve a water sample
for research on the dead
zone. Image courtesy of Oregon State University.
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Climate change is
affecting caribou (wild
reindeer). Image courtesy of Dean
Briggins, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
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This map shows
the average arctic
sea ice area for
September 2007
(in white) and
the average from
1979 to 2000
(pink outline).
Image courtesy of the
National Snow and Ice
Data Center.
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The Arctic is
warming about
twice as fast as
the rest of the
planet as shown
by the large area
of dark red.
Image created with
data from the Goddard
Institute for Space
Studies.
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A wildfire sweeps
through Bitterroot
National Forest in
Montana.
Image courtesy of John
McColgan, USDA Forest
Service.
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Image courtesy of J. R.
Douglass, Yellowstone
National Park.
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Invasive grasses are
making desert landscapes
more prone
to fire.
Image courtesy of T. Esque,
USGS.
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Photos taken from
the same vantage
point near Los
Alamos, New
Mexico, in 2002
(left) and in 2004
(right).
Images courtesy of D.
Allen, USGS.
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These shallow, temporary lakes scattered throughout the Midwest provide critical places for migrating
birds to rest, feed, and mate.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Reconstructed satellite images show
the Everglades of the 1850s (left) and
present day (right). The yellow lines are
the historical and current border of the
Everglades ecosystem.
Image courtesy of the South Florida Water Management
District.
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A partially
bleached coral.
Image from
NOAA.
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Rufous Hummingbird. Image courtesy of Dean E. Briggins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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A scientist in the US
Geological Survey
National Ice Core
Lab. Ice cores, which
are samples taken
from polar ice caps
and mountain glaciers,
provide clues
about changes in
Earth's climate and
atmosphere going
back thousands of
years.
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