Key learning points

1. Increasing average global temperatures leads to an increase in sea levels.
2. Increasing average temperatures cause more powerful convection currents, increasing the number and severity of storms.
3. Increasing average temperatures can affect atmospheric air streams and change weather patterns.
4. Changes of human behaviour can lead to smaller increases in global temperature.
5. Climate engineering may enable humans to reduce global temperatures through the application of technologies.

Keywords

• Global warming - Global warming is an increase in Earth’s global temperatures, likely caused by more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

• Sea ice - Sea ice is formed, grows and melts into the oceans. Sea ice floats on the ocean surface and contains less salt than sea water as the salt is ‘pushed out’ of the ice structure.

• Convection currents - The movement of fluids caused by differences in density, allowing energy to be transferred as the hotter fluid rises to cooler areas.

• Climate - The long-term weather conditions in an area are known as the climate.

• Climate engineers - Climate engineers use technology as part of a large-scale intervention to alter the climate and limit the impacts of climate change.

Common misconception