WEBQUEST

Global Warming

Global Warming Webquest Climate Scientist page

Climate Scientist

Just for Fun: The Case of the Warming Planet

1) Write a half-page biography describing the training needed to become a climate scientist. What kind of subjects should a potential climate scientist study in school? What kind of activities do climate scientists conduct on a day-to-day basis?

What is a Climatologist? (OSU)
Careers in Earth Science - Atmospheric Scientist (NASA)
A Career Guide for the Atmospheric Sciences (AMS)
Atmospheric Sciences - Educational and Career Outlooks (Enviroeducation.com)

2) Science is a collaborative effort. What are some of the ways in which scientists are working together to study and report on global warming?

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Understanding and Responding to Climate Change (NAS)
Joint Science Academies’ Statement: Global Response to Climate Change (NAS)

3) What is “proxy data”? What are some of the sources of proxy data that scientists use to study climate change?

Measuring Pre-Historic Climate (KSM)
Paleoclimatology: How Can We Infer Past Climates? (Carlton College)
Long Ago Climates (NCAR)

How far can scientists go back in time and still have confidence in the climate record?

Surface Temperature Reconstructions (NAS)

4) Scientists have used proxy data sources to reconstruct climate conditions over the past half-million years. Examine the historical and present climate data. What is the relationship between CO₂ and temperature? Before modern times, what were the highest levels of CO₂ recorded?

Pre-Historic Climate Change (KSM)
Recent Events (KSM)
A Century of Change (KSM)

What are the most recent CO₂ levels measured?

Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (NOAA)

5) Climate scientists use complicated computer models to better understand the climate and predict climate change in the future. What have these models told us about future climate change? What are some of the factors that cause different models to produce different projections?

Projected Climate Change (KSM)
Human Choices and Global Warming (KSM)
The Basics of Climate Prediction (Oxford University)
Simulating the Earth’s Climate (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)