What is Climate Change?

Elnaz Neinavaz, University of Twente

ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only 1

Lecture overview

• Climate

• Climate Change

• Essential Climate Variable & Climate change

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What is Climate?
Climate is defined as an area's long-
term weather patterns. The simplest
way to describe climate is to look at
average temperature and precipitation
over time.

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What is Weather?
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a particular place during a short period of time

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Weather vs Climate

Weather Climate

Takes very long time to

Can change within a few change!
minutes or hours

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Weather vs Climate

• Determined: daily
• Looked at by the minutes,
• Determined: Over time hour, day, week
• Looked at by the years Measures • Reported as a forecast
• Reported as an average conditions in • Depends on the weather
• Depends on the location on Earth the occurring mainly to the west
• Weather makes up climate •
atmosphere Climate helps you determine
the weather

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Climate variables
Some meteorological variables that are
commonly measured are as follows:

Temperature Cloudiness

Humidity Atmospheric
pressure

Precipitation Wind
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Climate System

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What is climate change?
Climate change is a change in the pattern of weather, and
related changes in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets,
that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global
climates and occurring over time scales of decades or
longer.

Human activities, especially emissions of heat-trapping

greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation,
and land-use change, are the primary driver of the climate
changes observed in the industrial era.

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Climate change causes

You can edit this text

You can edit this text

Natural cause
Climate Change.
Earth

Anthropogenic
causes

Global temperature

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Natural causes-Internal variability

Ocean
circulation

Illustration by Jayne Doucette,

Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution

Ocean-
2 atmosphere Life 3
exchange

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Natural causes-External forcing

Greenhouse gases Solar output Plate tectonics

Orbital variations Volcanism Other mechanisms

EXTERNAL CLIMATE
FORCING

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Natural causes-Orbital variation
Shifts and wobbles in the Earth’s orbit can trigger changes
in climate such as the beginning and end of ice ages.

More tilt = warmer summers and colder winters

Less tilt = cooler summers and milder winters

Orbital shifts are so gradual that they can only 
be observed over thousands of years -
not decades or centuries.

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Natural causes-solar output
The Sun is the source of energy for the Earth’s climate system.

The Sun’s energy output appears constant from an everyday

point of view, small changes over an extended period of time can
lead to climate changes.

Source: Swiss National Science Foundation

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Natural causes-solar output
A decrease in solar activity was thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and
1850, when Greenland was largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps.

The Frozen Thames, by Abraham Hondius (c.1625–1691) Pompenburg with Hofpoort in winter, by Bartholomeus Johannes van
Hove (1790-1880) 15
Natural causes-volcanism

Volcanic eruption throws out a enormous

amount of particles and other gases that
effectively shield us from the Sun to lead to a
period of global cooling.

Source: https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/volcanoes-and-climate-change

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Anthropogenic causes
Coal mining

Deforestation Air pollution

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Greenhouse gases Industrial processes

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Greenhouse gases

• Greenhouse gases are those that absorb and emit infrared radiation in the wavelength range
emitted by Earth. 

• Infrared radiation is emitted from the

Earth surface.
• Some of the infrared radiation passes
• Solar radiation passes through the
through the atmosphere and some
clear atmosphere.
absorbed and re-emitted in all
• Most radiation is absorbed by the
molecules. The effect of this is to warm
Earth surface and warms it.
the Earth surface and the lower
• Some solar radiation is reflected by
atmosphere.
the Earth and the atmosphere.

The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas for electricity, heat, and
transportation is the primary source of human-generated emissions. 18
Greenhouse gases

Human enhanced greenhouse

gases effect

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Greenhouse gases

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is currently

40% higher than it was when industrialisation
6%
began.   13%

Other greenhouse gases are emitted in smaller

17%
quantities, but they trap heat far more effectively 64%
than CO2, and in some cases are thousands of
times stronger. 

Carbon Dioxide Methane

Chloroflouro Carbones Nitrou soxide

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_en
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Greenhouse gases- Carbon Dioxide

Sources: Credit: Luthi, D., et al.. 2008; Etheridge, D.M., et al. 2010; Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO 2 record.
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

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Deforestation

Deforestation is the permanent removal of

trees to make room for something
besides forest.
This can include clearing the land for
agriculture or grazing, or using the timber
for fuel, construction or manufacturing.

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Air pollution
Air pollution is caused by fertiliser use, livestock production, and certain
industrial processes that release fluorinated gases.
Pollutants in the air can produce serious environmental issues and contribute to
climate change. The major concerns include:
o The ability of pollutants to trap too much heat in the atmosphere
o The mixture of gases with moisture in the atmosphere which produces
damaging acid rain
o The increase in unnatural ozone levels
o The presence of particles in the atmosphere that block sunlight

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Mining

Coal mining releases methane, a potent

greenhouse gas. Methane emissions from
coalmines has a global warming potential 21
times greater than that of carbon dioxide over
a 100-year timeline (Source IPCC).

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Industrial processes
These total emissions for industrial process are comprised
of: (Fischedick, Roy et al. 2014)
•Direct energy-related CO2 emissions for industry
• Indirect CO2 emissions from production of electricity
and heat for industry
•Process CO2 emissions
•Non-CO2 GHG emissions
•Direct emissions for waste/wastewater

Source: CO2CRC.com

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Consequences of climate change
Changes in Photo credit UCSUSA

•Glaciers and ice sheets

•Sea level change
•Sea ice
•Heavy rainfall across the globe
•Extreme Drought
•Decline in Crop productivity Photo credit David Paul Morris, Bloomberg Photo credit AFP
•Changes in ecosystems
•Hurricanes
•Rise in temperature
•Acidification of seawater

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Consequences of climate change
Source: ESA

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Why measuring Climate Change?

We measure climate change to understand climate,

climate variability and climatic changes at the local,
national, and regional, and global levels;
To understand better how climate change affects our
social systems;
To better plan adaptation measures to tackle the
potential or actual impacts of climate change.

Source: U.S. Global Change Research Program

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How climate change is measured over time?
Earth-orbiting satellites, remote meteorological stations, and
ocean buoys are used to monitor present-day weather and
climate.
Paleoclimatology data from natural sources like ice cores, tree
rings, corals, and ocean and lake sediments

Scientists use this data as an input into sophisticated climate

models that predict future climate trends with impressive
accuracy.
Source: WMO: https://public.wmo.int/en/programmes/global-observing-system

Photo credit: Ludovic Brucker

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Essential Climate Variables
Essential climate variables (ECVs) are physical, chemical, or biological variables or a group of linked variables
that critically contributes to the characterisation of the Earth's climate.

Relevance: The variable is critical for characterising the climate system and its changes.
Feasibility: Observing or deriving the variable on a global scale is technically feasible using proven, scientifically
understood methods.
Cost effectiveness: Generating and archiving data on the variable is affordable, mainly relying on coordinated
observing systems using proven technology, taking advantage where possible of historical datasets.

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Essential Climate Variables
ECV data records are intended to provide reliable, traceable, observation-based evidence for a range of applications, including
monitoring, mitigating, adapting to, and attributing climate changes.

Land

ECVs
Atmosphere Ocean

https://gcos.wmo.int/en/essential-climate-variables

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More than a list of variables
Building on existing science, data holdings and observational
infrastructure.
Climate system variables

Guidance is provided on their observation, and the

Observation is technically feasible

generation of products from Earth observation.

Observation is cost effective

They provide one basis for an

organised assessment of capabilities ECVs

and needs. Observation is relevant

Organisation could be by observing a Foundation Guidance

network, physical/chemical cycle or Climate science User requirement
societal benefit area. Climate data Observing principal and
standards
Observational capability Guidelines for dataset
and infrastructure generation
Reference: Bojinski et al., 2014 32
 ATMOSPHERE OCEAN LAND

SURFACE PHYSICS Above-Ground Biomass

Precipitation Ocean Surface Heat Flux Albedo

Pressure Sea Ice Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Fluxes

Surface Radiation Budget Sea Level Anthropogenic Water Use

Surface Wind Speed and Direction Sea State Fire

Temperature Sea Surface Salinity Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation

Water Vapour Sea Surface Temperature (FAPAR)

UPPER-ATMOSPHERE Subsurface Currents Glaciers

Earth Radiation Budget Subsurface Salinity Groundwater

Lightning Subsurface Temperature Ice Sheets and Ice Shelves

Temperature Surface Currents Lakes

Water Vapour Surface Stress Land Cover

Wind Speed and Direction BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Land Surface Temperature

COMPOSITION Inorganic Carbon Latent and Sensible Heat Fluxes

Aerosols Properties Nitrous Oxide Leaf Area Index

Nutrients Permafrost
Carbon Dioxide, Methane and other Greenhouse Gases
Ocean Colour River Discharge

Cloud Properties Oxygen Snow

Ozone Transient Tracers

Soil Carbon
BIOLOGY/ECOSYSTEMS
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Precursors Marine Habitat Properties
Soil Moisture
Plankton
Climate Change Initiative of ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the Climate
Change Initiative (CCI) to provide satellite-based climate data records
(ECVs) that meet the challenging requirements of the climate
community.

The aim is to realize the full potential of the long-term Earth

observation archives
Aspects of producing a satellite-based climate data records: Data
acquisition, Data calibration, Algorithm development, Validation,
Maintenance, Provision of the data to the climate research
community

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What did you learn?

•understood the difference between weather and climate

•became familiar with concepts of climate change
Read the supporting document What is Climate Change?

•became familiar with the climate change causes

•became familiar with concepts of ECVs
Read the supporting document Learn more about ECVs

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Produced by

ESA COMMUNICATION

[email protected]

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