Submitted by Jo Dodds on Wed, 12/05/2007 - 20:40
Forums
Human Impacts in Antarctica

Hi Ann. Emily Bond, a ninth grader at O'Leary JHS would like to know if researchers are finding that humans are influencing more of a global change or is it a natural process that would eventually occur anyway and humans are only speeding it up.

Thanks, Jo Dodds

Wed, 12/19/2007 - 01:36

Ann Linsley

Hi Jo and Emily, 
Our project is not addressing this topic but it is definitely related.  I think you will find a variety of opinions on this topic.  If you look at it over the geologic history of the earth we do have periods of high sea level stands and periods of continental glaciation.  The area of the country that you are in, is one of the areas that was definitely impacted by several millions of years with the encroachment of the interior sea way all the way south into southern Utah and east to the Midwest.  In addition to the cyclical nature of the process in general, scientists affirm that man has increased the rate of global warming since the age of mechanical industrialization due to the increase of carbon production from machinery and the decrease in oxygen production from the removal of forests.  There is quite a bit of disagreement regarding the exact numbers of the increase and then ultimately the long term impact of the rate increase.  Since humans have only been on the planet that we know of for 10,000 years we do not have a lot of history to work with compared to the geologic history of the planet. 
 
Ann Linsley