Transcript Progetto Comenius - Liceo Scientifico di Stato Galileo Galilei

School Year 2011/2012
Secondary School
“Galileo Galilei” (Liceo Scientifico)
Pescara (Italy)
Classes 3C- 3E- 3H- 3I
Climate Change
in Abruzzo
Region
Climate can be defined as the combination
of the atmospheric conditions
( temperature, humidity, pressure, winds )
that characterize a geographical region for
long periods of time and which determine
the type of vegetation in it, both animal and
plant life. This, in turn, also influences the
economic activities of the people who live
there and also their habits and culture.
Abruzzo climate
The Region
The region is 10.947
square kilometers, of
this area 65% is
mountainous. Abruzzo
is the 3rd most
mountainous region in
Italy, 34,9% of the
region is covered by
hills and there are very
few lowland areas.
the 4 provinces of Abruzzo
L’ AQUILA
a mostly
mountain district
CHIETI
PESCARA
They have an even
distribution of
mountains and hills
a more hilly district
TERAMO
Let’s consider the climatic
conditions of Abruzzo
The inland zone comprising the
backbone of the Appennines which
is studded with remarkable and
connected mountain ranges
Climate type
Continental
In the Eastern coastal strip you
find small hills that slope
gently towards the sea
Climate type
Adriatic - Mediterranean
What climatic
changes can we
observe in
Abruzzo?
… We shall investigate
on possible links
between air pollution
and climate change …
we will know the
composition of the
atmosphere and study its
biosphere going through all
the different types of life on
Earth which emit and absorb
some gases.
Composition of atmosphere
Nitrogen 78%
Oxygen 21%
Argon 0.93%
< 1%
>99%
CO2 365·10-6 (365 ppm)
CH4 1.7 ppm
O3 0.01 - 10 ppm
NO 1 - 100 ·10-9 (1-100ppb)
NO2 10 - 150 ppb
Mankind can make a
strong impact on the
atmosphere by its
activities
The phenomena of interest in the
atmosphere involved are: climate
change, pollution, etc.
Another aspect we will consider is
the growth of industrial production
and how gases may have a harmful
effect on the atmosphere.
Finally we are going to
consider the climate change
in the industrial areas of our
region.
Our interactive climate system
The Greenhouse effect: the natural one is necessary
to life, that caused by human action is probably not…
About 30% of infrared
radiation disperses in the
space.
The Sun rays
penetrate the
atmosphere
and heat up
the Earth’s
surface
In natural conditions
about 70% of the
infrared radiation is
absorbed in water
vapor and other
greenhouse gases that
are in the atmosphere.
Such gases act as glass
panels in a greenhouse
catching the heat and
reflecting it again onto
the Earth’s surface.
When the concentration of the
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
rises the quantity of heat trapped
and reflected increases.
The oceans warm up and expel more
water vapor which in turn can
increase the greenhouse effect.
the Earth’s surface the heat spreads out in the atmosphere in
the form of infrared rays
Actions to limit the
climate change
What type of strategies can we implement?
we can modify the sources of emission
The production of electrical energy releases a
huge quantity of CO2
The substitution of fossil fuels
solar energy
Producing energy
while reducing
drastically the
emissions of CO2
wind energy
geothermical
energy
tidal energy
biomass
energy
How far have we developed
renewable resources in our region?
How many plants have been established?
What types are they? Where are they?
Has the energy produced from the Sun and the
wind replaced traditional energy resources?
Do other plans for the development of
photovoltaic or wind farms exist?
How has the
climate changed in
Abruzzo?
Let’s examine the data of recorded
temperatures
From what sources
can we get our
information ?
University of L’Aquila,
CETEMPS - Department of
Physics
Group of research directed by
Professor G. Visconti
How do we measure temperature?
Bases used for the
measurement and
study of atmospheric
conditions
High level mountain observatory
Calderone (The most southern glacier of Europe))
Corno Grande
Station of the refuge of
Duca degli Abruzzi, Mt
Portella 2388, the
highest in the
Appennines
CETEMPS is in charge of
the management of the
database of the network
Share for the filtering of
the geophysical data of
all the high mountain
observatories in the
world.
Network of stations in Abruzzo Region
L’AQUILA
PESCARA
the temperature database began in 1920 and the rainfall database began in
1874 in many parts of the region.
How can we observe
the changes in the
rainfall in the region?
Let’s look at the analysis of the
data that indicate a variation...
From the analysis of the data from 1930 to the
present day from all the main towns in Abruzzo,
some of the studies that have been done indicate:
 a TREND of average temperatures
 a TREND of maximum and minimum
temperatures
 a TREND of seasonal temperatures
 a TREND of seasonal and annual rainfall
 a TREND of seasonal and annual of daily
rainfall.
What are the key questions?
What is the
connection between
the changes in
temperature, both on
the coast and in the
high mountains?
During recent years have
the atmospheric
conditions shown
variation?
Has the rise in temperature had an effect
on our agriculture?
...in our next
meeting we will
discuss results....