Earth's Water Cycle in a Changing Climate

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Water is always in motion, changing from liquid to water vapor to ice - on, under and over the surface of the Earth. A leading NASA scientist explained how this water cycle can be affected by a warming climate and what we might expect for the future. Peter Hildebrand, chief of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, discussed "Earth's Water Cycle in a Changing Climate." The illustrated lecture, the third in a series of five programs in 2008, is presented through a partnership between the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Earth is warming, particularly over the continents and toward the poles. In the northern hemisphere, precipitation is becoming more intense and frequent, while equatorial regions are experiencing less precipitation in general. Ecosystems are responding to a warming climate by moving poleward, and by moving upward in altitude when mountains are present. Climate change is affecting worldwide food production as well as the accessibility of water for other basic human uses. Current change trends are expected to continue and to increase in intensity. Coupled with human population growth, climate change is likely to require the migration of large numbers of people. Hildebrand will discuss and illustrate space-based observations of these global phenomena and the consequences for human society. NASA's observations of the Earth from space will assist the…

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Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

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Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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