Directorate of Climate Change for Social Transformation

1) Department of Atmosphere and Climate Change for Environmental Sustainability

This department looks at the relationship between the atmosphere and climate change. The more carbon dioxide, the more the atmosphere warms due to the greenhouse effect. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which is itself a greenhouse gas. This is how water vapor triples the warming from increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases

 2) Department of Hydrosphere and Climate Change for Environmental Sustainability

This department looks on how the hydrosphere affects climate at short time intervals primarily by providing a source of atmospheric moisture, affecting both the humidity of a region and precipitation patterns. Over a longer timescale, the cryosphere (the frozen part of the hydrosphere) has a disproportionately large impact on the climate.

 3) Department of Cryosphere and Climate Change for Environmental Sustainability

This department monitors the effects of a changing climate on the cryosphere, and through feedback processes, these changes have an influence on the climate. For example, the increased melting of snow and ice caused by a warming planet enables more solar energy to be absorbed by land or water, which in turn leads to more warming.

 4) Department of Geosphere and Climate Change for Environmental Sustainability

This department seeks to address the relationship between geosphere and climate change. If continents are moved to high latitudes, more ice sheets form and sea levels fall. The growth of mountain ranges affects atmospheric circulation patterns and the number of alpine glaciers. Change in the rate of tectonic activity causes changes in the amount of volcanism, and volcanoes influence the climate.

 5) Department of Biosphere and Climate Change for Environmental Sustainability

This department focuses on how climate change alters the life cycles of plants and animals. For example, as temperatures get warmer, many plants are starting to grow and bloom earlier in the spring and survive longer into the fall. Some animals are waking from hibernation sooner or migrating at different times, too

 6) Department of Increase in Ocean Temperatures, Sea Level, and Acidity for Environmental Sustainability

This department seeks to clarify how changes in ocean temperatures and currents brought about by climate change will lead to alterations in climate patterns around the world. As greenhouse gases trap more energy from the sun, the oceans are absorbing more heat, resulting in an increase in sea surface temperatures and rising sea level.

 7) Department of Changes in the Frequency, Intensity and Duration of Extreme Weather Events for Environmental Sustainability

This department looks at how increased evaporation will result in more frequent and intense storms, but will also contribute to drying over some land areas. Current climate models indicate that rising temperatures will intensify the Earth’s water cycle, increasing evaporation.

There is very high confidence that the frequency and intensity of extreme heat and heavy precipitation events are increasing in most continental regions of the world. These trends are consistent with expected physical responses to a warming climate.