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The
Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia aims to
improve our understanding of past changes to the Earth's climate,
what the future holds and how temperature changes affects us.
The Broads may be affected by climate change |
The
Unit based in Norwich, investigates both natural climate change
and changes induced by man - for example, the burning of fossil
fuels like coal.
Discovering
the greenhouse effect
In
November 2000 the Tyndall Centre, named after the 19th century scientist
John Tyndall, was opened at the UEA.
John
Tyndall was the first person to explain why the sky is blue and
to prove the existence of the greenhouse effect.
The
Tyndall Centre brings together climate scientists, economists, social
scientists and engineers to explore ways in which we can respond
to climate change and advise the government on plans of action for
the future.
Also at the UEA is the Centre for Social and Economic
Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE). Scientists there research
climate change, recycling, the wetlands and coastal zone management.
Studies
on climate change
All
three departments have done some important studies into climate
change across the world.
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Will we have to use umbrellas all the time in 50 years?
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Scientists
at the Tyndall Centre believe
that the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads will be 3.6C degrees hotter
in the summer months 80 years from now. This could have a big impact
on wildlife.
The
CRU have discovered that heavy rainfall in winter, over multiple
days, has increased between 50 and 60 percent.
They
also found that the number of days of heavy rainfall in summer has
been decreasing.
Experts
in CSERGE have spent time studying the effect of the European Union
on our environment asking - how, for example, will the 10 new countries
joining the EU this year affect the campaign to protect our environment?
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Recommended reading
By Sheila McKeown, a librarian at the Millennium Library in
Norwich.
Air
Pollution: Our Impact on the Planet, by Matthew Chapman. Hodder
Wayland 2001. ISBN 0750234946.
Climate
Crisis by Nigel Hawkes. Watts 2000. ISBN 0749637188.
You can get hold of these books through
your local library.
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