Matching Pairs Consequences of the Greenhouse EffectOnline version Even slight rises in average global temperatures can have huge effects. Match the photos with the pictures. by Irina Gavrilova 1 Spruce bark beetles in Alaska have had a population boom thanks to 20 years of warmer-than-average summers. The insects have managed to chew their way through 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) of spruce trees. 2 A sudden increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does more than change Earth's temperature. A lot of the carbon dioxide in the air dissolves into seawater. There, it forms carbonic acid in a process called ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is making it hard for some sea creatures to build shells and skeletal structures. This could alter the ecological balance in the oceans and cause problems for fishing and tourism industries. 3 This coral reef off the coast of Negril, Jamaica, has been partially "bleached," an impact of global warming. Rising ocean temperatures, in addition to increased runoff from agriculture and industry, contribute to coral communities dying and the reef being "bleached" of its bright color. 4 As global temperatures rise and the human population expands, more of the planet is vulnerable to desertification, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable. Sand dunes show the increasing desertification of the Tibetan Plateau, as land dries out and vegetation cover vanishes due to human activity. 5 In the 1970s, an abnormally long warm spell caused the population of emperor penguins to drop by 50 percent. Some scientists worry that continued global warming will push the creatures to extinction by changing their habitat and food supply. 6 Polar bears have become a symbol of global warming, because the Arctic landscape is one of the first to absorb the impact of rising temperatures. Warming temperatures melt polar ice and force animals like the polar bear to move farther south in search of food and other resources. 7 Sea level rise is an impact of global warming. Rising temperatures cause ice to melt at the poles. As this polar ice melts, sea levels rise, causing floods in coastal areas. A storm surge on a Louisiana highway shows the affects of sea level rise.
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