Changing Climate: Oregon’s 55 Million Year Record

Earth’s climate changes over both long and short time scales. Increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, commonly due to large volcanic eruptions, tend to increase global air temperatures. Major plant and animal extinctions observed in the geological record have been linked to rapid climate shifts. The record of the past 55 million years is well-documented with many intriguing clues found in Oregon. Oregon is also a leader in modern climate change research.

In this window learn how long-term climate cooling (visible in the fossils and ancient soil layers of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument) over more than 50 million years led to the Earth being cold enough to go in and out of ice ages over the past 2 million years. While these changes were natural, and part of the Earth’s climatic “pulse,” humans are now unnaturally affecting climate. In the past 150 years, greenhouse gasses have risen sharply to their highest levels in millions of years and the planet has warmed significantly (1.5°F) with changes that will affect our planet and our lives.

The colorful layers of the Painted Hills near Mitchell are ancient soils that reveal a warm temperate environment 33 million years ago in what is now a much cooler north-central Oregon.

Digging Deeper: For more information, visit these websites:

Learn about long term climate changes:

Oregon Paleo Lands Institute:

http://www.paleolands.org/

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument:

http://www.nps.gov/joda

Oregon State University is a leader in modern climate change research:

OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Climate Detectives

http://www.oceanandair.coas.oregonstate.edu/index.cfm?content.display&pageID=122

US Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change Page:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report:

http://www.ipcc.ch/

Climate Change in Oregon (ODOE):

http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/GBLWRM/Portal.shtml

NASA Global Climate Change:

http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/

NOAA Global Climate Change:

http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html

NOAA National Climate Data Center:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html

NOAA Climate Science Literacy Brochure: The Essential Principles of Climate Science:

http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/Temp/Climate_Science_Literacy_Brochure_Final_v2.pdf

Digging Deeper: For more information, give this sample of books a read:

Geology of Oregon, 5th Edition by Elizabeth L. Orr and William N. Orr (2000, Kendall/Hunt [http://www.kendallhunt.com/]) Professors at the University of Oregon, the Orr’s have been writing about Oregon’s geology for decades.

In Search of Ancient Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop (2003, Timber Press

[http://www.timberpress.com/])