Tomorrow Was an Excellent Film That Definitely

¶ … Tomorrow was an excellent film that definitely fuels interest in climate change. The film is an action packed portrayal of how climate change could potentially cause extreme weather events, though the scientific basis for the events shown in the movie are extremely exaggerated. The abrupt climate change that is shown is has no real basis in the current literature, however it does provide an entertaining and thought provoking view of some of the consequences of anthropogenic influences on the Earth's natural systems.

I had mixed emotions about the dramatizations about climate change. On one hand, it definitely makes the viewer wonder if such occurrences are even remotely possible. The way that the director presents the viewer the perception of real science that is taken place can lead the viewer to do their own investigations to verify if the science behind the movie is true. However, if they do this then they are likely to figure out that the claims are highly exaggerated. If they come to this conclusion then there is the risk that they may dismiss the actual scientific basis for the real climate change that is occurring along with the claims of the movie. Yet, at the same time, I feel that the interest and excitement that the film produced is likely a positive contribution to the real issues that are behind the extreme weather events that occurred in the movie.

1. The fundamental idea behind the movie is good science because:

North Atlantic Deep Water formation is sensitive to freshwater inputs and has been shown to slow or shut down in the past

Earth's orbit means we should be expecting a new ice age

Antarctic Bottom Water can rise to the surface in the North Atlantic and would cause Europe and North America to get much colder

2. Circle/highlight all the factors below would cause density of North Atlantic surface waters to decrease -- " preventing deep water formation?

a) increase in temperature

b) increase in sea ice formation

c) decrease in temperature

d) increase in freshwater inputs from melting ice

3. The main flaw in this film is that the thermohaline circulation cannot change over only a few days as seen in the movie. This is because:

a) the oceans do not respond to changes in the amount of freshwater input

b) the atmosphere cannot change over the timescale of a few days

c) the volume of the oceans is huge and water has a high heat capacity

d) the volume of the oceans is huge and water has a low heat capacity

4. Which of the following statements is FALSE.

a) Hurricanes only form over the sea in tropical regions.

b) A 300 ft 'wind-driven storm surge' would require winds of over 1200 mph

c) The Gulf Stream current is responsible for moving warm, salty water from the North Atlantic back to the Equator

d) Only a large tsunami could result in the type of wave seen in the movie but the Atlantic Ocean is surrounded by passive continental margins so this is not likely.