The Concentration of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere - Essay Example

1. What is involved in the earth’s energy budget and the natural greenhouse warming that occurs? The energy budget account of the earth accounts for energy that is brought into the climatic system of the earth through the sun, the amount of energy lost to space and what remains on earth and the atmosphere. Studies that can be able to measure the relevant amounts are needed to precisely evaluate global warming. The radiation that comes from the solar system is distributed unevenly on earth since the heat of the sun is more direct in the equatorial regions compared to the Polar Regions. The atmosphere and hydrosphere absorb energy and heat from the sun is distributed the evaporation at the surface of water bodies, rainfall, circulation in the oceans as well as winds among others. If the heat from the sun is balanced by the same amount of heat flowing towards space, the earth can be said to be in a radiative equilibrium and temperatures throughout the globe will become more stable. Anthropogenic enhanced warming resulting in climatic change Climatic changes have typically taken place on earth as a result of natural causes through timescales varying from decades to centuries, nonetheless, based on significance evidence, professionals in climatic science research agree that the changes that have been evident in the past few decades are largely as a result of human activities. The influences of human beings on changes in climate come from burning of fossil fuels as well as changes in the manner in which lands are utilized. These activities modifies the radiative equilibrium of the planet through altering the composition of the atmosphere thereby increasing the effect of greenhouse gases or changing the degree of reflectivity of the surface of the earth. Causes, roles, sources and lifespans of greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere through two distinct ways: natural processes such as respiration by plants and animals and through activities undertaken by human beings. The key sources of greenhouse gas emissions by human beings include burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, usage of synthetic fertilizer and numerous other industrial processes. Four key forms of greenhouse gases exist including methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and gases that contain fluorine, bromine and chlorine, with the main greenhouse gas that can be considered as feedback being water vapor. All these gases can continue to exist in the atmosphere for varied periods while at the same time impacting climate at various scales. The lifespan of carbon dioxide, which is the most common greenhouse gas associated with the activities of man, in the air is possibly the most difficult to conclude since there are a various processes which remove it from the atmosphere. On the other hand, Methane persists in the air for approximately twelve years and is mainly eliminated from the atmosphere through chemical reactions. Nitrous oxide is usually destroyed when it reaches the stratosphere and is therefore eliminated from the atmosphere at a much slower rate than methane remaining in the air for one hundred and fourteen years. The compounds that contain fluorine and chlorine including a various chemical species can each remain in the atmosphere from particular lengths of time varying from a few months to millennia. How human activities force global warming Various greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere of the earth and ensure that the planet remains sufficiently warm for the sustenance of life, and this takes place as a result of natural processes. The activities of human beings 2. Climate sensitivity Thermohaline circulation: Oceans are predominantly comprised of warm salty water on the areas adjacent to the surface that cover water that is cold and less salty in the deeper parts of the ocean. The two layers do not mix with the exception of some special areas that create a large slow current, which is referred to as thermohaline circulation. Arctic sea ice: Towards the North, ice is exists in the Arctic Ocean, in the regions adjacent to it as well as other seas and oceans that are comparatively cold. This ice is enclosed within the ice packs of the polar region. Ice sheets: They are expanses of glacial land that extend for more than fifty thousand square kilometers: there are two ice sheet on the globe today covering a huge part of Greenland and Antarctica. In the last ice age, most of North America as well as Scandinavia were under the cover of ice sheets. Permafrost: Permafrost refers to soil that has been permanently frozen especially in the high altitude areas especially in the high latitudes and covers almost a quarter of Northern Hemisphere’s land while storing huge amounts of carbon. Because of climate change, there is risk of permafrost melting and this will release the carbon stored in form of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If these gases are released, heat will be trapped in the atmosphere and it is likely that melting of permafrost can result in landslides, erosions and disappearing of lakes. Melt ponds: These are usually pools of open water that are formed on sea ice in the warmer periods of summer and spring, and are found on glacial ice as well as ice shelfs while sometimes developing beneath the ice. Alpine glaciers: These start high up in the mountains in hollows that are bowl-shaped referred to as cirques, and as they grow in size, ice progressively flows out of the cirque towards valleys. Sometimes, multiple cirque glaciers can fuse to create a valley glacier and when the valley glacier flows out of the mountain, it spreads out and joins to create a piedmont glacier. Sea level changes: Rise in sea level is mainly caused by two factors that can be linked to global warming: the increased water as a result of melting ice and sea water expanding as it gets warmer. 3. Future predicted changes in extreme weather Heat waves: Heat waves are characterized by periods of unusually hot weather that lasts for prolonged times with occurrences becoming recurrent in the US in the recent times. The western parts including Alaska have set records for the highest frequency of these occurrences in the 2000s and numerous other records in regards to high temperatures continue to be broken over the past the decades indicating increasing global warming. Drought: In some regions, lengthy periods of high temperatures are linked to droughts and lead to dry conditions that create wildfires with the meteorological occurrences that cause this prolonged periods of high temperatures being a natural component of the climatic system. Flooding: There have been considerable trends for floods to occur in numerous sections of the US, but when their occurrences are averaged for the whole country, the increase and decrease cancel out and demonstrate no national level tendencies. The tendency to flood in some regions is consistent with the climatic situations linked to flooding in rivers as the average yearly precipitation has increased in some areas and decreased in others. Severe storm: The current science that links severe storms as well as hurricanes to global warming proposes that more is yet to come as tropical storms have a likelihood of resulting in increased wind speeds, rise in amount of precipitation and greater storm surges in the years to come. 4. Other impacts of future climate change The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will continue increasing unless a huge part of yearly emissions is decreased substantially. The high emissions are forecasted to create a rise in the average temperature of the earth, affect patterns and amount of precipitation, decrease snow and ice cover and lead to a rise in the levels of the sea among other severe effects. 5. How society can mitigate future negative consequences The society can mitigate negative consequence of climate change in the future through enhancing the energy efficiency of buildings in order to decrease the degree of emission from heating, planting numerous trees in order to eliminate excess carbon dioxide levels from the atmosphere and reduction of fuel emissions from vehicles and other machinery. Even in the event that mitigation strategies are effective at decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases, the climate will continue to change and communities should adapt to the changes now so that they can decrease the negative health impacts of these changes later. Read More