Topic: Effects of the Atmosphere on Insolation
Sun
100 Units
19% absorbed by the atmosphere
47% absorbed at surface
34% reflected by atmosphere and surface
Earth’s Atmosphere
Peconic Herb Farm Greenhouse
Greenhouse Effect
Visible Light – short wavelength
Absorbed at the surface
Earth radiates heat energy back
Infrared – Long Wavelengths
Greenhouse Gases
Gases trap infrared energy in the atmosphere, warming it
Space
Earth’s atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere greenhouse gases trap the infrared
radiation.
Earth’s temperature
• With greenhouse effect 15°C (58°F)
• Without greenhouse effect -18°C (0°F)
Volcano
Fire
Pollution
Dust
Ocean Spray
Development
1816 -The year without a summer
In April of 1815, the volcano Tambora erupted. It was believed to be one of the most explosive eruptions within 10,000 years. 150 tons of dust went into the atmosphere and
slowly moved around the world. The dust blocked incoming solar radiation from the sun and cooled the earth. The northern states were effected more than the southern states. In
New York there were frosts in every month of the year and snow occurred in June.
Aerosols
• Small solids or liquids suspended in air.
• Insolation is reflected or scattered.
• Insolation on surface reduced Earth cools.
Clouds
Reflection on the top of
clouds
Cloudy Days
Cloudy Nights
Infrared energy radiated back at night
Clouds trap the energy making the night warmer
Clouds
• Day: clouds reflect light back to space Cooler surface temps
• Night: Clouds trap infrared energy radiated by Earth Warmer nights
Final Questions:
What electromagnetic energy does the Earth mainly absorb during the day?
Which energy is radiated back at night?
The Greatest Threat
“Climate change is
the most severe
problem that we
are facing today.”
Sir David King
Former Chief Scientist for the UK
Government
Photo © The Age, Melbourne. All rights reserved
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Photo: Amanda Byrd/Canadian Ice Service
“Things are getting
desperate enough
now that we need to
throw away our
conservatism and
just act.”
Dr. Terry Chapin, UAF
The Greatest Threat
Photo: Corel Corp., Courtesy of www.exzooberance com
Case Closed
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“Recognizing the risk of climate change, we are
taking actions to improve efficiency and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in our operations.”
Exxon Mobil
December 2006
“When 98% of scientists agree, who is Shell to
say, ‘let’s debate the science’ [about global
warming]?” Shell Oil
November 2006
“We believe that the science is quite compelling
and that climate change is certainly attributed to
human activity and to the substantial use of
fossil fuels.” ConocoPhillips
April 2007
Solar energy
passes through
Radiant
heat is
trapped
Greenhouse gases in atmosphere
Global Warming Basics “Greenhouse gases”
(e.g. carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, CFC’s) trap heat
in the earth’s atmosphere.
Science understood since 1859 - John Tyndall
Diagrams © Jennifer Allen
Diagrams: Jennifer Allen
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Burning carbon-containing fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide
(Combustion)
C + O2 CO2
CO2: The Most Significant Greenhouse Pollutant G
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Temperature Measurements
Top 11 warmest years
on record have all
occurred in the last 12
years (IPCC 2007)
2006 was warmest
year on record
in continental US (NOAA 1/07)
2007 was warmest
year on record
in North America
(NOAA 1/08)
2008 eighth warmest
year on record (National
Climatic Data Center)
.
NOAA
What do these pollutants do? – Global Fever Greenhouse gases make the Earth too hot, just like:
> sleeping under a heavy blanket in the summertime
> wearing a parka that is too thick
Our atmospheric “blanket” or “parka” is over 37% “thicker”
than it used to be
Thicker blanket
traps too
much heat.
Thinner blanket
is “just right.”
Melting Sea Ice G
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39% smaller than
average
Ice 53% thinner in region
of North Pole between 2001
and 2007 (NOAA Report Card 2008)
Ice only 3 feet thick
in most locations
(NOAA FAQ, 2007)
In September 2007 an
area the size of Florida
(69,000 square miles) melted
in six days (NSIDC 2007)
Humpback whales spotted
in Arctic Ocean for first time
in 2007
Glacial Retreat
Alaska’s Columbia Glacier
has decreased by about 9 miles
since 1980 and thinned by as
much as 1,300 feet (Science 7/07)
Gulf of Alaska Glaciers losing
84 gigatons of ice mass
annually, contributing nearly
half as much freshwater melt as
Greenland and 15% of present
day global sea level rise from
melting ice (NASA 2008)
Permafrost Thawing
“All the Observatories show a
substantial warming during
the last 20 years”, causing
permafrost to melt at an
unprecedented rate. (State of the
Arctic 2006)
Damage to infrastructure,
lakes, rivers, and forests
Rising sea levels
Release of stored carbon
(methane and CO2)
Consequences:
Vladimir Romanovsky photo
• Polar bears
• Walruses
• Black guillemots
• Arctic grayling
• Kittiwakes
• Ice seals
• Salmon
• Caribou
Animals at Risk
Rising temperatures
Shrinking habitat
Food harder to get
Expanding diseases
Competition
Coral Bleaching
Corals damaged by higher water temperatures and acidification
Higher water temperatures cause bleaching: corals expel
zooxanthellae algae
Corals need the algae for nutrition
Healthy staghorn coral Bleached staghorn coral (algae expelled)
Cataclysmic Global Consequences
ACIA 2004
Robert
Puschendorf
Florida Areas Subject to Inundation
With a 100 cm Sea Level Rise
Massive extinctions: Over 1 million species
threatened with extinction (Dr. Chris Thomas and Nature, 2004)
Ocean acidification
Hurricanes, droughts, extreme weather
Increase in human death and disease
Coral reef destruction
Coastal inundation
Harlequin frog
Photo © Robert Puschendorf All rights reserved Glo
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ACIA 2004
Inundation Inundation from Four Meter Sea Level Rise (or 1m rise + 3m storm surge)
Weiss and Overpeck, 2006
What we can do?
• Reduce CO2
• Wind and solar power
• Energy efficient appliances and lights
• Carpool
• Clean technology
Neil deGrasse Tyson on Climate
Change and Global Warming
• Greenhouse Effect
on Venus helps
discover
greenhouse effect
on Earth
• On the Bill Maher
Show vs. former
GM Exec Bob Lutz
Copy the following questions and answers
1. On a clear day, which type of
electromagnetic radiation will pass
most easily through the Earth’s
atmosphere?
1. Terrestrial radiation
2. Infrared radiation
3. Ultraviolet light
4. Visible light
2. If dust particles are added to the
atmosphere, the amount of
insolation reaching the ground
will probably:
1. Decrease
2. Increase
3. Remain the same
3. Ozone is important to life on
Earth because ozone:
1. Cools refrigerators and air-conditioners
2. Absorbs energy that is reradiated by
Earth
3. Absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation
4. Destroys excess atmospheric carbon
dioxide
4. An increase in which gas would
cause the most greenhouse
warming of Earth’s atmosphere?
1. Nitrogen
2. Oxygen
3. Carbon dioxide
4. hydrogen
5. Why are carbon dioxide and
water vapor called greenhouse
gases?
1. They are found in varying amounts in Earth’s atmosphere
2. They are found in fixed amounts in Earth’s bedrock
3. They are good reflectors of infrared radiation
4. They are good absorbers of infrared radiation
More practice!
Shortwave
longwave
• http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/glo
bal_warming_version2.html