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The Greenhouse Effect On Earth
The Greenhouse Effect On Earth
The Greenhouse Effect On Earth
Earths atmosphere is slightly warmer than what it should be due to direct solar heating because of a mild case of greenhouse effect The ground is heated by visible and (some) infrared light from the Sun. The heated surface emits infrared light. The majority of Earths atmosphere (N2 and O2) are not good greenhouse gas. The small amount of greenhouse gases (H2O, CO2) traps (absorb and re-emit) the infrared radiation, increasing the temperature of the atmosphere
Click on image to start animation
Water On Earth
The condition is just right! The combination of three factors: Distance to the Sun, the albedo, and the greenhouse effect, make it possible for water to stay on Earth. N2 and O2 are not greenhouse gas. Not much CO2 in the atmosphere. Variable amount of H2O in the atmosphereregulated by the temperature. The result is a mild greenhouse effectnot too hot, and not too cold, just the right temperature for most of the water to stay in liquid phase, and some to stay in gas phase in the atmosphere on the surface of the Earth
Greenhouse Gases
The primary components of Earths atmosphere, N2 and O2 do not have absorption in the IR wavelength range, therefore, do not have a significant role in setting the surface temperature of the planet Greenhouse gas are efficient in absorbing IR light The most important greenhouse gases are: H2O Water vapor. CO2 Carbon Dioxide CH4 methane The most abundant greenhouse gas in Earths atmosphere is water vapor. Most of the greenhouse heating of Earths atmosphere is due to Water vapor absorption of IR radiation emitted by Earth, and then transferring the energy to the surrounding air molecule
Source of Water
The terrestrial planets were built from rock and planetesimals. No gases or water can condense at the high temperature near the Sun. So, where did the water on Earth come from? The water on Earth (and other terrestrial worlds) most likely was brought over by the comets during the period of heavy bombardment about 4 billion years ago These water (and other gases) were trapped in the interior, and released by volcanic activitiesby Outgassing
Mt. St Helen eruption, 2004!
CO2 is a colorless gas condenses into solid form (dry ice) at -78C in atmospheric pressure. condenses into liquid at -57C at pressure above 5.1 atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric CO2 is derived from (The sources) Volcanic outgassing burning of organic matter Respiration of living organisms CO2 can be stored in (The Sinks) Highly soluble in water: forms H2CO3 Dissolved CO2 in water can interact with silicate minerals to form carbonated minerals
CO2
The CO2 cycle acts as a thermostat that regulates the temperature of the Earth
If Earth warms up a bit, then carbonate minerals form in the oceans at a higher rate. The rate at which the oceans dissolve CO2 gas increases, pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere. The reduced atmospheric CO2 concentration leads to a weakened greenhouse effect that counteracts the initial warming and cools the planet back down. If Earth cools a bit, carbonate minerals form more slowly in the oceans. The rate at which the oceans dissolve CO2 gas decreases, allowing the CO2 released by volcanism to build back up in the atmosphere. The increased CO2 concentration strengthens the greenhouse effect and warms the planet back up
Feedback Loop
Positive Feedback
Mechanisms that make things worse e.g., Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere leading to the release of more CO2
Negative Feedback
Mechanisms that are self-correcting e.g., Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere leading to higher rate of CO2 removal, such as our CO2 cycle.
Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics plays an important role in the CO2 cycle in that it helps to carry the carbonate rocks into the mantle, which are then released again by volcanic activities. Earths lithosphere is broken into pieces (the plates). These plates float on top of the mantle, interacting with each other to produce the geological features we see and feel today.
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UV light can break the water molecules to release oxygen, but the contribution is small.
Comparative Planetology
Mars and Venus are very similar to Earth in
their size and location to the solar system. However, their surface environments are drastically different from that of the Earth today. By understanding how Mars and Venus end up with their current state, we may be able to better understand our Earth
Mars
Martian Season
The tilt of Mars rotation axis with respect to its ecliptic plane is 25.19 The eccentricity of Mars orbit around the Sun is 0.093 The seasons on Mars are affected by both its orbital distance and its axis tilt.
Mars is closer to the Sun during the southern hemisphere summer, and farther away from the Sun during its winter Mars therefore has more extreme seasons in its southern hemispherethat is, shorter, hotter summers and longer, colder wintersthan in its northern hemisphere.
Martian Weather
Even though Mars only has a very thin atmosphere, it still has a weather system Martian weather are due to its extreme seasonal changes.
Polar temperatures at the winter pole drop so low (about 130C) that carbon dioxide condenses into dry ice at the polar cap. frozen carbon dioxide at the summer pole sublimates into carbon dioxide gas. The atmospheric pressure therefore increases at the summer pole and decreases at the winter pole, driving strong pole-to-pole winds. Storms on Mars can engulf the entire planet.
Geology of Mars
Martian surface is similar to Earths desert and volcanic plane
High elevation and numerous large impact craters in the southern hemisphere Lower elevation and few impact craters in the northern hemisphere Volcanism is the most likely mechanism responsible for changing the surface features of Mars.
Why doesnt Mars have water today? If Mars used to hold a large amount of water, then why is Mars so different
today? What caused it to lose its water? We dont know exactly what happened, but one likely explanation was because of the relatively small size of Mars: The smaller size of Mars means that it cools off faster. Once it cools, volcanic activities stop, halting the release of gases into the atmosphere. The cool interior temperature may means that Mars does not have a fluid metallic core to generate magnetic fields anymore. Without a magnetosphere, the atmosphere is exposed to the bombardment of high energy charged particles of solar wind, which break the air molecules, making them easier to escape.
As Mars cools, the remaining CO2 gases are frozen in the north and south pole, forming the ice cap. The remaining oxygen are trapped on surface rock, making it look red
Venus
We cannot see the rocky surface of Venus due to its thick atmosphere. ..
Geology of Venus
Venus surface is similar to Earth and Mars few impact craters, volcanoes, and evidence of tectonics activities But no plate tectonics The volcanoes of Venus is most likely still active today few impact craters, sulfuric acid cloud (the volcanoes are still outgasing) However, there is no sign of erosion No liquid water? No wind, due to its slow rotation (243 Earth days per rotation).
Venus dos not have a magnetic field! This is quite surprising given that most of the ingredients required for the dynamo are all present
Internal Structure Surface Features Atmosphere What makes the Earth hospitable to life? Global Warming?
Global Warming
There is a gradual increase in
the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere in the last 100 yearsIt has risen about 1C since 1900 Are human activities causing global warming? What other (non-human) factors can cause global warming? How does global warming affect our life? Just watch the movies
Reconstructions of (Northern Hemisphere average or global average) surface temperature variations from six research teams (in different color shades) along with the instrumental record of global average surface temperature (in black). Each curve illustrates a somewhat different history of temperature changes, with a range of uncertainties that tend to increase backward in time (as indicated by the shading). Reference: NRC, 2006. (Figure reprinted with permission from Surface Temperature Reconstructions (2006) by the National Academy of Sciences, Courtesy of the National Academies Press22 18, Washington, D.C.). Reproduced from EPA Climate Change Website.
Fluctuations in temperature (blue) and in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (red) over the past 400,000 years as inferred from Antarctic ice-core records. The vertical red bar is the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past two centuries and before 2006. From A. V. Fedorov et al. Science 312, 1485 (2006)17. 18. Reproduced from EPA Climate Change Website.
Paleoclimatology is the study of climate prior to the widespread availability of records of temperature, precipitation and other instrumental data.
This figures shows estimates of the changes in carbon dioxide concentrations during the Phanerozoic. Three estimates are based on geochemical modeling: GEOCARB III (Berner and Kothavala 2001), COPSE (Bergmann et al. 2004) and Rothman (2001). These are compared to the carbon dioxide measurement database of Royer et al. (2004) and a 30 Myr filtered average of those data. Error envelopes are shown when they were available. The right hand scale shows the ratio of these measurements to the estimated average for the last several million years (the Quaternary). Customary labels for the periods of geologic time appear at the bottom. Direct determination of past carbon dioxide levels relies primarily on the interpretation of carbon isotopic ratios in fossilized soils (paleosols) or the shells of phytoplankton and through interpretation of stomatal density in fossil plants. Each of these is subject to substantial systematic uncertainty. Estimates of carbon dioxide changes through geochemical modeling instead rely on quantifying the geological sources and sinks for carbon dioxide over long time scales particularly: volcanic inputs, erosion and carbonate deposition. As such, these models are largely independent of direct measurements of carbon dioxide. Both measurements and models show considerable uncertainty and variation;
So, whats the big deal if human CO2 causes 1C temperature increase? An increase in atmospheric temperature
(human or natural origin) will lead to the increase in the water vapor content of the troposphere. Because water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas, the increase in H2O vapor in turn causes enhanced greenhouse effect, raising the temperature more. Higher atmospheric temperature will cause more evaporation of water Which leads to even higher temperature
The CO2 cycle acts as a thermostat that regulates the temperature of the Earth
If Earth warms up a bit, then carbonate minerals form in the oceans at a higher rate. The rate at which the oceans dissolve CO2 gas increases, pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere. The reduced atmospheric CO2 concentration leads to a weakened greenhouse effect that counteracts the initial warming and cools the planet back down. If Earth cools a bit, carbonate minerals form more slowly in the oceans. The rate at which the oceans dissolve CO2 gas decreases, allowing the CO2 released by volcanism to build back up in the atmosphere. The increased CO2 concentration strengthens the greenhouse effect and warms the planet back up
Feedback Loop
Positive Feedback
Mechanisms that make things worse e.g., Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere leading to the release of more CO2
Negative Feedback
Mechanisms that are self-correcting e.g., Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere leading to higher rate of CO2 removal, such as our CO2 cycle.
My Two Cents
It looks like most of the scientists agree that the global warming observed in the last century were caused by human activity. However, as we tried to demonstrate here, the global climate is a very complicated system. We understand the basic principle of the climate system, but we still dont understand how nature regulates Earths climate over the long run, nor do we have the capability to create a realistic climate model and be able to predict with any certainty the effects of human activities on our climate system.
My advices
Keep an open mind. Read, and think for yourself! Do not rush into judgment (especially after you watch the movies). Please trust the scientific community to come up with an honest answerThere are enough check and balance in the scientific community to weed out the bad theories