Energy and environment

correlations
EN 560
05-11-2018
 What is the link ?
Earth’s climate system and energy balance

Energy Environment
What's the difference between weather and climate?
Weather It is the mix of events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same everywhere (short period)

Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. (long period)
In addition to long-term climate change, there are shorter term climate variations.

Scientists look at averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost,
and hail storms, and other factors.
Albedo

Black surface: 0 White surface: 1

NASA’s Terra satellite: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Earth’s average albedo is about 0.3.

Earth’s radiation budget
T: effective temperature of the planet

σ = 5.670367 × 10−8 W m−2 K−4

EAb = 1 − a πR2 SO

ERa = σT 4 4πR2

T = 254.53 K ~ -18 OC

Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse effect
1824 - French physicist Joseph Fourier writes: "The temperature [of the Earth]
can be augmented by the interposition of the atmosphere, because heat in the
state of light finds less resistance in penetrating the air, than in re-passing into
the air when converted into non-luminous heat."
Gases that absorb in the wavelength range 5-50 mm, where most terrestrial radiation
is emitted are called greenhouse gases.
Radiative forcing: It is the net change in the energy balance of the Earth system due to
some imposed perturbation. It is usually expressed in watts per square meter
averaged over a particular period of time
What about water vapor ?
Water vapour has the largest greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Feedback agent

Source: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_Chapter08_FINAL.pdf
Why CO2 and CH4 trap heat ?

https://scied.ucar.edu/carbon-dioxide-absorbs-and-re-emits-infrared-radiation
 Chemical Lifetime
Species Global Warming Potential (Time Horizon)
formula (years)

Global Warming potential 20 years 100 years 500 years

Carbon dioxide CO2 variable § 1 1 1

 Global Warming Potentials (GWPs): A quantified measure of the globally averaged
relative radiative
Methane * CH
forcing impacts
12±3
of a particular
56
greenhouse
21
gas. 6.5
4

 It is defined as the cumulative radiative forcing – both direct and indirect effects –
Nitrous oxide over
integrated N2Oa period of120
time from the 280 310mass of gas170
emission of a unit relative to
some reference gas (IPCC 1996).
HFC-23 CHF3 264 9100 11700 9800
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) was chosen by the IPCC as this reference gas and its GWP
is set equal to one (1).
Sulphur
SF6 3200 16300 23900 34900
hexafluoride
 GWP values allow you to compare the impacts of emissions and reductions of
different gases.
Perfluorohexane C6F14 3200 5000 7400 10700
Measuring CO2 levels
 Measuring CO2 levels
The Keeling curve
Started 1958: Atmospheric CO2 concentrations from Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory

Charles David Keeling

Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Further reading: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/keeling-curve.html

Keeling Curve
 CO2 in trapped ice cores

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Paleoclimatology_IceCores
Ice core record

Ice core records prove that current levels of carbon dioxide and methane, both
important greenhouse gases, are higher than any previous level in the past
400,000 years. (Photograph courtesy U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory)
Ice core Record
Relevant History
1958 - Charles David (Dave) Keeling provides the first unequivocal experimental
proof that CO2 concentrations are rising.
1975 - US scientist Wallace Broecker coins the term "global warming“ in
scientific paper
1987 - Montreal Protocol: Restricting chemicals that damage the ozone layer.
1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) formed to collate and
assess evidence on climate change.
1990 - IPCC produces First Assessment Report. It concludes that temperatures
have risen by 0.3-0.6C over the last century.
Next: Impact Assessment and Remedial
measures