 The concept of global warming

 Meaning and causes of global warming

 Impacts of global warming

 Measures to reduce global warming

 Ozone formation and destruction

 The human impact on the ozone layer

 What Is Global Warming?

• Global warming is the systematic increase of the earth's

temperature that is caused mostly by greenhouse gases.

• Without these gases, earth would be a frozen planet with an

average temperature.

• The main natural greenhouse gases are methane and carbon

dioxide. But, man-made gases like chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HCFs) and perfluorocarbons
(PFCs) also contribute to the global warming effect,
increasing the temperature by holding the heat on the earth.
 CONT..

• Essentially, the gases trap the heat by absorbing energy from the

sun, only allowing some of the heat energy to return to space.

• Global warming is one of the major issues we are being faced.

The term signifies an increase in the atmospheric temperature

near the earth’s Surface, which is caused by various reasons.

• Scientists are of the opinion that a rise in the carbon dioxide

levels will further aggravate the situation. A warmer earth also

causes changes in the rainfall patterns and thus affects humans,

plants and animals as well.

 Carbo n di o xi de ( CO 2 )

•It is a natural component of the atmosphere and occupies a small (but important) percent of a

volume of air, about 0.035 percent.

•It enters to the atmosphere mainly from the decay of vegetation but it also comes from

volcanic eruptions, the exhalation of animal life, from the burning of fossil fuels (such as coal,

oil and natural gas), and from deforestation.

•The removal of CO2 from the atmosphere takes place during photosynthesis as plant

consumes CO2 to produce green matter.

•The CO2 is then stored in roots, branches and leaves. The ocean acts as a huge reservoir for

CO2, as phytoplankton (tiny, drifting plants) in surface water fix CO2 into organic tissues.

• CO2 that dissolves directly into surface water mixes downward and circulates through greater

depths. Estimates are that the oceans hold more than 50 times the total atmospheric CO2

content.
 Meaning and Causes of global warming

• Global warming the gradual increase of the

temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as
a result of the increase in greenhouse gases
since the Industrial Revolution.
• The temperature of the atmosphere near the
earth's surface is warmed through a natural
process called the greenhouse effect.
 CONT..
Visible, shortwave light comes from the sun to the earth,
passing unimpeded through a blanket of thermal, or
greenhouse, gases composed largely of water vapor,
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
Infrared radiation reflects off the planet's surface toward
space but does not easily pass through the blanket.

Some of trapped and reflected downward, keeping the

planet at an average temperature suitable to life.
 CONT..

In addition to industry, growth of agriculture, and transportation

has produced additional quantities of the natural greenhouse

gases plus chlorofluorocarbons and other gases, augmenting the

thermal blanket.

Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that composes

0.04% of the atmosphere. At any time there is combustion

(oxidation) of fossil fuels, there is an emission of carbon dioxide.

 Transportation accounts for around 30% of total carbon

dioxide emissions in developed countries (15% world wide).

 CONT ..
About 66% of carbon dioxide emissions from
transportation come from the combustion of
gasoline, 16% from diesel fuel and 15% from
jet fuel.
Ozone is a pale gas with a strong odour and a
powerful oxidant. Ozone is created naturally in
the high atmosphere when an oxygen molecule
is broken apart by ultraviolet radiation and
combines with another oxygen molecule.
 Consequences of global warming; growing problem

• Acid rain

• A rise in the sea levels that will completely inundate a number

of low lying island nations and flood many coastal cities.

• Rising sea levels which can render coastal areas increasingly

difficult places to live and work; small atolls will be especially

affected (44% of the world’s population lives within 150

kilometers of the coast).

• Heat waves (e.g. in large parts of Europe, Asia and Australia),

and of heavy rainfall events (e.g. North America and Europe).

 Rising sea level inundates low areas, erodes wetlands,
increases flooding from storm surges and rainstorms, and
enables saltwater to advance upstream.

Extinctions of many plant and animal species. The

frequency of severe hurricane and droughts would
increase

The severe disruption of agriculture

More intense and/or more unpredictable extreme weather

events increase in frequency
 Measures to reduce global warming

Plant a tree: If you have the means to plant a tree, start

digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb
carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.

They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange

cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully
counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile
traffic, manufacturing and other human activities.

A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon

dioxide during its lifetime.
 Reduce, Reuse And Recycle:

Do your part to reduce waste by choosing

reusable products instead of disposables.
 And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic,
newspaper, glass and aluminum cans.
 If there isn't a recycling program at your
workplace, school, or in your community.
 Efficiency

• Increase efficiency in the transformation of energy and materials into products and services.

• This is particularly relevant in industry, buildings, transport and power generation.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

• Replace fossil energy in power generation, transport, industry and buildings with renewable energy. Most

important sources are solar, bio- and wind energy.

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE (CCS)

• Capture CO2 from power plants and industrial plants

CARBON NEGATIVE ENERGY

• Absorb atmospheric CO2 by growing modern biomass on non-agricultural land and use it in power plants fitted

with CCS to achieve net negative emissions.

REDUCTION

• Reduce emissions of other greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from waste,

industry and agriculture.

LAND-USE CHANGE

• Manage forests better to enhance their role as natural sinks of CO2.

Much of the debate surrounding global warming has

centered on the accuracy of scientific predictions

concerning future warming.

To predict global climatic trends, climatologists accumulate

large historical databases.

In 1992, at the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, over 150 nations signed a

binding declaration on the need to reduce global warming.

• In 1994, however, a UN scientific advisory panel, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
concluded that reductions beyond those envisioned by the
treaty would be needed to avoid global warming.

• The following year, the advisory panel forecast a rise in

global temperature of from 0.8–3.5 0C by 2100 if no action
is taken to cut down on the production of greenhouse
gases, and

• A rise of from 0.5–2 0C even if action is taken (because of

already released gases that will persist in the atmosphere).
A UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Kyoto,
Japan, in 1997 resulted in an international agreement to
fight global warming, which called for reductions in
emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialized nations.
Not all industrial countries, however, immediately signed
or ratified the accord.
In 2002 the Bush administration proposed several
voluntary measures for slowing the increase in, instead
of reducing, emissions of greenhouses gases.
The United States, Australia, China, India, Japan, and
South Korea established (2005) an agreement outside
the Kyoto Protocol that proposed to reduce emissions
through the development and implementation of new
technologies.
 Possible solution to reduce global warming
Adaptation and mitigation methods

Adaptation is defined as a ability to adjust them self to

change to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of
opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

 Adaptation is also defined as an adjustment in natural to

response expected climatic effects.

 One of the most important factors shaping the adaptive

capacity of individuals, households and communities is their
access to and control over natural, human, social, physical,
and financial resources.
 CON..

It requires analysis of current climate shocks and stresses, and

analysis of future climate impacts.

Farming adaption

Adaptation responses can be clustered into these broad categories:

• Technological solutions — grey measures;

• Ecosystem based adaptation options — green measures;

• Behavioral, managerial and policy approaches — soft measures.

 Green and soft

• Green and soft measures specifically decreasing the sensitivity and

increasing the adaptive capacity of human and natural systems.

• They often provide low-cost solutions.

• High-tech and innovative technological solutions typically need

funding, more research, experience and training to be operated.

• The terms “adaptation” and “coping” are sometimes used

interchangeably.

• These leading to confusion about the similarities and differences

between these two important concepts.

 O z o ne la yer de pleti on

• Ozone gas is formed in the stratosphere naturally by the combination of

oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules. It is found in the atmosphere in

the form of tri atomic oxygen.

• The process that forms ozone gas is known as Chapman cycle.

• Cooling of the stratosphere has important consequences for ozone

depletion; because it contributes to the formation of polar stratospheric

clouds (PSCs).

• These clouds, which form only at extremely low temperatures in the

lower stratosphere during the sunless polar winter, provide a medium for

chemical reactions that change stable chlorine and bromine compounds

 CONT..

• Ozone (O3) is produced naturally in the stratosphere by the combing of atomic oxygen

(O) with molecular oxygen (O2) (in the presence of another molecule).

• Although it forms mainly above 25 km, ozone gradually drifts downward by mixing

process; producing a peak concentration near 25 km.

• Ozone destruction

• 1) Ozone is destroyed naturally by absorbing ultraviolet radiation:

• O3 + UV → O2 + O

• 2) Ozone is also destroyed by colliding with other atoms and molecules. For example,

ozone and atomic oxygen combine to form two oxygen molecules:

• O3 + O → 2O2

• 3) Likewise, the combination of two ozone molecules destroys ozone:

• O3 + O3 → 3O2
 Cont..

• For example, two natural destructive gases for ozone

are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2),
which are collectively known as oxides of nitrogen.

• The origin of these gases begins at the earth’s surface

as soil bacteria produce N2O (nitrous oxide).

• This gas gradually finds its way into the stratosphere

where, above 25 km, solar energy converts it into
ozone destroying oxides of nitrogen.
 OZONE

• UVR+O2 = O+O;O+O2 = O3

• Ozone depletion, on the other hand, is the disappearance of ozone. The ozone
layer is a dynamic protective layer above the earth; it's a layer approximately
nine to 30 miles above the earth in the stratosphere (upper atmosphere).
• The ozone layers filter ultra-violet rays (UV rays). UV rays can be harmful to
all life on earth in strong doses, including plant, animals and humans. The
disappearing ozone may affect the rate of cataracts and skin cancer in humans.
• CFCs are considered to be the main cause of ozone depletion. The term, ozone
depletion, implies a decline of the quantity of the ozone in the Earth’s
stratosphere. The loss of ozone in the lower stratosphere was first recorded in
Antarctica in the 1970s.
 Cont..

• Scientists, too, are concerned that some human activities may also be altering the

amount of ozone in the stratosphere.

• This possibility was first brought to light in the early 1970s as Congress pondered

over whether or not the United States should build a supersonic jet transport.

• One of the gases emitted from the engines of this air craft is nitric oxide.

• Although the air craft was designed to fly in the stratosphere below the level of

maximum ozone,

• it was feared that the nitric oxide would eventually work its way upward, where it

would have an adverse effect on the ozone. This factor was one of many considered.
 CONT..
• The Cl and Br atoms can then destroy ozone molecules through a

variety of catalytic cycles.

• In the simplest example of such a cycle, a chlorine atom reacts with an

ozone molecule, taking an oxygen atom with it (forming ClO) and

leaving a normal oxygen molecule. The chlorine monoxide (i.e., the

• ClO) can react with a second molecule of ozone (i.e., O3) to yield

another chlorine atom and two molecules of oxygen. The chemical

reactions are:

• Cl + O3 → ClO + O2 = ClO + O3 → Cl + 2 O2
 CONT..
• The process that destructs ozone gas is known as photo
dissixation.
• The ozone layer is a belt of the naturally occurring gas
"ozone." It sits 15 to 30 kilometers above earth, and
serves as a shield us from the harmful ultraviolet (UV)
radiation emitted by the sun.
• It is a highly reactive molecule that contains three
oxygen atoms.
• It is constantly being formed and broken down in the
high atmosphere of 10 to 50 kilometers above Earth, in
the region called the stratosphere.
• This lower region of stratosphere containing relatively
higher concentration of ozone is called Ozonosphere.
 Cont..

Constantly produced and depleted by absorb UV ray of solar

radiation.
Cause rapid ozone destruction when sunlight
returns to the polar regions in the spring.
 Polar stratospheric clouds are a key factor in the
severe ozone depletion that occurs over Polar
Regions in the spring.
The different heating and cooling forces that arise
as a result of ozone layer depletion and increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases have been
measured globally.
 Human impact on the ozone layer

Credible scientific studies have substantiated

that the cause of ozone layer depletion is
human activity, specifically, human-made
chemicals that contain chlorine or bromine.
These chemicals are widely known as ODS, an
acronym for Ozone-Depleting
Substances. The scientists have observed
reduction in stratospheric ozone since early
1970’s.
 It is found to be more prominent in Polar
Regions.
 CONT..

• When up there, ODS are comfortably broken down by

the strong UV light and the resultant chemical is
chlorine and bromine.

• Chlorine and bromine are known to deplete the ozone

layer at supersonic speeds.

• They do this by simply stripping off an atom from the

ozone molecule. One chlorine molecule has the
capability to break down thousands of ozone molecules.
 CONT ..

• Ozone-depleting substances have stayed and will continue to stay in

the atmosphere for many years.

• This, essentially, implies that a lot of the ozone-depleting

substances human have allowed to go into the atmosphere for the

previous 90 years are still on their journey to the atmosphere,

which is why they will contribute to ozone depletion.

• The chief ozone-depleting substances include chlorofluorocarbons

(CFCs), carbontetrachloride, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)

and methylchloroform.
 There are two regions in which the ozone layer has depleted

In the mid-latitude, for example, over Australia, ozone layer is thinned.

This has led to an increase in the UV radiation reaching the earth. It is

estimated that about 5-9% thickness of the ozone layer has decreased,

increasing the risk of humans to over-exposure to UV radiation owing to

outdoor lifestyle.

Consequences of ozone depletion

Ozone depletion in the stratosphere will result in more ultraviolet

radiation reaching the earth especially the UV-B (290-320nm).

 The UV-B radiations affect DNA and photo synthetic chemicals. Any

change in DNA can result in mutation and skin cancer.

• Melanin producing cells of the epidermis (important for
human immune system) will be destroyed by UV- rays
resulting in immune-suppression.

• The growth of the world’s oceanic plankton, the base of

most marine food chains, would decline. Phytoplankton is
sensitive to UV exposure.

• Ozone depletion will result in decrease in their population

there by affecting the population of zooplankton, fish,
marine animals, in fact the whole aquatic food chain.
• Plankton contains photosynthetic organisms that
break down CO2. If plankton population decrease
CO2 increase and this in turn results an increasing
in global warming.
• Yield of vital crops like corn, rice, soybean, cotton,
bean, pea, sorghum, and wheat will decrease.
• Degradation of paints, plastics, and other polymer
materials will result in economic loss due to effects
of UV.
 Cfcs and Depletion of the ozone resource

• CFCs are colorless and poison less gases (or

liquids). They are very stable, non flammable
and non-toxic components and they have been
widely used as dispersing agents (aerosols) or
as refrigerants.
• Transportation, motor vehicle air-
conditioning systems are the main source and
account for about 20% of all CFCs emissions.
• Because of its chemical properties (stable and
non-toxic), CFCs have no notice effects on
living organisms.
• Widely used type has 20,000 times more
infrared absorbency than carbon dioxide.
• CFCs reduce the concentration of stratospheric
ozone, which absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays.
• CFCs may stay in the atmosphere from 70 to
200 years, due to their extremely stable
properties.
• They are a long term component of the
atmosphere. CFCs emitted in the 1990s are
likely to damage the ozone layer for 200 years.
 Distribution of ozone

• The distribution of total ozone over the Earth varies with location on time

scales that range from daily to seasonal.

• The variations are caused by large-scale movements of stratospheric air and

the chemical production and destruction of ozone. Total ozone is generally

lowest at the equator and highest in Polar Regions.

• Thinning of the ozone layer also means that less heat is available to the

stratosphere from the absorption of UV-B radiation by ozone molecules.

That also has a cooling effect on the stratosphere.

• With fewer ozone molecules available in the stratosphere to absorb UV-B

radiation, more of that radiation reaches the ground. That contributes to

additional warming of the earth’s surface and the lower troposphere.

End !!