Influential Greenhouse Gases: For each of the following, list WHAT they are, WHERE they are found and HOW they affect climate
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): a colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of 2 oxygen atoms and 1 carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is produced when an organic carbon compound or fossilized organic matter, is burned in the presence of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by carbon dioxide "sinks", such as absorption by seawater & photosynthesis by ocean-dwelling plankton & land plants, including forests & grasslands. However, seawater is also a source, of CO2 to the atmosphere, along with land plants, animals, & soils, when CO2 is released during respiration.
Methane (CH4): a colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of 4 hydrogen atoms & 1 carbon atom. Methane is combustible, & it is the main constituent of natural gas-a fossil fuel. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps & marshes, termites, & oceans. Human sources include the mining of fossil fuels & transportation of natural gas, digestive processes in ruminant animals such as cattle, rice paddies & the buried waste in landfills. Most methane is broken down in the atmosphere by reacting with small very reactive molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O): a colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", & sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans & in rainforests. Man-made sources of nitrous oxide include the use of fertilizers in agriculture, nylon & nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters & the burning of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is broken down in the atmosphere by chemical reactions driven by sunlight.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): an extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. SF6 is human-made, & the primary user of SF6 is the electric power industry. B/c of its inertness & dielectric properties, it is the industry's preferred gas for electrical insulation, current interruption, & arc quenching in the transmission & distribution of electricity. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers & switchgear, & in the magnesium metal casting industry.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
The CO2 molecule is involved in a complex series of processes called the carbon cycle, where the carbon atom within the molecule moves between many different natural reservoirs. As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and processes which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): a colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of 2 oxygen atoms and 1 carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is produced when an organic carbon compound or fossilized organic matter, is burned in the presence of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by carbon dioxide "sinks", such as absorption by seawater & photosynthesis by ocean-dwelling plankton & land plants, including forests & grasslands. However, seawater is also a source, of CO2 to the atmosphere, along with land plants, animals, & soils, when CO2 is released during respiration.
Methane (CH4): a colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of 4 hydrogen atoms & 1 carbon atom. Methane is combustible, & it is the main constituent of natural gas-a fossil fuel. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps & marshes, termites, & oceans. Human sources include the mining of fossil fuels & transportation of natural gas, digestive processes in ruminant animals such as cattle, rice paddies & the buried waste in landfills. Most methane is broken down in the atmosphere by reacting with small very reactive molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O): a colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", & sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans & in rainforests. Man-made sources of nitrous oxide include the use of fertilizers in agriculture, nylon & nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters & the burning of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is broken down in the atmosphere by chemical reactions driven by sunlight.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): an extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. SF6 is human-made, & the primary user of SF6 is the electric power industry. B/c of its inertness & dielectric properties, it is the industry's preferred gas for electrical insulation, current interruption, & arc quenching in the transmission & distribution of electricity. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers & switchgear, & in the magnesium metal casting industry.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
The CO2 molecule is involved in a complex series of processes called the carbon cycle, where the carbon atom within the molecule moves between many different natural reservoirs. As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and processes which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
Explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change:
A clear seasonal cycle in atmospheric CO2 as plants photosynthesizes during the growing season, removing large amounts of CO2. Respiration and decomposition of leaves, roots, and organic compounds release CO2 back into the atmosphere. On a scale spanning decades to centuries, CO2 levels fluctuate gradually between the ocean and atmospheric reservoirs as ocean mixing occurs (between surface and deep waters) and the surface waters exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. Much longer cycles also occur, on the scale of geologic time, due to the deposition and weathering of carbonate and silicate rock. Carbonate rocks like limestone are formed from the shells of marine organisms buried on the ocean floor, and they are chemically eroded by reaction with CO2 (remember that CO2 mixed with water is an acid) in the air and in soils. Silicate rock reacts with carbonate rock deep underground, producing CO2 gas coming out of volcanoes. Fossil fuels form a relatively small part of these natural geologic cycles.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
At time scales of most interest to humans (years to decades to centuries) the atmosphere exchanges carbon with three main reservoirs: the terrestrial biosphere, the oceans, and fossil fuels.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Some of the terrestrial biosphere's major sources of atmospheric CO2 include respiration by land biota and the burning and decomposition of organic material. The removal of atmospheric CO2 by the terrestrial biosphere occurs through photosynthesis. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to build food in the form of organic matter which in turn becomes food for microbes, fungi, insects, and higher organisms. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
As the atmospheric CO2concentration increases, the ocean sink also increases slightly. The oceans will eventually absorb the majority of the CO2 released from human activities, but this will take thousands of years. CO2 in the form of carbonic acid is a weak acid, and there are profound implications on marine ecosystems due to the increasing acidity of the oceans.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
Currently, atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise at an accelerating rate as humans burn fossil fuels at increasing rates. In human terms, the CO2 emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels (along with cement manufacturing and other human activities) remains "forever" due to the stability and longevity of CO2 within the atmosphere and oceans. This will have significant implications on the Earth System, as the resulting radiation imbalance from the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect will noticeably alter the global climate for centuries to millennia.
A clear seasonal cycle in atmospheric CO2 as plants photosynthesizes during the growing season, removing large amounts of CO2. Respiration and decomposition of leaves, roots, and organic compounds release CO2 back into the atmosphere. On a scale spanning decades to centuries, CO2 levels fluctuate gradually between the ocean and atmospheric reservoirs as ocean mixing occurs (between surface and deep waters) and the surface waters exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. Much longer cycles also occur, on the scale of geologic time, due to the deposition and weathering of carbonate and silicate rock. Carbonate rocks like limestone are formed from the shells of marine organisms buried on the ocean floor, and they are chemically eroded by reaction with CO2 (remember that CO2 mixed with water is an acid) in the air and in soils. Silicate rock reacts with carbonate rock deep underground, producing CO2 gas coming out of volcanoes. Fossil fuels form a relatively small part of these natural geologic cycles.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
At time scales of most interest to humans (years to decades to centuries) the atmosphere exchanges carbon with three main reservoirs: the terrestrial biosphere, the oceans, and fossil fuels.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Some of the terrestrial biosphere's major sources of atmospheric CO2 include respiration by land biota and the burning and decomposition of organic material. The removal of atmospheric CO2 by the terrestrial biosphere occurs through photosynthesis. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to build food in the form of organic matter which in turn becomes food for microbes, fungi, insects, and higher organisms. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
As the atmospheric CO2concentration increases, the ocean sink also increases slightly. The oceans will eventually absorb the majority of the CO2 released from human activities, but this will take thousands of years. CO2 in the form of carbonic acid is a weak acid, and there are profound implications on marine ecosystems due to the increasing acidity of the oceans.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
Currently, atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise at an accelerating rate as humans burn fossil fuels at increasing rates. In human terms, the CO2 emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels (along with cement manufacturing and other human activities) remains "forever" due to the stability and longevity of CO2 within the atmosphere and oceans. This will have significant implications on the Earth System, as the resulting radiation imbalance from the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect will noticeably alter the global climate for centuries to millennia.