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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
Greenhouse Gases
The primary components of Earths atmosphere, N 2 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
CO2
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 H 2CO3
Dissolved CO2 in water can interact with silicate minerals to
form carbonated minerals
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.
Click on image to start animation
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.
Many geological
features suggest past
water flows
Dried up riverbeds
Gullies?
Images from Mars Rover Spirit at
Lake bottom
a suspected ancient lake site
showed rock structures consistent
with those formed from sediments
in standing water
Riverbed?
Gullies
Lake Bottom?
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:
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).
stay. Why?
Without liquid water, CO2 doesnt have a place to go,
Internal Structure
Surface Features
Atmosphere
What makes the Earth
hospitable to life?
Global Warming?
Who is to blame?
a) Human activities
b) Nature causes
c) ET
d) NoCanTell!
What is to blame?
a) Ozone
b) CO2
c) H2O
d) O2
Who is to blame?
a) Human activities
b) Nature causes
c) ET
d) NoCanTell!
What is to blame?
a) Ozone
b) CO2
c) H2O
d) O2
e) NoCanTell. It is real
complicated!
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.
Antarctic Ice
Core
Located high in mountains and in
CO2 over
500 million
years
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:P
hanerozoic_Carbon_Dioxide.png
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