HW #3

The term “global warming” is very closely tied with the “greenhouse effect” for good
reason. Certain gas molecules in our atmosphere exist semi permanently or permanently and do
not allow heat to escape. One of the more popular gases that have this effect is CO2. However,
other gases such as water, nitrous oxide, methane, and CFC’s also have a significant impact. As a
result, scientists are able to confidently say that human activity such as the burning of fossil fuels
have significantly contributed to the current global warming trend.
Another possible cause of global warming has to do with aerosols and radiative forcing.
Radiative forcing has to do with looking at the difference between the sunlight absorbed by the
Earth and the energy reflected back to space. As a result, it would seem to be logical to be able to
look at solar activity in the past and track climate trends accordingly. However, when this is
done, models tend to be incorrect because of the presence of aerosols that are created from
burning during certain industrial processes. Aerosols have the ability to absorb water and also
scatter light that it absorbs. This in turn has the effect of aerosols reflecting some of the light
back to space.