Environmental Chemistry

greenhouse
effect,
global warming,
 Greenhouse effect
Describe the greenhouse effect.
List the main greenhouse gases and their
sources, and discuss their relative effects.
Discuss the influence of increasing
amounts of greenhouse gases on the
atmosphere.
 Greenhouse effect

Natural greenhouse effect: absorption of

infrared radiation by natural greenhouse
gases (CO2 and H2O vapour) in the
atmosphere warming the earth if not
surface would be 30K cooler.
Anthropogenic greenhouse effect: caused by
gases emitted by human activities.
solar radiation spectrum
natural greenhouse effect
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/globalwarmA5.html
Greenhouse Analogy: Energy from the sun
in the form of some ultraviolet and visible
light (short wavelength) passes through the
glass of the greenhouse. As the light strikes
various surfaces in the greenhouse they are
heated. These surfaces in turn re-radiate the
heat in the form of infrared radiation (long
wavelength). However, the IR radiation is
blocked from escaping by the glass. IR is
not able to pass through the glass, hence the
greenhouse air heats up fairly dramatically.

The greenhouse gases have the same property as the glass towards the IR
radiation. Think of the greenhouse gases acting as an invisible glass shield
around the earth.
 terminology
greenhouse effect = the absorbing of some
of the infra-red radiation radiated from the
Earth in the atmosphere which is then
reradiated back to Earth; this results in
global warming = a gradual increase in
planet-wide temperatures
 Global warming: evidence
global temperatures since 1850s
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/anomalies/anomalies.html

What can the mean global temperature anomaly be used for? This product is a global-scale climate
diagnostic tool and provides a big picture overview of average global temperatures compared to a
reference value.
Global warming: evidence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png
Global warming: http//pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i48/8348notw1.html

Ice core from 2874 m depth, 491 000 years old

Thin slice of ice gas bubbles are dark

Global warming: CO2 emissions
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html
Global warming: methane emissions
Global warming
Trends in greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gases
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/globalwarmA5.html
seasonal fluctuations of carbon dioxide
seasonal fluctuations of carbon dioxide

The cyclic change is caused by the seasonal

variation of the growth of vegetation from the
Northern Hemisphere. Starting in May the
growth of plants and trees uses carbon dioxide,
so the concentration decreases a little bit.
Starting in October, November the growth
ceases, thus causing the carbon dioxide to
increase.
(from http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/globalwarmA3.html)
Greenhouse gases
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/253.html
Water vapour absorbs
most wavelengths of
the infra-red radiation
emitted by the Earth's
surface, trapping it as
heat. At some
wavelengths, however,
the absorption is weak
or close to zero
allowing infra-red
radiation to escape into
space. Other
greenhouse gases
absorb infra-red
radiation at
these wavelengths and
reduce the amount of
heat lost into space.
Atmospheric window
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_window
 Global warming effects (1)
World wide rise in sea levels resulting from:
Partial melting of glaciers and polar ice caps
Thermal expansion of water (as a result of
heating).

Changes in crop yields: some crops will grow

better, other worse.
 Global warming effects (2)
Changes in distribution of commercial crops
Changes in the distribution of pests and disease-
carrying organisms e.g. malaria.
More severe weather conditions:
floods in particular of coastal areas; more severe storms
e.g. monsoon floods in Pakistan 2010
More severe droughts e.g. 2010 worst drought in
Amazon
 greenhouse gases definition
Greenhouse gases are gases that:
allow visible light and UV radiation (short-
wavelength/high frequency) to pass through them
but (because of the nature of their covalent bonds in
their molecules) absorb the infrared radiation
(longer-wavelength radiation) of the same frequency
as the one the Earth converts the energy from the Sun
into and
reradiates this infrared radiation back to the
Earth.
 greenhouse effect
their ability to absorb heat or infrared radiation in the
atmospheric window or not
the number of different ranges of wavelength they absorb is
caused by the molecules having different types of bonds;
each type absorbs at its own frequency;
the intensity of the absorption e.g. methane has 4 C-H bonds
which means it can absorb more at a certain frequency!
the abundance of the chemical
the lifespan of the chemical
 Greenhouse
Compares ability offactor
a greenhouse gas to absorb IR
to the same amount of carbon dioxide which has a
factor of 1.

Example: greenhouse factor of methane is 30 which

means it absorbs as much as 30 molecules of
carbon dioxide or 1 molecule of methane absorbs
30 times more as 1 molecule of carbon dioxide.
 greenhouse gas: CO2
Sources:
Human: burning fossil fuels and wood, forest fires,
burning waste
Natural: respiration, decay of organic matter, natural
forest fires

Relative effect: Most important greenhouse gas (50%

contribution) because of its great abundance (second
largest after water vapour) and the large range of
wavelengths over which it absorbs IR.
 Greenhouse gases: H2O
Sources:
Human: combustion of hydrocarbons
Natural: evaporation

Relative effect: 0.1 - Least effective in

trapping radiation but is most abundant.
 Greenhouse gases: CH4
Sources:
Human: cattle farming, rice paddies (wet soil means any
organic matter in it is decomposed without oxygen) ,
petroleum and natural gas production.
Natural: digestive tracts of ruminants, cattle, bogs or
marshes, bacterial fermentation when organic matter is
decomposed anaerobically, methane gas is produced.
Relative effect: 30 - Low abundance in atmosphere but it
is more effective in absorbing infrared radiation, however, its
atmospheric lifespan in the atmosphere is short.
 Greenhouse gases: N2O
Sources:
Human: use of nitrogen based fertilizers
Natural: bacterial action

Relative effect: 150 - Very effective in absorbing

radiation, fairly long atmospheric life.
 Greenhouse gases: CFCs
Sources:
Human: refrigerators, air- conditioning, aerosols
in spraying cans, foaming agents
Natural: none!!!!

Relative effect: 10 000 25 000 - Very effective in

absorbing radiation, long atmospheric life but low
abundance.
Greenhouse gases: SF6

Human source: electrical

insulators

Greenhouse effect: 24 000

Greenhouse gases
 Effects of particulates
particulates scatters and reflect the incoming sunlight
(visible and UV) so that less solar radiation enters the
atmosphere;
particulates also cause a lowering of the temperature as
they provide condensation nuclei around which water
particles condense to form clouds reducing solar heating;
volcanic eruptions and large forest fires greatly increase
the amount of particulates.