Global change

GLOBAL CHANGE INCLUDES GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

AND GLOBAL WARMING
 Global Change: Introduction

Fluctuations in Global Change

Effects of Human Activities

Global Climate Change

Global Warming

Sun-Earth Heating System

Greenhouse Effect

Factors Effecting Green House Effects

introduction
The melting of the polar ice
cap is just one example of
the changes taking place
around the globe.
Change that occurs in the
• Chemical
• Biological
• Physical
properties of the planet is
referred to as global change
 Fluctuating Global changes
Some types of global change are natural and have been occurring for millions of
years.
Global temperatures, for example, have fluctuated over millions of years,
with periods of cold temperatures causing ice ages.
In modern times, however, the rates of change have often been much higher
than those that have occurred historically.
Effects of Human Activities
Many of these changes are the result of human activities, and can have significant, sometimes
cascading, effects.

For example, emissions from coal-fired power plants and waste incinerators have increased
the amount of mercury in the air and water, with concentrations roughly tripling over
preindustrial levels.

This mercury bio-accumulates in fish caught thousands of kilometers away from the sources
of pollution. Far-reaching effects on this scale were unimaginable just 50 years ago.
Global climate change
One type of global change of particular concern to contemporary scientists is global climate
change.

Global climate change refers to changes in the climate of Earth—the average weather that
occurs in an area over a period of years or decades.

Changes in climate can be categorized as either

Natural climate change

Anthropogenic climate change

Causes of Climate Change
Anthropogenic activities such as
 Fossil fuel combustion

Deforestation

also have major effects on global climates.

Global Warming
Global warming refers specifically to one aspect of climate change:
The warming of the oceans

 Landmasses

Atmosphere of earth
 Solar radiations and greenhouse gases makes our
planet warm
The physical and biogeochemical systems that regulate temperature at the surface of
Earth—
 The concentrations of gases

 Distribution of clouds

 Atmospheric currents

 Ocean currents

—are essential to life on our planet.

 The Sun-Earth Heating System
o The ultimate source of almost all energy on Earth is the Sun.
o In the most basic sense, the Sun emits solar radiation that strikes Earth.
o As the planet warms, it emits radiation back toward the atmosphere.
o Because the Sun is very hot, most of its radiated energy is in the form of high-energy visible
radiation and ultraviolet radiation—also known as visible light and ultraviolet light.
o When this radiation strikes Earth, the planet warms and radiates energy.
o Earth is not nearly as hot as the Sun, so it emits most of its energy as infrared radiation—also
known as infrared light.
o We cannot see infrared radiation, but we can feel it being emitted from warm surfaces, like
the heat that radiates from an asphalt road on a hot day.
 Green house effect
Differences in the types of radiation emitted by the Sun and Earth, in combination with the
greenhouse effect, cause the planet to warm.

As radiation from the Sun travels toward Earth, about one-third of the radiation is reflected
back into space.

Although some ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer in the stratosphere, the
remaining ultraviolet radiation, as well as visible light, easily passes through the atmosphere.

Once it has passed through the atmosphere, this solar radiation strikes clouds and the
surface of Earth.
Some of this radiation is reflected from the surface of the planet back into space.

The remaining radiation is absorbed by clouds and the surface of Earth, which become warmer
and begin to emit lower-energy infrared radiation back toward the atmosphere.

Unlike ultraviolet and visible radiation, infrared radiation does not easily pass through the
atmosphere. It is absorbed by gases, which then warm.

The warmed gases emit infrared radiation, some of which goes out into space.

The rest of the infrared radiation goes back toward the surface of Earth, causing the surface to
become even warmer.

This absorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases and re radiation of the energy back
toward Earth is the greenhouse effect.
 Factors affecting Greenhouse Effect
Factors that influence short-term fluctuations include
 Changes in incoming solar radiation from increased solar activity and

 Changes in outgoing radiation from an increase in atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation.

If incoming solar energy is greater than the sum of reflected solar energy and radiated infrared energy
from Earth, then the energy accumulates faster than it is dispersed and the planet becomes warmer.

If incoming solar energy is less than the sum of the two outputs, the planet becomes cooler.

Such natural changes in inputs and outputs cause natural changes in the temperature of Earth over time.
 Greenhouse Gases
Certain gases in the atmosphere can absorb infrared radiation emitted by the surface of the planet and radiate
much of it back toward the surface.

The gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation are known as greenhouse gases.

In fact, greenhouse gases make up a very small fraction of the atmosphere.

Water vapor (H2O)

Perhaps surprisingly, the most common greenhouse gas is water vapor (H2O).

Water vapor absorbs more infrared radiation from Earth than any other compound, although a molecule of water
vapor does not persist nearly as long as other greenhouse gases.
Other important greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone

(O3).

In the case of ozone, we have seen that its effects on Earth are diverse.

Ozone in the stratosphere is beneficial because it filters out harmful ultraviolet radiation.

In contrast, ozone in the lower troposphere acts as a greenhouse gas and can cause increased warming of Earth.

It also is an air pollutant in the lower troposphere, where it can cause damage to plants and human respiratory
systems.

There is one other type of greenhouse gas, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which does not exist naturally and occurs in
the atmosphere exclusively due to synthesis by humans.
 Factors affecting greenhouse effect
The effect of each greenhouse gas depends on both its warming potential and its concentration
in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse warming potential

Concentration of greenhouse gases

 Greenhouse warming potential
Although we commonly think of the greenhouse effect as detrimental to our environment,
without any greenhouse gases the average temperature on Earth would be approximately –18°C
(0°F) instead of its current average temperature of 14°C (57°F).
Concern about the danger of greenhouse gases is part of a growing awareness that an increase in
the concentration of these gases may cause the planet to warm even more.
The contribution of each gas to global warming depends in part on its greenhouse warming
potential.
The greenhouse warming potential of a gas estimates how much a molecule of any compound
can contribute to global warming over a period of 100 years relative to a molecule of CO2.
Continued