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    APES Unit 8 Notes

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    APES Unit 8 Notes

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    12 views3 pages

    APES Unit 8 Notes

    Uploaded by

    parikhkrish85

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    APES Unit 8 Notes

    Global Climate Change


    ● Global Climate Change: changes in the average weather that occurs in an area over years or
    decades
    ● Changes can be categorized as either natural or anthropogenic
    ○ Natural- El Nino occurring every 3-7 years
    ○ Anthropogenic- Combustion and deforestation contribute to global warming
    The Greenhouse Effect
    ● The atmosphere is what prevents Earth’s temperature from wildly fluctuating between day and
    night.
    ● The Greenhouse Effect: the absorption of outgoing radiation and subsequent re-emission of
    radiation back to the Earth.
    ○ A natural process that is responsible for moderating the temperature of the Earth.
    ○ Without it, temperatures would plummet when the sun goes.
    ● The gases and clouds in the troposphere can limit the amount of radiation reaching Earth
    ○ and help moderate high temperatures.
    ● Certain gases in the troposphere absorb outgoing radiation and can re-emit that radiation
    back to Earth leading to warming
    ○ prevents low-temperature extremes
    ● The Earth will use part of the absorbed energy to warm up. The Earth will release infrared
    radiation.
    ○ Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength and lower energy.
    ● The infrared radiation that comes from the Earth can be absorbed by the greenhouse gases
    in the troposphere.
    Summary
    ● Greenhouse gasses absorb some of the energy and then re-radiate lower energy IR radiation in all
    directions.
    ● Some of that re-radiated IR can be directed back to the Earth.
    ● This heats the Earth which allows lower energy infrared radiation to be given off by the Earth,
    starting the above process over again.
    Greenhouse Gases
    ● CO2 (carbon dioxide)
    ● CH4 (methane),
    ● H2O (water vapor)
    ● N2O (nitrous oxide)
    ● CFCs, and HFCs
    Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
    ● Due to human activities, there is an increased ability of the atmosphere to warm the Earth.
    Water Vapor
    ● Due to its abundance, water vapor has the greatest greenhouse effect out of all the greenhouse
    gases.
    ● Global concentration has not changed over centuries so it is not viewed as a driving force behind
    climate change.
    Carbon Dioxide
    ● Carbon dioxide is the gas that has the greatest contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect.
    ● The increase in CO2 comes largely from the burning of fossil fuels.
    ○ Combustion of the buried carbon adds new CO2 to the atmosphere.
    ● Demand for more land and housing has led to deforestation and increased atmospheric CO2.
    ○ Fewer trees = less atmospheric CO2 removed via photosynthesis
    ○ Removed trees decompose which releases their stored CO2.
    ● Overall, deforestation leads to an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels.
    Methane
    ● Methane concentrations have risen
    ● The second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted
    ● Due to:
    ○ Growing number of livestock is being raised
    ○ Increased rice production
    ○ Depositing waste in landfills
    Nitrous Oxide
    ● Nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations have risen
    ● Due to:
    ○ Agriculture
    ■ fertilizer use
    ■ Manure
    ○ auto emissions
    Fluorinated Gas
    ● No natural sources
    ● HCFCs were developed as a substitute for ozone-depleting CFCs
    ● very high global warming potentials relative to other greenhouse gases
    ○ Small atmospheric concentrations can have disproportionately large effects on global
    temperatures.
    ● Long atmospheric lifetimes
    How to Gather Past Atmospheric Data
    ● Ice core/tree ring data can be used to analyze atmospheric composition.
    ● Ice core samples can be taken from Antarctica – each year new snowfall adds another layer to the
    ice
    ○ Air bubbles trapped in the ice concentrations of greenhouse gases.
    ○ Temperatures can also be determined from isotope ratios
    Climate Change Evidence
    ● Reliable weather since 1850
    ○ 2023 was the warmest year on record, by far
    ○ The 10 warmest years on record since 1850 have all occurred in the past decades
    ● Rising Global Temperatures
    ○ Each decade has been successively warmer
    ● Thinning Arctic Ice
    ○ Warmer temperatures lead to more ice-melting
    ○ Summer Arctic ice is thinning at a rate of 12.2% per decade
    ● Loss of Glaciers
    ● Sea Levels Rising
    ○ Sea levels rise due to increased ice melt and thermal expansion.
    ● Extreme Weather
    ●

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