How does GLOBAL WARMING and THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT impact the environment ? Adapted from Ms. Pride Regents Biology SB1-03 or SB1-16 October 16, 2008

Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect Global warming is defined as the gradual increase in average measured surface temperature on Earth The Greenhouse effect is defined as the trapping and build-up of heat in the lower atmosphere near a planet's surface. Some of the heat flowing back towards space from the Earth's surface is absorbed by water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), tropospheric ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Greenhouse gas is any gas in the atmosphere that absorbs lower-energy infrared radiation Their contribution to the greenhouse effect is determined by their concentration in the atmosphere and by how much thermal energy each molecule of gas can absorb.

How Do Greenhouse Gases Trap Infrared Radiation? Nitrogen and oxygen gas consist of two identical atoms The two atoms can only vibrate one way: back and forth This limits the type of energy the molecule can absorb When infrared radiation reaches these molecules, they cannot absorb it Water, CO2, CH4 and consist of three or more atoms The atoms in these molecules can vibrate and wiggle in many ways and therefore capable of absorbing infrared radiation Once captured, these molecules then re-radiate the radiation back out in every direction which causes the air around to heat up

IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT Increased Surface Temperatures on Earth Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 100 years ending in 2005. Enhanced and attributed to an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations

Increasing CO2 Concentrations Earth’s atmosphere contains only 385 ppm (parts per million) CO2 or 0.0385% This is a small amount, but CO2 is estimated to cause up to ¼ of the natural greenhouse effect on Earth Increasing CO2 Concentrations Fluctuations in temperature (red line) and in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (yellow) over the past 649,000 years. The vertical red bar at the end is the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past two centuries and before 2007.

Humans Impact on Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect Increased Carbon Dioxide concentrations resulting from burning fossil fuels (e.g. coal (picture), petroleum and natural gas)for energy U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that 86% of primary energy production in the world came from burning fossil fuels Complete Combustion:

                                                                                                         Examples of Attributed and Expected Effects of Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect Increased Global temperatures Changes in weather patterns as a result of fluctuations in Global temperatures resulting in increased storm frequencies and intensities

                                                                                                                            Examples of Attributed and Expected Effects of Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect Changes in agricultural yields due to changes in amounts of precipitation (i.e. droughts, flooding, etc.) Changes in Global Glacial Thickness (Glacial Retreat)

Examples of Attributed and Expected Effects of Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect Sea-Level rising and Coastal Flooding due to Glacial melting, small ice cap melting, ice sheet melting in the Arctic and Greenland Loss of Natural Ecosystems and Biodiversity resulting in changes of migration patterns for some species, changes in growth patterns for plant life due to seasonal changes.

References www.science.org.au/nova/016/016glo.htm http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/pastcc.html http://www.eia.doe.gov 647426 BC to 411548 BC:  Siegenthaler, U., T. F. Stocker, E. Monnin, D. Lüthi, J. Schwander, B. Stauffer, D. Raynaud, J.M. Barnola, H. Fischer, V. Masson-Delmotte, and J. Jouzel. 2005. Stable Carbon Cycle-Climate Relationship During the Late Pleistocene. Science 310: 1313-1317. Data 415157 BC to 339 BC: Barnola, J.-M., D. Raynaud, C. Lorius, and N.I. Barkov. 2003. Historical CO2 record from the Vostok ice core. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. Data 9002 BC to 1515 AD: Flückiger, J., E. Monnin, B. Stauffer, J. Schwander, T.F. Stocker, J. Chappellaz, D. Raynaud, and J.-M. Barnola, 2002, High resolution Holocene N2O ice core record and its relationship with CH4 and CO2, Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles, Volume 16, Number 1, March 2002, 10.1029/2001GB001417. Data 1010 AD to 1978 AD: D.M. Etheridge, L.P. Steele, R.L. Langenfelds, R.J. Francey, J.-M. Barnola and V.I. Morgan. 1998. Historical CO2 records from the Law Dome DE08, DE08-2, and DSS ice cores. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. Data 1958-2006 AD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth System Research Laboratory, Global Monitoring Division. 2007. Monthly Mean CO2 concentrations from Mauna Loa, Hawaii.   (Accessed May 29, 2007). Data Dyurgerov, Mark B. (2002). "Glacier Mass Balance and Regime: Data of Measurements and Analysis". Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Occasional Paper 55. Dyurgerov, Mark B. and Mark F. Meier (2005). "Glaciers and the Changing Earth System: A 2004 Snapshot". Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Occasional Paper 58. J. Oerlemans (2005). "Extracting a Climate Signal from 169 Glacier Records". Science 308 (5722): 675-677. DOI:10.1126/science.1107046 http://www.ipcc-wg2.org/index.html