Topic: Effects of the Atmosphere on Insolation

Sun

100 Units

19% absorbed by the atmosphere

47% absorbed at surface

34% reflected by atmosphere and surface

Earth’s Atmosphere

Peconic Herb Farm Greenhouse

Greenhouse Effect

Visible Light – short wavelength

Absorbed at the surface

Earth radiates heat energy back

Infrared – Long Wavelengths

Greenhouse Gases

Gases trap infrared energy in the atmosphere, warming it

Space

Earth’s atmosphere

Earth’s atmosphere greenhouse gases trap the infrared

radiation.

Earth’s temperature

• With greenhouse effect 15°C (58°F)

• Without greenhouse effect -18°C (0°F)

Volcano

Fire

Pollution

Dust

Ocean Spray

Development

1816 -The year without a summer

In April of 1815, the volcano Tambora erupted. It was believed to be one of the most explosive eruptions within 10,000 years. 150 tons of dust went into the atmosphere and

slowly moved around the world. The dust blocked incoming solar radiation from the sun and cooled the earth. The northern states were effected more than the southern states. In

New York there were frosts in every month of the year and snow occurred in June.

Aerosols

• Small solids or liquids suspended in air.

• Insolation is reflected or scattered.

• Insolation on surface reduced Earth cools.

Clouds

Reflection on the top of

clouds

Cloudy Days

Cloudy Nights

Infrared energy radiated back at night

Clouds trap the energy making the night warmer

Clouds

• Day: clouds reflect light back to space Cooler surface temps

• Night: Clouds trap infrared energy radiated by Earth Warmer nights

Final Questions:

What electromagnetic energy does the Earth mainly absorb during the day?

Which energy is radiated back at night?

The Greatest Threat

“Climate change is

the most severe

problem that we

are facing today.”

Sir David King

Former Chief Scientist for the UK

Government

Photo © The Age, Melbourne. All rights reserved

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Photo: Amanda Byrd/Canadian Ice Service

“Things are getting

desperate enough

now that we need to

throw away our

conservatism and

just act.”

Dr. Terry Chapin, UAF

The Greatest Threat

Photo: Corel Corp., Courtesy of www.exzooberance com

Case Closed

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“Recognizing the risk of climate change, we are

taking actions to improve efficiency and reduce

greenhouse gas emissions in our operations.”

Exxon Mobil

December 2006

“When 98% of scientists agree, who is Shell to

say, ‘let’s debate the science’ [about global

warming]?” Shell Oil

November 2006

“We believe that the science is quite compelling

and that climate change is certainly attributed to

human activity and to the substantial use of

fossil fuels.” ConocoPhillips

April 2007

Solar energy

passes through

Radiant

heat is

trapped

Greenhouse gases in atmosphere

Global Warming Basics “Greenhouse gases”

(e.g. carbon dioxide, methane,

nitrous oxide, CFC’s) trap heat

in the earth’s atmosphere.

Science understood since 1859 - John Tyndall

Diagrams © Jennifer Allen

Diagrams: Jennifer Allen

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Burning carbon-containing fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide

(Combustion)

C + O2 CO2

CO2: The Most Significant Greenhouse Pollutant G

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Temperature Measurements

Top 11 warmest years

on record have all

occurred in the last 12

years (IPCC 2007)

2006 was warmest

year on record

in continental US (NOAA 1/07)

2007 was warmest

year on record

in North America

(NOAA 1/08)

2008 eighth warmest

year on record (National

Climatic Data Center)

.

NOAA

What do these pollutants do? – Global Fever Greenhouse gases make the Earth too hot, just like:

> sleeping under a heavy blanket in the summertime

> wearing a parka that is too thick

Our atmospheric “blanket” or “parka” is over 37% “thicker”

than it used to be

Thicker blanket

traps too

much heat.

Thinner blanket

is “just right.”

Melting Sea Ice G

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39% smaller than

average

Ice 53% thinner in region

of North Pole between 2001

and 2007 (NOAA Report Card 2008)

Ice only 3 feet thick

in most locations

(NOAA FAQ, 2007)

In September 2007 an

area the size of Florida

(69,000 square miles) melted

in six days (NSIDC 2007)

Humpback whales spotted

in Arctic Ocean for first time

in 2007

Glacial Retreat

Alaska’s Columbia Glacier

has decreased by about 9 miles

since 1980 and thinned by as

much as 1,300 feet (Science 7/07)

Gulf of Alaska Glaciers losing

84 gigatons of ice mass

annually, contributing nearly

half as much freshwater melt as

Greenland and 15% of present

day global sea level rise from

melting ice (NASA 2008)

Permafrost Thawing

“All the Observatories show a

substantial warming during

the last 20 years”, causing

permafrost to melt at an

unprecedented rate. (State of the

Arctic 2006)

Damage to infrastructure,

lakes, rivers, and forests

Rising sea levels

Release of stored carbon

(methane and CO2)

Consequences:

Vladimir Romanovsky photo

• Polar bears

• Walruses

• Black guillemots

• Arctic grayling

• Kittiwakes

• Ice seals

• Salmon

• Caribou

Animals at Risk

Rising temperatures

Shrinking habitat

Food harder to get

Expanding diseases

Competition

Coral Bleaching

Corals damaged by higher water temperatures and acidification

Higher water temperatures cause bleaching: corals expel

zooxanthellae algae

Corals need the algae for nutrition

Healthy staghorn coral Bleached staghorn coral (algae expelled)

Cataclysmic Global Consequences

ACIA 2004

Robert

Puschendorf

Florida Areas Subject to Inundation

With a 100 cm Sea Level Rise

Massive extinctions: Over 1 million species

threatened with extinction (Dr. Chris Thomas and Nature, 2004)

Ocean acidification

Hurricanes, droughts, extreme weather

Increase in human death and disease

Coral reef destruction

Coastal inundation

Harlequin frog

Photo © Robert Puschendorf All rights reserved Glo

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ACIA 2004

Inundation Inundation from Four Meter Sea Level Rise (or 1m rise + 3m storm surge)

Weiss and Overpeck, 2006

What we can do?

• Reduce CO2

• Wind and solar power

• Energy efficient appliances and lights

• Carpool

• Clean technology

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Climate

Change and Global Warming

• Greenhouse Effect

on Venus helps

discover

greenhouse effect

on Earth

• On the Bill Maher

Show vs. former

GM Exec Bob Lutz

Copy the following questions and answers

1. On a clear day, which type of

electromagnetic radiation will pass

most easily through the Earth’s

atmosphere?

1. Terrestrial radiation

2. Infrared radiation

3. Ultraviolet light

4. Visible light

2. If dust particles are added to the

atmosphere, the amount of

insolation reaching the ground

will probably:

1. Decrease

2. Increase

3. Remain the same

3. Ozone is important to life on

Earth because ozone:

1. Cools refrigerators and air-conditioners

2. Absorbs energy that is reradiated by

Earth

3. Absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation

4. Destroys excess atmospheric carbon

dioxide

4. An increase in which gas would

cause the most greenhouse

warming of Earth’s atmosphere?

1. Nitrogen

2. Oxygen

3. Carbon dioxide

4. hydrogen

5. Why are carbon dioxide and

water vapor called greenhouse

gases?

1. They are found in varying amounts in Earth’s atmosphere

2. They are found in fixed amounts in Earth’s bedrock

3. They are good reflectors of infrared radiation

4. They are good absorbers of infrared radiation

More practice!

Shortwave

longwave

• http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/glo

bal_warming_version2.html