Global Warming

General Science & Ability

By
Mian Shafiq

Global Warming
Global warmingrefers to the
recent and ongoing rise
inglobalaverage temperature
nearEarth'ssurface.Itiscaused
mostly
by
increasing
concentrations of greenhouse
gasesintheatmosphere.Global
warmingis
causingclimate
patternstochange.

Whatcausethetemperatureofthe
atmospheretogoup?

Natural variationtheclimatebecomeswarmerbyinternal
chaoticdynamicsoftheearth-atmospheresystem(thatis,no
externalinfluence).
Solar activityeitherdirectincreaseofsolarenergyoutputor
indirecttriggermechanismsduetosolar activity(thoughnobody
knowshow)maycausethesurfacetemperaturetogoup.
Greenhouse effectincreasinggreenhousegasessuchas
CO2,CH4,NO,CFC,etc.(actuallyH2Oisveryefficient,too,but
atpresentitisassumedtobeinsteadystate).
Thelastoneispresentlythoughttobethemostlikelycauseofthe
globalwarmingandhencewewillexamineithereinthischapter..

Therealgreenhouse

Green House Effect

Earths Atmospheric Gases

Nitrogen (N 2)

Oxygen (O 2)

NonGreenhouse
Gases
99%

Water (H 2O)

Carbon Dioxide
Methane (CH 4)

Greenhouse
Gases
1%

GreenhouseGases
Carbon

dioxide

combustionofsolidwaste,fossilfuels(oil,naturalgas,and

coal),andwoodandwoodproducts
Methane:

productionandtransportofcoal,naturalgas,andoil.

Methaneemissionsalsoresultfromthedecompositionof
organicwastesinmunicipalsolidwastelandfills,andthe
raisingoflivestock.
Nitrous

oxide

agriculturalandindustrialactivities,aswellasduring

combustionofsolidwasteandfossilfuels.
hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs),perfluorocarbons(PFCs),andsulfur

hexafluoride(SF6),

BACKGROUND

Humanactivityinfluence

ACME-Session4-Introduction to UNFCCC and Kyoto protocol-7/48

GHGEmissionsIncrease
Sincepre-industrialtimesatmospheric

concentrationsofCO2,CH4andN2Ohave
climbedbyover31%,151%and17%,
respectively.Scientistshaveconfirmed
thisisprimarilyduetohumanactivity.
Burningcoal,oilandgas,andcutting
downforestsarelargelyresponsible.

EGEE102-Pisupati

Proxy indicators tell us about the past

Proxy indicators = types of indirect evidence that

serve as substitutes for direct measurements

Ice caps, ice sheets, and glaciers hold clues to past

climate

Trapped bubbles in ice cores show atmospheric

composition, greenhouse gas concentration,
temperature trends, snowfall, solar activity, and
frequency of fires

15-10

CLIMATE CHANGE
Consequences of
climate change:

Agriculture and food security

Crop yields, irrigation demands...
Forest
Composition, health and productivity...
Water resources
Water supply, water quality...
Coastal areas
Erosion, inundation, cost of prevention...

>Temperatureincrease
>Sealevelrise
>Morerain

Species and natural areas

Biodiversity, modification of ecosystems...
Human health
Infectious diseases, human settlements...

Predictedchangeswithincreased
greenhousewarming

Sealevelrise

Increasedplantprimaryproductivity

Shiftsinthedistributionofplantsandanimals

Watercontaminationandoutbreaksofwater-borne
diseases

Increasedstormseverity

Potentialmeltingorenlargementofpolaricecaps

Changestopatternsofrainfall

Moreseveredroughtsorincreasedprecipitation

changestooceancirculationpatterns

TemperatureChanges

13

Changes in Mean Sea

Level
Mean Sea Level Rise

Year

Projectedchangesinprecipitation

Highlatitudes=increasedprecipitation
Lowandmiddlelatitudes=decreasedprecipitationwill
worsenwatershortagesindevelopingcountries

Summer Arctic Sea Ice Decline

Comparison between 1979 & 2005

Greenland Seasonal Surface Melting

Surface melting

Permafrost

Permafrost

Permafrost melting

Sea Level Rise

Destroyscoastalhabitat(e.g.saltmarshes,
mangroves)
Destroyshumanproperty
Increasespollution
Decreasesfreshwatersupply

Venice,2008

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC)

Whywasitcreated?

Createdin1988bythe
UnitedNations
EnvironmentalProgram

Establishedtoprovide
policy-makerswithan
objectivesourceof
informationabout
climatechange

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC)

TheIPCC2013reportconcludedthat
itismorethan95%likelythatmost
globalwarmingisduetohumans.

Shallwepursuemitigationor
adaptation?

Mitigation:pursueactionsthatreduce

greenhousegasemissionstolessenseverityof
futureclimatechange

Renewableenergy,efficiency,farmpracticestoprotect
soilintegrity,preventingdeforestation

Adaptation:acceptclimatechangeishappening

andpursuestrategiestominimizeitsimpacts
Usestechnologyandengineering,adjustingfarmingto
copewithdroughts,etc.
Criticizedassidestepping

Botharenecessary

Transportation
Waystohelp:
Makevehiclesmorefuel-efficient,hybridcars
Driveless
Publictransportationisthemosteffectiveway

toconserveenergy,reducepollution.
Liveclosertoyourworkplace,soyoucanbike
orwalk.
Designcitiesandworkplacestobemore
friendlytopedestrianandbicycletraffic.

Conventionalcarsareinefficient

Thetypicalautomobileishighlyinefficient.

HowmuchCO2iscreatedby_____/year
http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
4m

28t

Iceland
Ave. N.A.
citizen
15t

Malawi

Ave. UK
citizen

2000t

7t

1.3bt
Germany

1.5m

Ave. world citizen

Ave. Australian
8.3bt

Brazil
682m

1.4bt

Rearing a child
(carbon high)

30t

980m

India

890m
Canada

810m

1.9bt
Russia

U.K.

610m
Australia

France

U.S.

100t

4.3bt

Rearing a
child (carbon
consciously)

China.

373t
Rearing a child.

Top10solutionstoclimatechange
1. Investincleanenergy

2. Energyefficientcars

3. Creategreenjobs

4. Becomecarbonneutral

5. Becomemoreenergyefficient
6. Protectforests

7. Taxglobalwarmingpollution
8. Coalplantsusenewtechnology
9. CapCO2emissions
10.makelowpollutingbiofuelsmoreavailable

QUESTION: Review
Globalwarmingisdefinedas:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Atmosphericconditionsatlocalizedsites
Atmosphericconditionsoverhoursordays
Anareaslong-termatmosphericconditions
AnincreaseinEarthsaveragetemperature
TrendsandvariationsinEarthsprecipitation

QUESTION: Review
Globalwarmingpotential,whenreferringtogreenhouse
gases,means:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Theabilityofamoleculetocontributetoglobalwarming
Theabilityofamoleculetopreventglobalwarming
Carbondioxideisthemostpotentgreenhousegas
EnergytravelsbacktotheEarth,afterbeingemitted
ThatallothermoleculesaremeasuredagainstCFCs

QUESTION: Review
Whichofthefollowingaremajorcontributors
ofglobalwarming?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Burningfossilfuelsandrecycling
Deforestationandnuclearenergy
Burningfossilfuelsanddeforestation
Fossilfuelsandnuclearenergy
Fossilfuelsandplantingforests

QUESTION: Review
Whichofthefollowinggreenhousegasesis
notthemostpotent,butisextremely
abundant?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Methane
Watervapor
Carbondioxide
Nitrousoxide
Aerosols