The enhanced Greenhouse effect

Meaning
The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to an increase in the worlds average temperature

Mechanism
The sun radiates solar energy on earth. The larger part of this energy (45%) is radiated back into space. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contribute to global warming by adsorption and reflection of atmospheric and solar energy. If this phenomenon (greenhouse effect) was not present then the Earth would be -180C cooler on average, instead of the 160C (ish) average. However the enhanced greenhouse effect means that more greenhouse gases are present in the atmosphere so there is more re-emitted heat and less re-radiated. This effect slowly warms the Earth. As a result the polar ice caps which have a high albedo melt, so they reflect less heat back out so the radiated energy also reduces and this eventually turns into a cycle until the ice is gone and the Earths albedo is significantly lowered and it heats up even more from the re-emitted heat.

Major gases
Carbon Dioxide
On average, human activities put out in just three to five days, the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide that volcanoes produce globally each year. Once carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed by the oceans and taken up by vegetation, although this storage

may be temporary. About 45 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities in the last 50 years is now stored in the oceans and vegetation. The rest has remained in the air, increasing the atmospheric concentration.it is known from long records of Earths climate history that under warmer conditions, carbon tends to be released, for instance, from thawing permafrost, initiating a feedback loop in which more carbon release leads to more warming which leads to further release. Global emissions of carbon dioxide have been accelerating. The growth rate increased from 1.3 percent per year in the 1990s to 3.3 percent per year between 2000 and 2006. The increasing emissions of carbon dioxide are the primary cause of the increased concentration of carbon dioxide observed in the atmosphere. There is also evidence that a smaller percentage of the annual human emission is now being taken up than in the past, leading to a greater percentage remaining in the atmosphere and an accelerating rate of increase in the carbon dioxide concentration.

Methane
During agricultural practices, methane gas (a GHG) is produced when bacteria decomposes organic matter. It has been estimated that close to a quarter of methane gas from human activities result from livestock and the decomposition of animal manure. Paddy rice farming, land use and wetland changes are also agricultural processes that contribute to the release of methane to the atmosphere. Methane is also emitted during coal mining and oil drilling, and by leaky gas pipelines. Human activities have increased the concentration of methane in the atmosphere by about 145% above what would be present naturally. After carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) is the second largest source of human greenhouse gas pollution.

Water Vapour
The water vapour content of the atmosphere is highly variable, ranging from 0 to 4%. Approximately 99% is contained in the troposphere but it is also present at higher altitudes. Increased stratospheric water vapour acts to cool the stratosphere but it warms the underlying troposphere. Not much is known about the mechanism of water vapours contribution to the greenhouse effect and climate change; however it is known to contribute significantly.

Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is emitted from natural sources and as a by-product of agricultural fertilization and other industrial processes. In addition to soil fertilization, nitrous oxide is emitted from livestock manure, sewage treatment, combustion and certain other industrial processes. Dentists also use it as a sedative (laughing gas). In nature, bacteria in soil and the oceans break down nitrogencontaining compounds, releasing nitrous oxide. About one-third of global nitrous oxide emissions are from human activities. Nitrous oxide, like CFCs, is stable when emitted at ground level, but breaks down when it reaches the stratosphere to form other gases, called nitrogen oxides, that trigger ozone-destroying reactions.

Ozone
Ozone occurs naturally at ground-level in low concentrations. The two major sources of natural ground-level ozone are hydrocarbons, which are released by plants and soil, and small amounts of stratospheric ozone, which occasionally move down to the earth's surface. The ozone that is a by-

product of human activities becomes a problem at ground level; since 1900 the amount of ozone near the earth's surface has more than doubled. Unlike most other air pollutants, ozone is not directly emitted from any one source. Tropospheric ozone is formed by the interaction of sunlight, particularly ultraviolet light, with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which are emitted by cars, petrol and gas vapours, fossil fuel power plants, refineries, and certain other industries. While stratospheric ozone shields us from ultraviolet radiation, in the troposphere the reactive molecule damages forests and crops; destroys polythene, rubber, and other materials; and injures or destroys living tissue. It is a particular threat to people who exercise outdoors or who already have respiratory problems. Ozone affects plants in several ways. High concentrations of ozone cause plants to close their stomata; this slows down photosynthesis and plant growth.

Relative contribution of greenhouse gases to the greenhouse effect (2004)

Q 2b and Q 3 on page 97
1. I think the graph provides evidence but it is not powerful enough in my opinion to support recent global warming as it is a snapshot of the past few hundred years alone. It only shows temperature increases in certain parts of the world where the instruments were available. It might be that global warming is not as global as we perceive it to be when it comes to the start of the phenomenon. The graph might also just be showing the end of the little ice age which occurred around 1700AD with the temperature just levelling out to normal temperatures 2. The climate is the weathers average behaviour over some years (approx. 30) and the weather can be erratic/ unusual in some years whilst being predictable and normal in other years. Overall though the weather data averages out to a climate. It is misleading for the media to present unusual weather like short heat waves as evidence of global warming as the erratic weather is an anomaly in the general climate model. It can only be classified as

evidence for global warming if the heat waves become more frequent over a period of years; affecting the general climate model. I.e. 50% more heat waves over the past 30 years rather than 2 heat waves over the past 3 years.