By: sunil kumarWhat is Global Warming? Global warmth begins with sunlight. When light from the Sun r...

1. Global Warming
By:
sunil kumar
What is Global Warming?
Global warmth begins with sunlight. When light from the Sun reaches the Earth, roughly 30 percent
of it is reflected back into space by clouds, atmospheric particles, reflective ground surfaces, and
even ocean surf. The remaining 70 percent of the light is absorbed by the land, air, and oceans,
heating our planets surface and atmosphere and making life on Earth possible. Solar energy does
not stay bound up in Earths environment forever. Instead, as the rocks, the air, and the sea warm,
they emit thermal radiation, or infrared heat. Much of this thermal radiation travels directly out to
space, allowing Earth to cool. Some of this outgoing radiation, however, is re-absorbed by water
vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the atmosphere (called greenhouse gases because of their
heat-trapping capacity) and is then re-radiated back toward the Earths surface. On the whole, this
re-absorption process is good. If there were no greenhouse gases or clouds in the atmosphere, the
Earths average surface temperature would be a very chilly -18C (0F) instead of the comfortable 15C
(59F) that it is today. What has scientists concerned now is that over the past 250 years humans
have been artificially raising the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at an ever-
increasing rate. By 2004, humans were pumping out over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Some of it was absorbed by sinks like forests or the ocean, and the rest accumulated in the
atmosphere. We produce millions of pounds of methane by allowing our trash to decompose in
landfills and by breeding large herds of methane-belching cattle. Nitrogen-based fertilizers and
other soil management practices lead to the release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Once these
greenhouse gases get into the atmosphere, they stay there for decades or longer. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), since the industrial revolution began in about
1750, carbon dioxide levels have increased 35 percent and methane levels have increased 148
percent. Paleoclimate readings taken from ice cores and fossil records show that these gases, two of
the most abundant greenhouse gases, are at their highest levels in at least the past 650,000 years.
Scientists have very high confidence (a phrase the IPCC translates to greater than 90 percent
certainty) that the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases have made it more difficult for
thermal radiation to leave the Earth, and as a result, Earth has warmed. Recent observations of
warming support the theory that greenhouse gases are warming the world. Over the last century,
the planet has experienced the largest increase in surface temperature in 1,300 years. The average
surface temperature of the Earth rose 0.6 to 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.08F to 1.62F) between 1906 and
2006, and the rate of temperature increase nearly doubled in the last 50 years. Worldwide
measurements of sea level show a rise of about 0.17 meters (0.56 feet) during the twentieth century.
The worlds glaciers have steadily receded, and Arctic sea ice extent has steadily shrunk by 2.7
percent per decade since 1978. Even if greenhouse gas concentrations stabilized today, the planet
would continue to warm by about 0.6C over the next century because it takes years for Earth to fully
react to increases in greenhouse gases. As Earth has warmed, much of the excess energy has gone
into heating the upper layers of the ocean. Scientists suspect that currents have transported some of
this excess heat from surface waters down deep, removing it from the surface of our planet. Once
the lower layers of the ocean have warmed, the excess heat in the upper layers will no longer be
drawn down, and Earth will warm about 0.6C (1 F).
About the Author:

2. Arctic Council. (2004). Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report. Accessed March 22, 2007
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