Transcript Climate Change

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Greenhouse Gasses (GHG)
The Greenhouse Effect

Some light energy from the sun
is radiated back to space, some
is trapped to surface.
Greenhouse Gasses



Most of what we breathe is nitrogen gas (78%)
Oxygen is only 21%
All other gasses make up the last 1%
 Only
some of these gasses are GHGs
These are the 6 GHGs
Web site
Gasses in our atmosphere:
Volume
Nitrogen (N2)
78%
780,840 ppmv (78.084%)
Oxygen (O2)
21%
209,460 ppmv (20.946%)
Argon (Ar)
.93%
9,340 ppmv (0.9340%)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
.04%
397 ppmv (0.0397%)
Neon (Ne)
18.18 ppmv (0.001818%)
Helium (He)
5.24 ppmv (0.000524%)
Methane (CH4)
from animals
1.79 ppmv (0.000179%)
Krypton (Kr)
1.14 ppmv (0.000114%)
Hydrogen (H2)
0.55 ppmv (0.000055%)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
0.325 ppmv (0.0000325%)
Carbon monoxide (CO)
0.1 ppmv (0.00001%)
Xenon (Xe)
0.09 ppmv (9×10−6 %) (0.000009%)
Ozone (O3)
protects us from UV radiation
0.0 to 0.07 ppmv (0 to 7×10−6 %)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
0.02 ppmv (2×10−6 %) (0.000002%)
Iodine (I2)
0.01 ppmv (1×10−6 %) (0.000001%)
Ammonia (NH3)
trace
Paleoclimatology
Study of ancient climate
HOW?

Borehole Data

Borehole data are direct measurements
of temperature from boreholes drilled
into the Earth crust. Departures from the
expected increase in temperature with depth (the
geothermal gradient) can be interpreted in terms of
changes in temperature at the surface in the past,
which have slowly diffused downward, warming or
cooling layers meters below the surface. Most
borehole data at the WDC are from the University
of Michigan's Global Database of Borehole
Temperatures and Climate Reconstructions.
Corals and Schlerosponges

Coral data at the WDC consist of stable isotope
and trace metal analyses from corals located
around the globe. Corals serve as proxies of upper
ocean environment, such as sea surface temperature
and salinity, over the past several centuries.
Fire History data

The International Multiproxy Paleofire Database
(IMPD) is an archive of fire history data derived
from natural proxies. It includes data from tree scars
and records of charcoal in sediment to provide a
permanent repository for high-quality paleofire
records from around the world.
Charcoal
depostion
Fire scars
Historical/Documentary sets

The NOAA Paleoclimatology Program distributes
archives of paleoclimatic indicators derived from
historical references and documentary evidence,
such as church records, harvest dates, harbor ice
free dates, etc.
Manila Galleons Voyage Records
Ice Cores

Data from polar and low
latitude mountain glaciers
and ice caps are archived.
Proxy climate indicators
include oxygen isotopes,
methane concentrations,
dust content,
and other
parameters.
Lake Levels

The water level in lakes fluctuates with changes in
moisture balance (precipitation minus evaporation)
within the lake basin. In closed basin lakes,
particularly in arid regions, lake level fluctuations
can be dramatic, resulting in fossil shoreline deposits
and other features indicative of past lake level. A
history of moisture balance and climate in the basin
can then be derived.
Paleolimnology

Paleolimnology is the study of past conditions of
inland fresh water bodies. A variety of
measurements from lake and bog sediments are
used to indicate past water temperature, physical
properties, biology, and chemistry.
Paleoceanography

Data is derived from many proxies found in deep
sea sediments including trace metal and isotopic
composition of fossil plankton, species composition,
and lithology.
Pollen data

Pollen grains which are washed or blown into lakes
can accumulate in sediments and provide a record
of past vegetation. Different types of pollen in lake
sediments reflect the vegetation that was present
around the lake, and therefore the climate
conditions favorable for that vegetation.
Speleothem (Cave deposits) Data

Speleothems are mineral deposits
formed from groundwater within
underground caverns. Stalagmites,
stalactites, and other forms may be
annually banded or contain
compounds which can be
radiometrically dated. Thickness of
depositional layers or isotopic
records can be used as climate
proxies.
Tree Rings

The International Tree-Ring Data Bank includes raw
ring width or wood density measurements, and site
chronologies (growth indices for a site). Over 2000
sites on six continents are included.