2. The Greenhouse Effect
Pre Statements
Earth Systems
(Atmosphere,
hydrosphere,
biosphere,
cryosphere and
lithosphere) work
together to protect
the planet from the
action of all the sun
energy it receives
continuously.
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Cryosphere
Biosphere
The earths protection
system is known as the
Greenhouse Effect.
3. The Greenhouse effect
was created during the
earths geological
history. It has been
changed continuously
and the life activity
played a key hole in its
construction.
The Greenhouse effect is a
response of an intimated
relationship between Earth
Systems (the atmosphere,
the hydrosphere, the
cryosphere, the
lithosphere and the
biosphere) and their
interaction with the sun
energy.
Pre Statements
The Greenhouse Effect
4. The sedimentation of banded
iron formations, limestone
and other types of rocks are
examples of some processes
that promote
transformations in the earths
systems making exchanges
between their compounds.
The life metabolism is
permanently capturing sun
energy creating more complex
molecules from simple
substances. Some of these new
molecules are incorporated in the
lithosphere as rocks (limestones,
petroleum, etc).
The biological activity
transformed the atmosphere
composition during the earths
history mainly cleaning it up
from CO2, but doing other
chemical transformations too.
The Greenhouse Effect
Pre Statements
5. Pre Statements
Earth systems work to
maintain a constant
internal storage of
energy in the planet.
The maintenance
of the storage
obviously is not
perfect, but
stable.
The interactions
between the
systems create a
buffer effect that
works continuously
to re-equilibrate the
system if any
variation happens.
The Greenhouse Effect
Earths Energy Budget
Reflected
6%+20%+4%=30%
Radiated
64%+6%=70%
Total 100%
6. The Facts
The earths greenhouse
effect has been broken
because more energy
has been released in the
earths systems from the
human activities.
The human
civilization way of life
is requiring more and
more energy
progressively.
The Greenhouse Breach
All human activities that
produce work liberate
heat to earth systems,
especially the fossil fuel
burning.
7. Nowhere in the earth is there night anymore.
The Greenhouse Breach
The Facts
9. The Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
The sea water temperature is rising significantly
The Facts
The hydrosphere represents a
huge reservoir to store energy. The
oceans capacity to store energy is
more than a hundred times bigger
than the atmosphere capacity.
Present concentration of CO2
dissolved in the surface sea water
is 80-90ppm. The sea water has
the capacity to dissolve at least 10
times the present concentration.
10. Energy
received
from the
sun in the
day face
Energy
released in
the night
face
The greenhouse effect stores an
amount of energy in the earths
systems in a steady state.
This energy is constant if we
consider a scale of years.
Before the industrial age the thermodynamic balance in the
earths systems were an equation we can summarize as:
equalequal
The Theory
12. The system is not
regulated to release
this surplus to
space. It is regulated
to keep itself stable.
The energy added to the earths systems by human activities is a
surplus in the greenhouse effect
The energy
surplus has been
stored in the
earths systems.
The ocean and
atmosphere
currents
distribute the
energy around
the globe.
The Theory
13. 0 10 20 30 40 50 C
o
-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
...
300
310
320
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Clouds
Ozone Layer
Temperature
Mount
Everest
Altitude(Km)
( C)o
The atmosphere is structured and regulated to maintain the same
amount of energy stored in the earths systems.
The atmosphere is
packaged in layers
and the temperature
swings from 25
o
C
(media) on the planet
surface to -90
o
C in
the thermosphere.
Energy can’t pass
through this
structure freely.
Atmosphere
releases energy
to the space only
by radiation.
The Theory
14. The energy produced by human work activities is stored:
• In the water steam. The water is the greenhouse effect main
gas;
• In the water, mainly in the oceans. Oceans are a gigantic
mass of mater capable to store energy increasing their
temperature by exciting the Hydrogen-Oxygen bounds and
dissolving other substances like CO2, CH4, etc.
• In the gases produced by the fossil fuels burning that are
released to the atmosphere;
• In the progressive consumption of the cryosphere,
transforming ice to water;
• In the acceleration of the biotic cycle system renewal (mainly
the crops and animal breed).
Where the energy released by
human activities in going to?
The Theory
15. • Controlling the CO2 emissions won’t be enough to solve the
global warming problem;
• Certainly the earths systems and its greenhouse effect are
already working to re-equilibrate the internal energy, but we
don’t know how much time is going to be spent in this task
and in which direction the changes are going to be guided;
• The Global Warming problem and its solution are intimately
related with the human civilization use of energy.
• Many other problems have impacts on the Global Warming
trend but they are secondary to the human releasing of
energy in the earth systems.
Conclusions:
