Need of Emergency Understanding

1. GLOBAL WARMING
© 2013 by iqbal1313

2. Sunlight energy
in the
atmosphere
© Windows to the Universe

3. The layers of
the atmosphere
The troposphere is the part of the
atmosphere in the biosphere
The stratosphere contains the
ozone layer
The stratosphere is also a zone of
warm air that keeps a lid on the
troposphere. It does not mix with
the upper atmosphere
© Windows to the Universe© 2013 by iqbal1313

4. The Greenhouse Effect
© Oceanworld 2005 Robert R Stewart

5. The Greenhouse Effect
 The molecules of some gases in the
atmosphere absorb heat energy and retain it
 This can be a good thing
 Without an atmosphere the Earth would have
same temperature as the moon
 Moon mean surface temperature -46°C
 Moon temperature range: -233 to +123°C
© 2013 by iqbal1313

6. The Greenhouse Gases
 H2O vapour
 CO2
 CH4
 NOx
 CFC
© Oceanworld 2005 Robert R Stewart
© 2013 by iqbal1313

7. Infrared
Absorption
Spectra
© Oceanworld 2005 Robert R Stewart

8. The Greenhouse Gases
 Water vapour in the atmosphere is stable
 The atmosphere is saturated
 CO2 levels are currently rising
 They have varied in the past
 Methane levels are increasing:
as more cattle are farmed, as more paddy
fields are planted, as permafrost melts
 NOx levels increase due to increased
circulation of motor vehicles
© 2013 by iqbal1313

9. Mauna Loa Observatory
© Mauna Loa Observatory Site
© Earth System Research Laboratory
© Earth System Research Laboratory

10. Carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas
© Mauna Loa Observatory Site

11. South Pole Data

12. Samoa data

13. © Australian Antarctic Division
© New Scientist : Environment

14. Levels during the last ice age
© Dennis Hartmann: Universoty of Washington: Department of Atmospheric Sciences

15. Out of the ice age

16. Since the Industrial Revolution
Concentration of Carbon Dioxide from trapped air measurements for the DE08 ice core near the summit
of Law Dome, Antarctica. (Data measured by CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research from ice cores supplied by
Australian Antarctic Division)

17. The oceanic conveyor belt

18. The melting
Arctic ice
The length of the melt season
inferred from surface
temperature weekly data has
been increasing by 9, 12, 12,
and 17 days per decade in sea
ice covered areas
© NASA

19. Is it really getting warmer
1979 2003
© NASA

20. The consequences
 Sea level rise
Flooding coastal areas
Reduced agricultural land
Displacement of populations
 Climate change
Displacement of ecosystems
Change in range of insect vectors of
pathogens
Reduced biodiversity
© 2013 by iqbal1313

21. The consequences
 Increased rates of photosynthesis
 Increased agricultural production at high
latitudes
 BUT faster growth means:
less protein in cereals
trees taller and more exposed to storm
damage
© 2013 by iqbal1313

22. Knock-on effects
 Increased temperature melts the permafrost
 Frozen plant remains decompose
 More methane released
 Similarly soils will lose organic carbon (humus) more
rapidly in a warmer climate
 Ice caps melt more sea exposed
 Snow reflects light (high albedo)
 Water absorbs light, increases warming
 More CO2 dissolving in water lowers pH
 Currently this is buffered and remains stable
 Eventually pH will drop sea life will die CO2 produced
as organisms decompose
© 2013 by iqbal1313

23. What can be done?
Reduce carbon emissions
 Improve mass transport systems (public transport)
 Design more efficient motors
 Design alternative power sources
 Hydrogen powered motors
BUT problems of fuel reservoir, delivery, fabrication
 Renewable energy (wind, tidal, hydro, geothermal,
biomass)
BUT growing crops for biofuel reduces farmland
available for food
Hydroelectric dams disrupt river ecosystems
 Nuclear power
BUT problems of nuclear waste treatment/storage
© 2013 by iqbal1313

24. What can be done?
Increase natural CO2 sequestering
 Reduce deforestation
 Increase reforestation
© 2013 by iqbal1313

25. What can be done?
Artificial CO2 sequestering
 Filter CO2 sources using hydroxide scrubbers
 Injection of CO2 into deep ocean layers
Forms CO2 reservoirs
Impact on sea life unknown
 Injecting CO2 into disused oil wells
 Mineral deposition as carbonates
© 2013 by iqbal1313

26. The bottom line
Two factors will ultimately govern what happens:
1. Human population growth
More people means greater demand for non-
renewable resources
2. The ecological footprint of each individual
human
Higher standards of living usually means higher
consumption of fossil fuels
The planet will look after itself in the end
There are plenty of examples where human
communities have disappeared because they
outstripped the environmental resources
© 2013 by iqbal1313

27. The planet will look after itself in the end
 Easter Island (Rapanui) in the
Pacific
 Settled between AD900 and
1200
 Community in severe decline
AD 1700
 Cause: excessive
deforestation
© 2013 by iqbal1313
The Moai statues, Easter Island © Martin Gray, World
Mysteries

28. The planet will look after itself in the end
 Chaco Canyon, New
Mexico
 Anasazi culture
 AD 850 – 1250
 Cause: Deforestation
combined with a
decline in rainfall
© New Mexico Tourism Department
© 2013 by iqbal1313

29. The planet will look after itself in the end
 Mesopotamia
 Sumerian civilization
 3100 – 1200 BC
 Increased salt levels in
soil due to irrigation
systems & arid
environment
 Reduced food yield
© 2013 by iqbal1313
© Asociación Cultural Nueva Acrópolis en Barcelona

30. The planet will look after itself in the end
 Greenland
 Viking colony
 AD982 – 1350
 Cause: Deforestation,
soil degradation &
cooling of the climate
© Emporia State University
© 2013 by iqbal1313

31. forumpolitics.com/pics/earth-photo.jpg
Who’s next?
© NASA