Influential Greenhouse Gases: For each of the following, list WHAT they are, WHERE they are found and HOW they affect climate
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): is a colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and on carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by carbon dioxide "sinks", such as absorption by seawater and photosynthesis by ocean-dwelling plankton and land plants, including forests and grasslands. Seawater is also a source of CO2 to the atmosphere, along with land plants, animals, and soils, when CO2 is released during respiration.
Methane (CH4): is a colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans. Most methane is broken down in the atmosphere by reacting with small very reactive molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O): is a colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", and sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans and in rainforests. Man-made sources of nitrous oxide include the use of fertilizers in agriculture, nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters and the burning of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is broken down in the atmosphere by chemical reactions driven by sunlight.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. SF6 is human-made, and the primary user of SF6 is the electric power industry. Because of its inertness and dielectric properties, it is the industry's preferred gas for electrical insulation, current interruption, and arc quenching (to prevent fires) in the transmission and distribution of electricity. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers and switchgear, and in the magnesium metal casting industry.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect: explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): is a colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and on carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by carbon dioxide "sinks", such as absorption by seawater and photosynthesis by ocean-dwelling plankton and land plants, including forests and grasslands. Seawater is also a source of CO2 to the atmosphere, along with land plants, animals, and soils, when CO2 is released during respiration.
Methane (CH4): is a colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans. Most methane is broken down in the atmosphere by reacting with small very reactive molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O): is a colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", and sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans and in rainforests. Man-made sources of nitrous oxide include the use of fertilizers in agriculture, nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters and the burning of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is broken down in the atmosphere by chemical reactions driven by sunlight.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. SF6 is human-made, and the primary user of SF6 is the electric power industry. Because of its inertness and dielectric properties, it is the industry's preferred gas for electrical insulation, current interruption, and arc quenching (to prevent fires) in the transmission and distribution of electricity. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers and switchgear, and in the magnesium metal casting industry.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect: explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change:
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and process which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Some of the terrestrial biosphere's major sources of atmospheric CO2 include respiration by land biota (plants, animals, microorganisms, humans, etc) and the burning and decomposition of organic material. The removal of atmospheric CO2 by the terrestrial biosphere occurs through photosynthesis. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to build food in the form of organic matter--which in turn becomes food for microbes, fungi, insects, and higher organisms. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans? Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The industrial revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
The United States
As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and process which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Some of the terrestrial biosphere's major sources of atmospheric CO2 include respiration by land biota (plants, animals, microorganisms, humans, etc) and the burning and decomposition of organic material. The removal of atmospheric CO2 by the terrestrial biosphere occurs through photosynthesis. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to build food in the form of organic matter--which in turn becomes food for microbes, fungi, insects, and higher organisms. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans? Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The industrial revolution in the 1800s, humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
The United States