4.4 climate change

Question 1

what effect do greenhouse gasses have on the enviroment?

Answer 1

• they absorb longer-length infrared radiation which stops them from going into space.
• they retain heat and warm the earth’s surface
• makes earth 15-30 degrees warmer.
• CO2 and water vapour are most warming.
• water retains heat after it condenses to form droplets of water.

Question 2

what are some other ‘greenhouse’ gasses?

Answer 2

• methane from wetlands, landfill, fossil fuel extraction, melting ice.
• nitrous oxide from bacteria, vehicle exhaust
• they are not proper greenhouse gasses bc they don’t absorb longer-wave radiation.

Question 3

what are the impacts of greenhouse gases?

Answer 3

2 factors:
- how readily the gas absorbs long-wave radiation
-the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere
methane has high warming effect but low concentration

Question 4

what are the long and short wave lengths?

Answer 4

• the warmed surface of the earth absorbs short wavelength energy from the sun and re-emits it.
• re-emitted energy is a longer wavelength mostly infrared radiation.