// lecture 01 Flashcards
joseph fourier
1824; knew about “dark heat” (infrared radiation). figured out the GH effect and use “greenhouse” analogy.
john tyndall
1864; identified the infrared-absorbing gases. well known for work on air pollution, ozone, glacier, and others. immediately recognized likely role of CO2 in causing past climate change.
svante arrenhius
1896; first calculation of warming by CO2 increase. first clear recognition of water vapor as a warming amplifier. made significant errors, but grasped the fundamentals.
guy stewart callendar
1938; found upward trends in temp. and CO2 measurements. proposed that the warming predicted by Arrenhius was already underway. skeptical colleagues.
1950-1970
discovery that oceans were not taking up all the CO2. confirmation of radiative effects of CO2. first accurate calculation of global warming. new geologic evidence that climate changes easily.
weather
varies from one day to the next.
climate
averages of the weather over a longer period of time.
factors that influence climate:
sunshine and latitude; topography/mountains; proximity to oceans and large lakes; ocean currents; presence of trees/vegetation; etc.
90% of the mass of the atmosphere is within
16 km.
distance from equator to pole
10,000 km
a thin atmosphere means
that we can change atmospheric composition.
“keeling curve”
first measured by David Keeling in March ‘58. 30% increase since the first measurement. 40% increase since pre-industrial times. human induced due to fossil fuel burning (80%) and deforestation (20%).
CO2 ppm
at 400 ppm now. natural variation over Ice Age cycles was 180-280 ppm. current rate of increase is 100-1000 times faster than nature can change CO2.
GHGs slow
heat loss to space. GHGs cause the earth to be a lot warmer than if there was no atmosphere. 32 C warmer.
it’s warmed ____ in the last 130 years.
0.8 C. especially rapid since the mid-70’s. 2014 and 2015 are the hottest years on record.
