The Greenhouse Effect and Increases in the Greenhouse Gases

Question 1

What are the principal greenhouse gases and their scientific names? What are the additional gases?

Answer 1

• carbon dioxide (CO2)
• methane (CH4)
• water vapor (H2O)
• nitrous oxide (N2O)
• chlorofluorocarbons (CF2Cl2)
  Additionally: Tropospheric Ozone (O3), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Question 2

What are benefits of the greenhouse effect?

Answer 2

Greenhouse effect (in troposphere) results in surface temperature necessary for life on Earth to exist.

Question 3

How does the greenhouse effect work?

Answer 3

• Some energy is reflected, some energy is re-radiated as heat back into space.
• Some re-radiated heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases in troposphere, then emitted toward surface of Earth as heat.

Question 4

What layer of the atmosphere does the greenhouse effect occur?

Answer 4

Trophosphere

Question 5

How does water vapor differ from the other greenhouse gases? Which greenhouse gases are man-made?

Answer 5

• • Water vapor does not contribute significantly to greenhouse effect, due to its short atmospheric residence time
• CFCs & HFCs are man made

Question 6

Which gas has the highest global warming potential? Which gas has the lowest global warming potential and is used as the reference? What are the rankings of the other greenhouse gases (methane, nitrous oxides, HFCs, ozone)

Answer 6

CFCs > HFCs > Ozone > Nitrous Oxides > Methane > Carbon Dioxide (reference)

Question 7

Which gas has the greatest influence on global warming and why?

Answer 7

• Carbon dioxide has greatest overall impact on greenhouse effect because of its concentration in atmosphere

Question 8

What are the consequences of global climate change on animal and human populations?

Answer 8

• Habitat destruction
• loss of food source
• timing of food source availability changes
• new temperatures beyond range of tolerance
• new salinity beyond range of tolerance
• increased storm intensity
• increased possibility of fire
• impacted annual group behaviors: timing of migration, hibernation
• hinders access to fresh water/food - higher possibility of disease and infection

Question 9

How is global climate change changing sea levels?

Answer 9

• Land ice (ex: continental glaciers, ice sheets) melts, adding to the volume of water in the ocean
• Thermal expansion of the ocean, due to warming from climate change, increases the volume of the ocean

Question 10

How is global climate change affecting disease vectors?

Answer 10

• Tropical disease vectors, like those carried by mosquitoes, are expanding their range, infecting more people

Question 11

What data can be gathered as a record of Earth’s climate change over geologic time?

Answer 11

• Major shifts in global temperatures causing periods of warming/cooling that can be seen by gathering CO2 data and drilling ice cores out of glaciers

Question 12

How are marine ecosystems affected by global climate change?

Answer 12

Positive:
- newly created habitats on now-flooded continental shelves
Negative:
- deeper communities that may no longer be in the photic zone of seawater

Question 13

How are wind patterns affected by climate change?

• Hadley Cells
• Jet Stream

Answer 13

• winds generated by atmospheric circulation help transport heat throughout the Earth
• may change circulation patterns, such as impacting Hadley cells and the jet stream
• Hadley Cells -> expansion of desert biome range, less arable land, habitat loss, etc.
• Jet Stream is driven by the temperature difference of the globe, so as the arctic temperatures rise and the temperature difference is reduced, it causes the jet stream to slow down and get stuck, enacting extreme weather patterns

Question 14

How are ocean currents affected by climate change?

Answer 14

• oceanic currents carry heat throughout the world
• weakening of ocean circulation, causing extreme weather patterns globally and rising sea levels that could displace coastal populations

Question 15

How is soil affected by climate change?

Answer 15

• climate change can affect soil quality and erosion through changes in temperature and rainfall
• increasing soil erosion, which affects sedimentation, water quality, and food production
• changes in organic carbon amount, pH, and concentration of macronutrients are being brought on by global climate change
• invasive species, like weeds, are also moving up as higher temperature ranges expand, taking away nutrients from agricultural crops
• farmers need to consider where to apply their fertilizers and pesticides to maintain the pH level of the soil

Question 16

What accelerates the warming of the poles?

Answer 16

• Earth’s polar regions have ice and snow that are melting, meaning less solar energy is radiated back into space and instead is absorbed by the Earth’s surface

Question 17

How is global climate change affecting methane?

Answer 17

Global climate change response time in the Arctic is due to positive feedback loops involving melting sea ice and thawing tundra, and the subsequent release of greenhouse gases like methane

Question 18

How is the global climate affecting polar animals?

Answer 18

• Habitat loss

- Less food available because they can only catch the seals that make up their food source from the ice

Question 19

How does climate change affect coral reefs?

Answer 19

• coral bleaching, occurs when the loss of algae within corals causes the corals to bleach white
• some corals recover and some die

Question 20

How does ocean warming affect marine species?

Answer 20

• metabolic and reproductive changes

- loss of habitat