Forging the Future of Space Science The Next 50 Years (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Global Climate Change and Human Causes--Ralph J. Cicerone
Global Climate Change and Human Causes--Ralph J. Cicerone
Pages 23-39
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From page 23... ...
(Black surfaces and multiply the incoming sunlight (which at Earth-orbit dark surfaces absorb, light surfaces reflect.) On bal- distance is 342 watts per square meter as mentioned ance then, 237 of the 342 watts per square meter are earlier)
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In the spring and summer photosynthesis largely of carbon dioxide. Some people attribute the is drawing carbon dioxide out of the air, and in the Venus situation as being due to a runaway greenhouse fall and winter the decay of annual plants, the decay effect.
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Today is time zero, and time goes over four planetary ice ages, we see that carbon dioxide back to the left. The lower curve is an approximation of was around 180 ppm during each of the cold times, what the temperature was like in the region where the and during the warm times over the last four glacial snow and ice formed, obtained from isotopes of water, cycles it was 280 ppm, 260 ppm, and 280 ppm -- never hydrogen, and oxygen.
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From page 26... ...
dioxide that is being discharged by fossil-fuel burning, One third, two thirds, one third, two thirds, and so plus a little bit generated during cement production, forth. Methane amounts are now five times higher than you can see that it has been growing very rapidly, such they were in low times, or about two and a half times that 100 years ago we were only discharging about higher than they were in the highest times geologically.
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From page 27... ...
Carbon di- tons comes from the burning of petroleum, about 1.2 oxide is being taken up by oceans and by plant growth. billion tons from the burning of natural gas, and a little Also, there is some carbon dioxide entering the air due over 2 billion tons from the burning of coal.
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carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption by source (in billion metric tons CO2)
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In Figure 2.8 the red part changes have not made much of a difference. The best of the pie chart represents annual methane release rates known number here is rather euphemistically called that are due to human activities.
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There are people who As shown in Figure 2.9, the added carbon dioxide wish it were so, and 10 or 15 years ago we thought that measured in the last 60 to 80 years is contributing about maybe the climate changes we were beginning to see 1.6 watts per square meter of extra energy trapped in could be blamed on the Sun, but there is evidence that Earth's planetary boundary layer down at aircraft alti- refutes this assumption. .6 Temperature Anomaly(°C)
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to 1880. Historically, when we have temperature records In Figure 2.10 from the NASA Goddard Institute such as the Medieval warm period, or a mini ice age, for Space Studies, zero is not zero degrees, it is a refer- we have records from different places on Earth that are ence point -- the average temperature all over the world contradictory, or nonexistent, because when it is cold from 1951 to 1980.
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30 Sea Level Change (cm) 23 Annual Tide Gauge Records 25 Three Year Average Ice Cover Satellite Altimetry 20 15 Figure 2.14 is a visual representation of the change in 10 Northern Hemisphere sea ice between 1979 and 2003.
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Right: Sea ice mini 2.14 sea ice collage.eps mum extent for 2003. SOURCE: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.
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Wahr, Acceleration of Greenland Solar irradiance variability since 1978: Revision of the PMOD ice mass loss in spring 2004, Nature 443:329–331) , Copyright composite during solar cycle 21, Space Science Reviews 125(12006.
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That global average temperature record. Globally averaged number has virtually doubled in 35 years -- from 207 temperature is not the most important indicator of to 412 Btu (35 years at a 2 percent per year growth climate variability, but it is the easiest to measure and rate)
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and California. SOURCE: Adapted from Commissioner Art Rosenfeld, "Sustainable Development, Step 1: Reduce Worldwide Energy Intensity by 2% Per Year," presentation at the Global Energy International Prize Presentation and Symposium, University of California at2.20 1.2-Chu.eps 2003.
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time. SOURCE: Commissioner Art 2.22 1.2-Chu.eps Rosenfeld, "Sustainable Development, Step 1: Reduce Worldwide Energy Intensity by 2% Per Year," presentation at the Global Energy International Prize Presentation and Symposium, University of California at Berkeley, November 19, 2003.
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We could be grabbing these markets and helping energy efficiency would do. the world at the same time, if we would only get seri First of all, it could decrease U.S.
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