thermal expansión troposphere 509 weather 508 324 forcings 513 geoengineering 52
ID: 117721 • Letter: T
Question
thermal expansión troposphere 509 weather 508 324 forcings 513 geoengineering 527 global warming potential 515 greenhouse gases 512 Testing Your Knowledge 1. What is the difference between weather and climate? 2. What is albedo? Give an example of an object with (a) high albedeo and (b) low albedo. 3. In what way do greenhouse gases warm the planet? 4. How do volcanoes affect the Earth's temperature? 5. Describe three pieces of evidence that climate is changing. 6. What are the two main causes of sea-level rise? 7. How do scientists use ice cores to determine past temperatures? 8. Why doesn't increasing CO2 lead to increased plant growth in the long term? 9. What are the two approaches to geoengineering? 10. What is a climate feedback? Give an example of a negative feedback 11. Which of the following is the correct order of the layers of the atmosphere from the ground up? a. stratosphere, mesosphere, troposphere, thermosphere b. thermosphere, troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere c. troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere d. stratosphere, troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere 12. What would the temperature of the Earth be if there were no atmosphere? a. 15°C c. 0°C b. 545°C d. -19° CExplanation / Answer
(8) It is possible to help increase the growth of some plants with extra CO2, under controlled conditions, inside of greenhouses. It is based on this that 'skeptics' make their claims. However, such claims are simplistic. They fail to take into account that once you increase one substance that plants need, you automatically increase their requirements for other substances. It also fails to take into account that a warmer earth will have an increase in deserts and other arid lands which would reduce the area available for crops.
Plants cannot live on CO2 alone. They get their bulk from more solid substances like water and organic matter. This organic matter comes from decomposing plants and animals or from man made fertilizers.
(9) Two approaches to geoengineering, one involves deflecting a small amount of the sun's light and heat away from the planet to lower global temperatures this could include the use of reflective aerosols or mirrors high in the atmosphere, or may require the deliberate formation of clouds. A second general method for cooling the planet involves removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, either via sequestration or CO2 capture or possibly through ocean iron fertilization to promote the growth of CO2-consuming algae.
(10) There are many climate feedback mechanisms in the climate system that can either amplify (positive feedback) or diminish (negative feedback) the effects of a change in climate forcing.
There are several climate changes that can result in negative feedback.
Evaporative and clouds
Even when the surface temperature increases as a result of human activities, there can still be a negative feedback that results in some amount of cooling. For example, as the surface temperature of the Earth increases there are increased levels of evaporation from the ocean. This increased evaporation results in more clouds forming in the lower atmosphere. These clouds in turn reflect some incident solar radiation back into space, slightly decreasing the surface temperature.
Blackbody radiation
As well, the fact that the Earth is loosely modelled as a blackbody for climate models results in a negative feedback. As the temperature of the Earth increases, the Stefan-boltzman law states that the emission of infrared radiation back into space will increase. By increasing the amount of outgoing radiation as the Earth warms, there is a slight cooling effect. This type of feedback is also known as Planck feedback.
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