ESS205H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Ocean Current, Arctic Methane Emissions, Thermal Expansion
19 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Causes of recent climate change: the largest contribution to total radiative forcing is caused by the increase in the atmospheric conc. Increase in co2from fossil fuel burning and land use changes. Increase in o3, cfcs, nos: all of these factors contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect (ghe, co2 is not the most potent ghg but it is the most abundant, cfcs and nos are much more potent. Negative effects (cooling: human increases in aerosols (e. g. sulfate, dust, direct cooling = reflection/scattering of solar radiation. Indirect cooling = increase cloud coverage: changes in surface albedo due to changed in land cover, all ghg show exponential graphs. Models of climate change: climate models are representations of the interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, ice and the sun. Increased temperatures: decrease in sea ice and glaciers, permafrost loss, melting permafrost causes more carbon release and methane release which contributes to further global warming.
