Table of Contents
What is the global warming potential of carbon dioxide?
Values. Carbon dioxide is the reference. It has a GWP of 1 regardless of the time period used.
How does carbon dioxide create global warming?
The temperature of the Earth depends on a balance between incoming energy from the Sun and the energy that bounces back into space. Carbon dioxide absorbs heat that would otherwise be lost to space. Some of this energy is re-emitted back to Earth, causing additional heating of the planet.
How is global warming determined?
Climate change is most commonly measured using the average surface temperature of the planet. Year-on-year, natural fluctuations can be seen on top of this long-term warming. For this reason, scientists traditionally use a period of at least 30 years to identify a genuine climate trend.
What kinds of responses to potential greenhouse warming are possible?
One example of a greenhouse warming feedback mechanism involves water vapor. As air warms, each cubic meter of air can hold more water vapor. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, this increased concentration of water vapor further enhances greenhouse warming. In turn, the warmer air can hold more water, and so on.
How does global warming occur?
A: Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide.
How are global CO2 concentrations measured?
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is measured in parts-per-million (ppm) and reported in units of micromol mol-1 (10-6 mol CO2 per mol of dry air). Measurements are directly traceable to the WMO CO2 mole fraction scale.
How do greenhouse gases make life on earth possible?
Greenhouse gases keep our planet livable by holding onto some of Earth’s heat energy so that it doesn’t all escape into space. This heat trapping is known as the greenhouse effect. Just as too little greenhouse gas makes Earth too cold, too much greenhouse gas makes Earth too warm.