Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere

[Mb94]

Hi,

this is what I have so far:

Do you think that hydrogen and bio-fuels are the only fuels available to ward off the consequences of running out of oil and climate change?

 

I think that there are many fuels that could ward off the consequences of climate change. Climate change is caused by many factors, natural and man. Fossil fuels are very important to man, being cheap and efficient. But when fossil fuels are burnt, they are oxidised into CO² and water. The CO² rises up, and gets stuck in the atmosphere (blank)

I'm stuck. I can't remember exaclt what co2 does thats bad :S

I tried researching it, but lots of crap comes up with little to no relevence to what I want. I know the the co2 gets stuck somewhere, but can anyone answer where and why (and anything else you think is relevent )

 

Thanks heaps

[SkepticLance]

CO2 is the main greenhouse gas (after water vapour). When infra red passes through the atmosphere, it hits the ground and warms the ground. The ground then re-radiates that heat energy at a different wavelength. CO2 in the air stops that new wavelength from radiating out into space. Thus, it warms the air instead.

 

CO2 in the air has increased over the past 150 years from 280 parts per million to 350 ppm. This increases the effect of warming, and makes the whole world warm up. Over that time, the world has, on average, warmed by 0.8 C.

[Mb94]

thanks heaps, exactly what i wanted

[iNow]

CO2 in the air has increased over the past 150 years from 280 parts per million to 350 ppm. This increases the effect of warming, and makes the whole world warm up. Over that time, the world has, on average, warmed by 0.8 C.

 

Overall, Lance is correct. I'm just offering a minor correction and supplement to support his response.

 

Carbon dioxide content in fresh air (averaged between sea-level and 10 hPa level, i.e. about 30 km altitude) varies between 360 ppm and 390 ppm, depending on the location. So, his quote of 350 is actually low. Also, one needs to look at this number in context, and realize that current concentrations in the atmosphere are rising very rapidly, so in essence, that number will only continue to get larger.

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide

 

NOTE: You can use the above source also to get a clearer understanding of why CO₂ effects the temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, while the global surface temperature increase has been about 0.8C (~1.5F) on average, looking at the average misses a crucial knowledge point about the dramatically increasing rate of warming. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

 

 

A visual representation of the rate increase in temperatures for your reference below:

 

 

 

 

Like I said, though. The overall thrust of Lances post is correct, so I am not challenging it so much as supplementing it. Good luck, Mb94. Enjoy.

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Another item, more specific to the question you asked, is to review the concept of "radiative forcing." That helps explain the why and how of the process.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_forcing

[CaptainPanic]

CO2 is the main greenhouse gas (after water vapour). When infra red passes through the atmosphere, it hits the ground and warms the ground. The ground then re-radiates that heat energy at a different wavelength. CO2 in the air stops that new wavelength from radiating out into space. Thus, it warms the air instead.

 

CO2 in the air has increased over the past 150 years from 280 parts per million to 350 ppm. This increases the effect of warming, and makes the whole world warm up. Over that time, the world has, on average, warmed by 0.8 C.

 

It is not just infrared coming from the sun, but also a lot of visible and UV light coming to earth (incoming). The outgoing radiation is indeed almost purely infrared.

 

The CO2 absorbs the infrared, and therefore only blocks the outgoing heat.