There are several factors that contribute to Global warming. In this article, you’ll learn about Carbon dioxide, Permafrost, Volcanic activity, and Water vapour. Once you understand what they are, you can make your own opinion. But do these factors make Global warming a real threat to our planet? What are the main contributing factors? Which is the most significant and which is the most likely to cause change? The answers to these questions are very important and you should be aware of them before making a decision on how to combat global warming.
Carbon dioxide
Scientists have long debated whether carbon dioxide contributes to global warming. Recent discoveries have cast doubt on this theory, resulting in a raft of new research studies. These studies have been particularly controversial, as the evidence supporting the theory is mixed. Yet, most climate scientists agree that the plight of the environment is a real concern. Carbon dioxide is the main culprit behind climate change, as it increases the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes it harder for additional CO2 molecules to influence the infrared window. Hence, the surface warming potential of the atmosphere rises by the same amount with every double of CO2 concentration.
Various measurements of atmospheric carbonclick.com/personal-footprint-calculator/ show a fingerprint of fossil fuel combustion and the natural radioactive 14C. These “old” carbon molecules differ from the ones that are produced by living systems. Globally, human activities contribute around 10 billion tonnes of carbon every year, excluding land use changes. Excess carbon is mostly released in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning, although other greenhouse gases are also responsible for warming the planet. The increase in carbon levels was mainly due to human activities.
Permafrost
Permafrost is a type of frozen ground that is found on the Earth’s poles and subarctic regions. It formed during the ice age, when glaciers expanded and contracted, grinding rock into a fine dust known as glacial flour. This permafrost is made up of carbon-rich ice, and it is thought that vast tracts of frozen soil contain 1.7 trillion tonnes of carbon.
Scientists estimate that the permafrost on Earth contains more carbon than all the greenhouse gases released through changes in land use. These gases have a compounding effect on the Earth’s climate. Researchers are concerned that melting permafrost will accelerate the warming process by triggering a vicious cycle whereby the higher the temperature is, the more permafrost thaws and releases even more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As permafrost thaws, new hot-off-press methane is released from the soil and permafrost stores the old methane that is released into the atmosphere.
Volcanic activity
Scientists have debated whether volcanic activity contributes to global warming. Although volcanic gases have cooling properties, they also contain the greenhouse gas CO2. It is unclear whether these two phenomena are linked. Although scientists are hesitant to link volcanic activity with global warming, they stress that volcanic events are not a direct cause of global warming. However, scientists are beginning to realize that they do play an important role. Here are the benefits of volcanoes and their role in global warming.
The first link between volcanic activity and global warming was made by the late Peter Langdon Ward. He had an impressive geophysics career and was 63 at the time. He was working on a study that had recently revealed the presence of volcanic sulphate in the ice and oxygen isotopes indicating warming. These data have been the subject of numerous peer-reviewed publications since then. Volcanic activity and global warming go hand-in-hand, and it is important to understand their relationship.
Water vapour
Global warming causes an increase in atmospheric water vapour because of anthropogenic emissions of methane. The increasing concentration of methane contributes to a shift in atmospheric temperature. Water vapour contributes a substantial amount of warming, but its impact on climate is very small. However, it does contribute to the overall warming process. This feedback loop is cumulative and provides a significant supplement to CO2-induced warming.
However, this feedback is not completely irreversible.
Although CO2 is the main contributor to the greenhouse effect, water vapour is a much smaller factor than it is compared to other greenhouse gases. The former stays in the atmosphere for a day or two before precipitating out. Water vapour and global warming are linked to the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere. Water vapour in the atmosphere has a greater warming effect than CO2, so its effects are not as large.
Human activity
While global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are still unclear about the relationship between human activity and climate change. While anthropogenic warming is a contributing factor, it’s also possible to use standard statistical methods to estimate the extent of the problem. Using the same data, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies has calculated that two-thirds of the world’s warming occurred since 1975. The ten warmest years since 1880 all occurred since 2005.
The doubling of greenhouse gas emissions is a clear example of human activity’s role in global warming. The sun’s energy warms the earth and radiates some of it back into space, which creates an additional layer of greenhouse gases. The link between human activity and global warming has been largely based on climate models that show how tiny human activities create feedback loops that affect the rest of the system. But these models are far from conclusive and are subject to error.