Rising heat and Carbon Dioxide levels

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It’s almost April and the Sun will be directly above our country in a couple of days. Have you ever felt that may be this time the heat is more intense than how it used to be? Have we moved closer to the sun? You would tell me not to be silly. But something is wrong and we all feel that.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA, last month was the hottest February and had the most unusual warmth for any month on record. They also announced together with NASA, that 2015, last year, passed the record set by the previous year for the global surface temperature, by 0.29ﹾF .(which is the highest margin by which one year  surpassed another).So the figures speak for themselves while the heat is pinching on us.

Left: 2015 is recorded as the warmest year since record keeping began in 1880s. 15 of the warmest years now have occurred since 2001. Right, bottom: Surface temperature of the world in 1880s. Source: http://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb infrared rays emitted by the Earth and re-emit it. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 20% of the Earth’s greenhouse effect; water vapour accounts for about 50%, clouds for 25% and the rest by methane and other aerosol particles. Carbon dioxide as a gas provides the initial greenhouse temperature to produce water vapour, which is an element of the water cycle. If Carbon dioxide levels drop, a part of the water vapour mass will condense and return to the oceans and the greenhouse effect will reduce. Then the temperatures will drop. Likewise, if the Carbon dioxide levels increase, it will lead to a dramatic increase in the surface temperatures, which is already happening.

The annual growth rate of CO2 in the atmosphere is measured by the NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. In 2015, it was observed to have increased by 3.05 ppm. This is in fact an explosion of CO2 released to the atmosphere, compared to the past hundreds and thousands of years. This is the 4th consecutive year to have an increase more than 2ppm. According to the NOAA, in February 2016, the average global atmospheric CO2 was 402.59 ppm. However, the atmospheric CO2 had averaged to about 280 ppm before the 1800s.

The graph shows the recent monthly measures of CO2, as measured by the Mauna Loa laboratory. The dashed red line shows the monthly mean values centered on the middle of each month. The black line shows the same after correction for the average seasonal cycle. Source: http://esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/

 

 

About 30% of the Carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere is dissolved in the ocean. This produces Carbonic acid, increasing the acidity of the water. As the pH of the oceans drop, it affects the marine life. Carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions to form bicarbonate ions. This limits the availability of carbonate ions to the shelled marine organisms. The increased carbonic acid will also cause the dissolving of calcium carbonate with which the animal shells and rocks are formed. The reaction will allow more CO2 to be dissolved in the water. This will worsen the conditions in the long run. Increased CO2 emissions are favorable for the sea grasses and phytoplankton that photosynthesize. Most of the living organisms are affected adversely by the growing CO2 levels.

The main ingredient for photosynthesis is CO2. When it is available in plenty, the rate of photosynthesis increases. Plant growth improves. About 25% of the CO2 released by man is used by these plants. Carbon dioxide alone cannot improve plant growth, as there are many other factors that contribute to it. Wildfires on the other hand destroy acres of forests, adding more Carbon to the atmosphere.These fires could be man made or natural. The heating of the soil would release carbon dioxide trapped in the soil. At the higher latitudes, permafrost or the frozen ground contains tons of CO2 and methane, (both of which are greenhouse gases) that would result in a dramatic increase of temperature if released.

Carbon dioxide is not our enemy. It makes life possible on Earth. So far, the life has sustained because of CO2 that has accumulated in the atmosphere for thousands of years.  It is the most important gas in the atmosphere that controls the temperature. Without Carbon dioxide this planet would be freezing cold at about -18ﹾ C. However, excess CO2 could drive up the atmospheric heat to unbearable levels of around 400ﹾC.

The issue is that, the Carbon dioxide levels that have supported life for many millions of years on Earth are not stable anymore. They are increasing at a rapid speed, now that scientists are claiming it to be an explosion of Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

 
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