How does adding extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere cause global warming and relationship between carbon dioxide and the greenhouse effect?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) plays a key role in what's called the greenhouse effect, which is essential for life on Earth. Here's how it works:
- The greenhouse effect: Sun's energy reaches Earth as sunlight, warming the surface. Some of this heat radiates back out towards space. Certain gases in the atmosphere, like CO2, act like a blanket, trapping some of this heat and preventing it from escaping. This natural process keeps Earth warm enough to sustain life.
- Impact of extra CO2: While CO2 is naturally present, human activities like burning fossil fuels release a significant amount of extra CO2 into the atmosphere. This additional CO2 traps more heat, causing the overall temperature of the planet to rise – this is global warming.
Think of it like this: The greenhouse effect is like a greenhouse for plants, keeping things warm inside. Adding more CO2 is like adding another layer of insulation to the greenhouse, trapping even more heat.
Here's some additional info:
- CO2 isn't the only greenhouse gas, but it's one of the most important.
- The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution.
- This increase in CO2 is linked to the observed rise in global temperatures.
Let me know if you'd like to know more about the effects of global warming or ways to reduce CO2 emissions.
Carbon dioxide has the property of trapping the heat provided by sunrays. Higher the level of carbon dioxide, higher is the amount of heat trapped. This results in an increase in the atmospheric temperature, thereby causing global warming. Carbon dioxide is Earth's most important greenhouse gas: a gas that absorbs and radiates heat. Unlike oxygen or nitrogen, greenhouse gases absorb heat radiating from the Earth's surface and re-release it in all directions including back toward Earth's surface. Eventually, the land and oceans will take up most of the extra carbon dioxide, but as much as 20 percent may remain in the atmosphere for many thousands of years. The changes in the carbon cycle impact each reservoir. Excess carbon in the atmosphere warms the planet and helps plants on land grow more. Deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most cars, trucks, ships, and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions. Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean's average pH is now around, which is basic (or alkaline), but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic. Greenhouse gases act similarly to the glass in a greenhouse: they absorb the sun's heat that radiates from the Earth's surface, trap it in the atmosphere and prevent it from escaping into space. The greenhouse effect keeps the Earth's temperature warmer than it would otherwise be, supporting life on Earth. CO2 accounts for about 76 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Methane, primarily from agriculture, contributes 16 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and nitrous oxide, mostly from industry and agriculture, contributes 6 percent to global emissions. Greenhouse gases act similarly to the glass in a greenhouse: they absorb the sun's heat that radiates from the Earth's surface, trap it in the atmosphere and prevent it from escaping into space. The greenhouse effect keeps the Earth's temperature warmer than it would otherwise be, supporting life on Earth. Without carbon dioxide, Earth's natural greenhouse effect would be too weak to keep the average global surface temperature above freezing. By adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect, causing global temperature to rise.
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