Climate Change It’s all about carbon

What I need to know to understand climate

Structure of the atmosphere Heat-trapping gases The greenhouse effect

Structure of the Atmosphere

Earth’s atmosphere is 372 miles thick (small compared to the size of the earth)

Divided into four layers based on temperature (troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere,)

Weather happens in troposphere = layer closest to the earth

Troposphere is the densest layer, holds 80% of water vapor

http://eo.ucar.edu/staff/rrussell/atmosphere/images/mesosphere_diagram_big.jpg

OZONE

HIPPO

The atmosphere

Atmosphere = the thin layer of gases that surrounds Earth › Absorbs radiation and moderates climate› Transports and recycles water and nutrients› 78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, 1% other

gases› Its four layers differ in temperature, density and

composition

Minute concentrations of permanent (remain at stable concentrations) and variable gases (varying concentrations)

Human activity is changing the amounts of some gases

The atmosphere’s composition

What is a greenhouse gas?

Turn to a partner and make a list of greenhouse gases

Greenhouse Gases = Heat trapping Gases

CO2 GAS carbon dioxide H2O VAPOR water vapor

(humidity) CH4 GAS methane

Heat trapping Gases (are they all the same?)

Gas   Global Warming Factor

Concentration parts (ppb*)

Carbon Dioxide CO2

1 379,000

Methane CH4

21 1,760

Nitrous Oxide N2O

310 320

Chlorofluorocarbons CFCs

5,000 to 14,000 Less than 1

Ppb = parts per billion

Water vapor (H2O) is a very powerful heat trapping gas

The Greenhouse Effect - Atmosphere

http://www.sciencebuzz.org/sites/all/files_static/global_warming/greenhouse_effect.gif

http://www.ecoslopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/greenhouse-effect-solutions-300x225.jpg

The atmosphere = without it, the Earth’s temperature would be much colder

Earth’s atmosphere, clouds, land, ice, and water absorb 70% of incoming solar radiation

WHAT IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?

SUN- Energy BudgetW/m2

Turn to your neighbor and spend 2 minutes explaining what you see.

It’s all about carbon

npr video clip on carbon

Over the past 425,000 years, cool periods have coincided with times when the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere was lower. When there is less CO2 in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect is reduced and the world cools.The blue and red line indicates the variation in average global temperature compared with the 1961–1990 average. The green line shows the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. (Pay close attention to the right-hand edge of the graph.)This graph shows four eras when the world was cooler than it is today. These are separated by brief warm periods, like the one we are now in.

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The carbon cycle

How much is going into the atmosphere?arbon cycle

Living sources and sinks of CO2

During respiration, energy stored in a glucose is used to perform cellular activities.

sugar + oxygen CO2 + water + energy (to do work)

During photosynthesis, energy from the sun converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose, an energy source. Oxygen is a byproduct of this process.

water + CO2 + solar energy sugar + oxygen

Modeling the carbon cycle

Student representsBall of yarn

represents

Sources and sinksCarbon

RULESNo one can get the ball twice

until everyone has had it at least once.

Tracking carbonWhere it started

Where it went

How it got there

CO2 Emissions by country

CO2 Emissions by Activity

Journal Prompt

Write a short story from the perspective of a carbon atom as it travels through the carbon cycle. List the places you travel and how you move from place to place until you return to where you started.