I had posted this before and the answer was very crappy. Please post a well deta
ID: 106646 • Letter: I
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I had posted this before and the answer was very crappy. Please post a well detailed answer to each point as this is a 700 word essay.
Please be as detailed and in depth as possible Explain the issues of Climate Change. In your essay, include discussions of: a) greenhouse gases, comparing Earth to Venus and Mars b) the Keeling Curve, extrapolated back 800,000 years c) ice ages, including the one we're in now d) sea level: past, present and future e) ocean acidification f) methane released from permafrost and ocean floorExplanation / Answer
a. Venus size is about 95% of the size of the earth. Like the earth it also has rocky crust with a core of iron nickel. The atmosphere of the Venus is thick and is consists of mainly CO2(96%), 3.5% nitrogen and 0.5% other gases. Since there is abundance of the CO2 is a powerful greenhouse gas. The trapping of the heat by the greenhouse makes the surface of the Venus hotter. The surface temperature of the Venus is about 737 K. Originally Venus was cooler as compared to its present. Also about several billion years ago it had abundance of water vapour and its CO2 was mostly locked up in the rocks. Since Venus was closer to the sun than earth, Venus was heated to its present level through a process known as runaway greenhouse effect. As venus was heated some of the CO2 which was locked in the rock surface releases. Increase of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere resulted in further heating of the Venus surface which in turn releases more carbon dioxide out of the rocks and a process of positive feedback loop occurs.
Mars has a thin atmosphere and is about 1% of the mass of the earth's atmosphere. It is composed mainly about 95% CO2, 3% nitrogen, 2% argon and less than 1% oxygen. Since there are high noble gases in the Mars which indicates that the Mars atmosphere was much thicker in the past than the present. Due to its thin atmosphere the climate on Mars is desert like. The atmosphere is too thin to hold the heat so the daytime temperatures are warmest about 50 degree F and the nighttime temperatures which can reach about -170 degree F. There is existence of liquid water in the past. But now the temperature of the Mars is too cold to retain liquid water and all the H20 is now frozen into permafrost soil and subsurface reservoirs.
c. We are presently in an ice age since the past 2 million years. The earth's cycle has gone through 8 distinct cycles of climate and each cycle is approximately of 1,00,000 year duration since the past 8,000,000 years. Each cycle begins with glacial ice build up ending with period of interglacial in which glacial ice melts and the warmer climates prevail. Each cycle of interglacial was about 10,000 years period. At the present time, glaciers cover an area of about 6 million of the year of the earth. The glaciers are mainly situated in the Northern hemisphere. The greenland and Antartica are the biggest continental glaciers on the earth.
d. The sea level is not constant and always changes in response to the climate. When there is glacial ice, the water becomes trapped in the form of ice and hence sea level becomes lower whereas during the interglacial period when glacial ice melts the sea level becomes higher. During the last 8,000,000 years the sea level has risen and fallen several times in response to the climate change. During the last interglacial period about 125,000 years ago the sea level was 120 m higher than present day.
e. When carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere and dissolves into the ocean through the process of rainwater falling on the land surface and the ocean which results in acidification of the ocean. Since the carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased in the atmosphere and also in the ocean. This increase in ocean acidification disturbs the ph balance of the ocean and is harmful for the marine animals. The acidification corrodes the shell of the marine organisms and also causing reproductive disorders in some fishes. Shell forming organisms like corals, oysters, shrimps, planktonic organisms, lobsters and some fishes are seriously affected by this increased ocean acidification. Currently ocean absorb about 22 millions a day of CO2 mainly emitted due to human actions.
f. There are huge amount of methane is stored in the world's ocean in the form of methane hydrates. These methane hydrates contain a large amount of energy. These hydrates destablize during the climate change which causes release of large amount of methane into the atmosphere. Methane being a potent greenhouse gas and traps 30 times more heat than the carbon dioxide. The release of methane from the permafrost and the ocean can cause trap the heat fast and results in global warming of the earth's surface at a much faster rate than the CO2 which is a cause of a concern. There has been cases of leaking of methane from the permafrost or the permanent frozen soil of the Yamal peninsula of Siberia which could trigger global warming.
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