If you look carefully at the data, you can see that the rate of change of CO2 in
ID: 231777 • Letter: I
Question
If you look carefully at the data, you can see that the rate of change of CO2 in the atmosphere has not been constant over this period of time – it has been increasing. The rate of change observed for the first 20 years, from 1958 to 1978, was approximately 1 ppm/yr. The rate of change for the last 20 years, from 1994 – 2014, has been about ~2 ppm/yr. If we assume the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 400 ppm, about how many years will it take for the level of CO2 in the atmosphere to reach the level typical of the Cretaceous (800 ppm), when dinosaurs roamed the Earth?
The figure below shows the record of monthly-averaged and seasonally-adjusted atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) gas concentrations measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii beginning in 1958 and ending in 2014. Answer the questions below pertaining to these measurements. You might want to have a simple calculator available to help you with these questions.If you look carefully at the data, you can see that the rate of change of CO2 in the atmosphere has not been constant over this period of time – it has been increasing. The rate of change observed for the first 20 years, from 1958 to 1978, was approximately 1 ppm/yr. The rate of change for the last 20 years, from 1994 – 2014, has been about ~2 ppm/yr. If we assume the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 400 ppm, about how many years will it take for the level of CO2 in the atmosphere to reach the level typical of the Cretaceous (800 ppm), when dinosaurs roamed the Earth?
Explanation / Answer
Increase needed in the question = 800 ppm -400 ppm =400 ppm
Considering the present rate of 2 ppm/year increase ,it wil take 400 ppm/(2 ppm/year) = 200 years
Related Questions
drjack9650@gmail.com
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.