Atmospheric composition and global climate

The greenhouse effect

What is a greenhouse gas? Why is CO2 a greenhouse gas?

The glass of a greenhouseacts to trap heat by changingthe wavelength of light entering and leaving.

Incoming shortwavelength radiationfrom the sun(=red arrows); some energy is absorbed,some is reflected backinto space as longwavelength radiation (bluearrows) and much is trapped by the atmosphere. Thus, heat builds up.

We know there is a correlation of atmospheric CO2 levels and global temp

CO2 is not the only “greenhouse gas” to fluctuate in the atmosphere over time: methane (CH4) levels over the past 140K

Analyze the methane record:

• Count the number of peaks in the CH4 record that rise above 125ppb above the valleys (minima). Ignore the very brief CH4 valleys, such as the ones between 35,000-40,000ypb. How many individual peaks do you count in the CH4 record?

• Divide the 150,000 year record by the number of peaks you counted to get an estimate of the length of major cycles (peak to peak) in this record = xxx years/cycle

When atmospheric CO2 and CH4 combine:

Peak-matching, cont.

• The record isn’t long enough to test match with the 100,000 yr cycle, but did either the 23,000 or 41,000 cycle match your peak frequency?

• Test your “average cycle length” calculation by overlaying the precession (23,000yr) and tilt (41,000 yr) cycles, i.e., do the “big peaks” in one curve match those in methane?

What does this data mean?

• If both CO2 and CH4 cycling is related, is the cause of this cycling related? (cause and effect)

• If the cycle frequency matches that of the duration of some of the Milankovitch cycles for orbital variation, is this the cause of these cycles?

• If these natural cycles exist, what is our responsibility?

Current conversations revolve around the anthropogenic effectsof increasing atmospheric CO2 levels, however this is a natural process as well (humans have speeded up the whole process!)

A “natural” cause of climate variation: large scale degassing of CO2 into the atmosphere

from the mantle

Is this possibly cyclic as well?

“degassing” refers tothe release of gas dissolved in magma.

Just as a soda bottle fizzes when youopen the top, when you release thepressure on magma, the gassesbubble out.Because each volcano’s magmacomposition is different, so will thespecific gas composition.

.

2 km of basalt flows over500,000km2 erupted inthe Late Cretaceous, between 65-68Ma; prior to erosion the volume of basalt may have been 3x current outcrops

Passage of the Indian plate over a “hot spot”

Artist’s rendition of the gasses (steam, CO2, SO2, CO, etc)that would be emitted into the atmosphere from such a hugeEruption.

Double whammy link to extinctionsBy Paul RinconBBC News Online science staff

The chances that asteroid impacts and huge bouts of volcanism coincide randomly to cause mass extinctions may be greater than previously imagined.

THE SHIVA CRATER: IMPLICATIONS FOR DECCAN VOLCANISM, INDIA-SEYCHELLES RIFTING, DINOSAUR EXTINCTION, AND PETROLEUM ENTRAPMENT AT THE KT BOUNDARYGSA 2003 Seattle Annual Meeting (November 2–5, 2003)

To summarize:

• Many processes control climate on Earth, we know some of these operate on a cyclic basis, some are driven by plate tectonics.

• There is evidence that extreme climate changes have occurred in the geologic past

• We still need to discuss ways in which changes in the biosphere can impact climate.