What Exactly is a Greenhouse Gas?
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1 1 What Exactly is a Greenhouse Gas? You may have stood in a greenhouse and felt the heat, but what do greenhouse gases have to do with greenhouses? A greenhouse gas is any gas that absorbs and re-emits heat energy. These gases play a crucial role in the energy balance between the earth and the sun, because the earth s surface emits infrared radiation (another term for heat energy) after being warmed by the sun. There has been controversy within the last few decades concerning carbon dioxide, and its role in contributing to man-made climate change. However, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide have been in the earth s atmosphere since before humans walked the earth. On a geologic timescale, the relative concentration of these gases has allowed for more or less heat to become trapped within the atmosphere at different times. A few decades ago, scientists began to realize that the human contribution of greenhouse gases emitted since the Industrial Revolution may actually be resulting in man-made global warming. The greenhouse gas that much of the climate change debate has focused on is carbon dioxide; however, carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas, and certainly not the most potent. This gas is only at the center of the debate because the huge amounts of fossil fuels that we burn for energy release an even larger amount of carbon dioxide more so than any other greenhouse gas. Other greenhouse gases have caused concern at different points in recent history as well. This document will deliver a broad understanding of the atmospheric processes that greenhouse gases contribute to, as well as raise an awareness of the differences in the greenhouse gases, in order for one to make sound decisions in terms of climate change-related legislation. To expand upon the definition of greenhouse gas given above, this document will cover the greenhouse effect, the different greenhouse gases and their sources, and how these gases contribute to past and present climate change. The Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse gases are important because they trap heat emitted from the earth in a process called the greenhouse effect. This process has been occurring for billions of years on the earth, and occurs on other planets and moons in our solar system as well. Figure 1 shows what happens to energy from the sun after it hits earth. The Greenhouse Effect Figure 1 Showing what happens to energy from the sun as it hits earth s atmosphere. Yellow = All solar radiation; Red = Infrared (thermal) radiation
2 2 The earth constantly experiences this process of heat transfer. The process starts with the sun. The sun emits energy in the form of radiation; this radiation is comprised of many types of radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum, including infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. When this sunlight hits the earth, it either reflects off of the atmosphere, reflects off of the earth s surface, or absorbs into the land and oceans. Then, a portion of the energy from the sunlight that makes it into the earth s surface is later emitted, this time as infrared radiation. Think of infrared radiation as thermal (heat) energy that can be felt on the skin. The infrared radiation that the earth emits either makes it out into space, or is absorbed by a greenhouse gas. The greenhouse gas molecule then re-emits the infrared radiation in a random direction. This results in a buildup of trapped heat that never makes it out of the atmosphere. This process was very important in establishing a climate that life could evolve in. Planets and moons that have little to no atmosphere have huge temperature variations in their day/night cycles. For example, the moon s daytime temperature reaches roughly 250 o F, and the moon s nighttime temperature drops to about -250 o F (1). Earth s greenhouse gases have aided in providing a comfortable, much smaller temperature range for life to evolve. Without earth s greenhouse gases, the average temperature of the earth would be far below the current average of 57 o F. Different Greenhouse Gases Several different greenhouse gases exist, and each one has different characteristics. The gas that most frequently comes to mind when the term greenhouse gas is mentioned is carbon dioxide. However, carbon dioxide is only one of the many gases that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation in the earth s atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are (2): carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide fluorinated gases The three characteristics that determine how much of an impact a particular greenhouse gas will have on earth s climate are potency, duration, and concentration. Potency is a comparison of how well a gas absorbs infrared radiation emitted from the earth in relation to other greenhouse gases. For example, methane is much better at absorbing infrared radiation than carbon dioxide. Duration refers to how long, on average, a molecule of a certain gas will last in the atmosphere before changing into something else. Concentration refers to the amount of the gas is in the atmosphere. When all three of these characteristics are taken into consideration, the relative effect that each of these gases has on the atmosphere can be determined. Combining the first two characteristics potency and duration results in what is known as the global warming potential (GWP) over a given timescale. The global warming potential compares other greenhouse gases to carbon dioxide. Below is a table showing some characteristics of different greenhouse gases (2).
3 3 Greenhouse Gas Formula Duration (years) GWP (100 Man-made Sources year) Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 Petroleum, coal, & gas combustion Methane CH Natural gas leakage, agriculture Nitrous Oxide N 2O Agriculture, petroleum combustion Fluorinated Gases HFCs, PFCs, SF , ,000 Industry production, aerosol propellants, refrigerants, solvents Table 1 Duration, GWP, and man-made sources of various greenhouse gases. Analyzing the GWP of a particular gas is the first step in determining the impact that it has on the atmosphere, but this does not give the whole picture. As shown in the table, carbon dioxide has the least GWP of any greenhouse gas listed. The highest GWP gas, sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6) has a GWP of about 25,000 times that of carbon dioxide over a 100 year period. However, the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere must also be taken into consideration. The following chart shows a breakdown of how much of each gas contributes to the total greenhouse gas emissions from man-made sources. Figure 2 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2012 (2). When all of these factors are considered, each gas s contribution to the greenhouse effect can be determined. For example, although methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide, it turns out that carbon dioxide has more of an effect on the greenhouse effect than methane, because we emit more carbon dioxide. Scientists have done the math and determined that each gas s contribution to the greenhouse effect is as follows: carbon dioxide contributes about 9 26%, methane contributes about 4 9%, and nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases contribute a very small percentage (3). The remainder of the greenhouse effect is caused by water vapor in the atmosphere, and its contribution can vary from about 36% to 72% depending on cloud cover; however, water vapor is naturally part of the water cycle, and human activities do not contribute much to the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere. This is why water vapor is left out of most climate change discussions.
4 4 Climate Change Past and Present Each of these gases have contributed in the past to climate change, and they continue to do so today. Up until the industrial revolution, climate change has been caused by natural cycles in the earth s history. However, after the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide concentrations have reached levels never before seen. Most climatologists agree that the increase in greenhouse gases is directly correlated with an observed increase in temperature that has begun in the last century. Below are two graphs showing average temperature (4) and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere over several decades (5). Figures 3 and 4 Correlation between observed global temperatures (4) and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (5). Similar increases in the other greenhouse gases have also taken place due to human activity. Methane has seen increases due to natural gas production and increased agricultural livestock. Nitrous oxide has also seen increases, but growth in NO 2 emissions has been curbed by coal plant emissions restrictions and environmentally friendly cars and trucks. One interesting historical trend involves CFCs and fluorinated gases. Before the Montreal Protocol was adopted in 1989, dangerously powerful chlorofluorocarbons were being released into the atmosphere during their use as fire retardants, refrigerants, and aerosols. These gases began to destroy the ozone layer, and resulted in a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. The ozone layer is what protects us from the sun s harmful UV rays and without it, skin cancer and cataracts would become widespread and small animals and plants would have trouble reproducing (6). Fluorinated gases are the replacements for these ozone destroying CFCs. Although fluorinated gases are still powerful greenhouse gases, they don t destroy the ozone layer like CFCs did. The ozone layer has been making a comeback ever since the adoption of the protocol. Conclusion Much of the debate on climate change is centered on carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, but this is only because mankind s emissions of the gas have had the largest impact on the greenhouse effect compared to other gases. Other gases, like methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, also contribute to the greenhouse effect. Understanding the greenhouse effect, knowing about the different gases and how each one has a different severity, and being aware of how these gases contribute to
5 5 climate change is crucial when creating legislation that can decrease our emissions. History can serve as a starting point for how to reduce emissions. Phasing out CFCs by replacing them with non-ozone destroying gases is a huge accomplishment of the last half century. However, these gases were a small portion of the overall greenhouse gas emissions, and wide-scale legislation aiming to cut carbon dioxide emissions have had limited success so far. An understanding of greenhouse gases role in climate change is crucial for recognizing the potential impact of future emissions if society remains on the business as usual path.
6 6 Works Cited 1. Williams, David R. "Moon Fact Sheet." National Space Science Data Center. NASA, 25 Apr Web. 23 Oct < 2. "Overview of Greenhouse Gases." Climate Change. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Apr Web. 23 Oct < 3. Kiehl, J. T., and Kevin E. Trenberth. "Earth s Annual Global Mean Energy Budget." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 78.2 (1997): AMS Journals Online. American Meteorological Society. Web. 23 Oct < 4. "Causes of Climate Change." Climate Change. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Mar Web. 23 Oct < 5. Tans, Pieter. "Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide." Earth System Research Laboratory. United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Web. 23 Oct < 6. Handwerk, Brian. "Whatever Happened to the Ozone Hole?" National Geographic News. National Geographic, 5 May Web. 23 Oct < 25-years/>.
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