In today’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide (CO2) amounts to 400 parts per million (ppm), but it hasn 't always been that high, or low, depending on what we are comparing it to. It is a trace gas that is vital to Earth’s atmosphere and has been around since the creation of Earth’s first atmosphere, which occurred shortly after the planet’s creation. The advent of Earth’s second atmosphere happened when lighter gases such as hydrogen escaped into space or were bound to molecules, leaving gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and other gases that were the product of volcanism to make up the majority of the atmosphere. This volcanic activity was fueled by gases that came to Earth following the “late heavy bombardment of huge asteroids”. Following …show more content…
Leading up to the present, levels of CO2 have fluctuated due to geochemical processes such suspension of the gas in sediment, silicate rock weathering, and volcanism. Also, human activity plays a large part in carbon deposition into the atmosphere predominantly through the burning of fossil fuels and the cultivation of livestock. On a drastically larger time-scale the carbon cycle is ever so slightly reducing atmospheric CO2 , which will ultimately bring the concentration down near zero, causing all life on the planet to be wiped out. The carbon cycle, including both terrestrial and aquatic processes, is the foundation under which photosynthesis is possible. Aside from the carbon cycle, CO2 is a key element in many other natural processes and phenomena such as the “Greenhouse Effect” and “Global Warming”. After the advent of the second atmosphere, the atmosphere “had ~100 times as much gas as the current atmosphere”, which contained a large amount of CO2 which is believed to have kept the Earth from freezing over. Over the next few billion years the water vapor condensed to form oceans and rain that started to absorb CO2. Eventually 50% of the carbon in the atmosphere would end up suspended in the ocean. This caused ocean acidification, which is the decrease in the pH level of the ocean. Plate tectonics played a large role in the gradual evolution of the atmosphere “by transferring carbon dioxide to and from large
The rapidly increasing amount of carbon dioxide may be one of the factors that cause climate change. As Hillman states, “Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are increasing, and have done so since the Industrial Revolution.” An atmospheric CO2 concentration, research shows that there is a dramatic increase from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1750 to 373 ppm in 2002, a rise of the third. Furthermore, the linear chart demonstrated the trend of annual global CO2
Over the years Carbon Dioxide has been significantly increasing from human activity. CO2 has a concentration of about 400 ppmv (parts per million volume). Its concentration in the atmosphere was about 280 ppmv before the Industrial Revolution, now it has increased immensely to about 380 ppmv in 2006. Many have said Carbon Dioxide has been the main reason or cause of global warming; saying that if we produce too much of this greenhouse gas it can create a global climate change. Even though carbon dioxide affects the temperature of the atmosphere it also affects the acidity of water specifically in the ocean.
Main Point - Despite the fact that a specific amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) happens naturally in the Earth's atmosphere, there are many human activities that boost the levels of the greenhouse gases causing it to be harmful to Earth`s climate.
The result is that humans are adding ever-increasing amounts of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Because of this, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are higher today than they have been over the last half-million years or longer.
The overwhelming majority (97%) of carbon dioxide in the earth 's atmosphere comes from nature, not from man. Volcanoes, swamps, rice paddies, fallen leaves, and even insects and bacteria produce carbon dioxide, as well as methane. According to the journalScience (Nov. 5, 1982), termites alone emit ten times more carbon dioxide than all the factories and automobiles in the world. Natural wetlands emit more greenhouse gases than all human activities combined. (If greenhouse warming is such a problem, why are we trying to save all the wetlands?) Geothermal activity in Yellowstone National Park emits ten times the carbon dioxide of a midsized coal-burning power plant, and volcanoes emit hundreds of times more. In fact, our atmosphere 's composition is primarily the result of volcanic activity. There are about 100 active volcanoes today, mostly in remote locations, and we 're living in a period of relatively low volcanic activity. There have been times when volcanic activity was ten times greater than in modern times. But by far the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions is the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It produces 72% of the earth 's emissions of carbon dioxide, and the rest of the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the other oceans also contribute. The human contribution is overshadowed by these far larger sources of carbon dioxide. Combining the factors of water vapor and nature 's production of carbon dioxide, we
Climate change or colloquially known as global warming, now pose a new threat to civilization as the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) are soaring to new levels. The most significant contributor to greenhouse gasses would be Carbon Dioxide (Co2). The levels of Carbon Dioxide (Co2) gas have risen to levels civilization has not seen before. As such, the effects of these levels are not known to civilization as data gathered from the ice cores drilled in the Antarctica only shows data up to 650,000 years ago. However we can conclude that present CO2 concentrations are higher compared to any time in the last 650,000 years (IPCC 2007). Current carbon dioxide concentrations are hovering around 389 parts per million (ppm) as of September 2011,
What are all the sources of the increasing concentrations of CO2 in the last century?
Values higher than today have occurred only millions of years ago due to massive forcing acting at a global scale, such as the immense and ‘sudden’ (from a geological perspective) release of methane-clathrates of 55 million years ago which drove CO2 concentrations up to 2000 ppm (marking the onset of an era, the Eocene period). According to most observations and climate models available today, current concentrations cannot be justified by natural causes alone without considering human influence. The annual average concentration growth rate of CO2 was larger during the last decade (1, 9 ppm) than it has been since 1960, when continuous direct atmospheric measurements begun (1, 4 ppm per year, although with year-to-year variability). Specifically,
Scientists have come up with some observations to support this theory, as follows scientists believe that most of the carbon dioxide which is trapped in the atmosphere is caused by human activities such as using cars, planes and electricity which allows it to lead to emission of very harmful gasses into the atmosphere. Before humans existed, the temperature of the Earth increased as it began to age only which took a very long time, however since humans existed the process of temperature rising on the Earth has sped up. Factors such as deforestation has also affected the temperature of the Earth as loss of trees release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which also affects plants and trees which use that emitted carbon
The carbon cycle on Earth is essentially how all organisms maintain life on our planet. According to the article “The Carbon Cycle and The Earth’s Climate,” carbon is stored inside our Earth and is released in our atmosphere, plants then combine this element with sunlight and water to go through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis allows plants to form carbohydrates that store energy and this energy is later used to carry out life functions. Photosynthesis is also responsible for other organisms to carry out their life functions as well because the byproduct it produces is oxygen. The carbon cycle is not only accountable for making byproducts that organisms need to live, it is also responsible for maintaining the climate on the planet. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps infrared radiation heat in our atmosphere, it maintains temperatures on Earth so that it never gets too cold or too hot for organisms to maintain life (Columbia University). The Carbon Cycle is responsible for maintaining temperatures on our planet but it does need help from living organisms to aid with the process. According to the article “What are Phytoplankton,” organisms such as Phytoplankton are responsible for the transfer of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere to our oceans, Phytoplankton take CO2 from the atmosphere absorb it and either get eaten by other organisms or fall to the ocean floor. This process takes greenhouse gasses from our atmosphere and puts it in the depths of our
“CO2 gas emissions” is a mystical term which everyone should pay attention to. C02 gas is a colorless, odorless gas that is present in the atmosphere and is formed when any fuel containing carbon is burned. Plants and trees are using it in the process of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also used in refrigeration, fire extinguishers, and carbonated drinks. In other words this is the gas we need to fight with! By using fossil fuels in almost everything we do, we make a huge cloud of gas and this is warming up the world. By doing this, we cause serious damage to the nature and we may have an irreversible effect on it and the future.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes
Co2 has been helping us, and in no way is causing us any major problems. Co2 is a great airborne fertilizer, which as it’s concentration grows, causes additional plant growth, and causes plants to need less water. Without co2, there would be no plant life on earth, and we all know how much we need them. The additional 120 ppm
The world continuously faces a variety of threats every day, from natural disasters to terrorist, but one threat that society predominately contributes to all on their own, is climate change. There are many feasible explanations for the global threat of climate change. These explanations include but are not limited to, the act of deforestation to the rainforest and other trees, green house gas emissions, and sulfate aerosol, which cause poor air quality.
Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas naturally found in the atmosphere. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, humans have devised many inventions that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases, which, along with other human activities such as clearing land for agriculture or urban settlements, help some of these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere that in turn trap more heat radiation in the atmosphere causing the Earth’s climate to become warmer than it would naturally (Mastrandrea). This unnatural phenomenon is termed global warming by scientists and they blame it for an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last 100 years (Mastrandrea).