W7i7

In a previous post , I discussed why most discussions about the climate crisis revolve around CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere. A short recap: the climate is changing because the concentrations of Green House Gases ( GHG s) in the atmosphere is increasing at a dangerous pace. The top GHG of concern is CO 2 , but there are many other GHGs in focus such as CH 4 (methane) and N 2 O (nitrous oxide). The Keeling Curve shows CO 2  concentrations in the atmosphere. It is maintained by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego (UCSD). It can be freely accessed here . For example, here is the Keeling Curve for the week ending March 19, 2020. Source Pretty unimpressive, huh? There doesn't seem to much information to be gleaned out of it -- no obvious pattern or events. One thing we can notice is that the y-axis is in units of ppm or parts per million. A concentration of 415 ppm means that there are 415 parts (say, molecules) of  CO 2  p...

In a previous post , I discussed how an increase in the concentration of some Green House Gases (GHGs) is leading to an increase in global temperatures, leading to climate change. While the previous post deal generally within a wide ambit, this post focuses on one particular concept - the Green House Gases. Most discussions of climate change revolve around CO 2 concentrations. Why? CO 2  is not the only GHG There are at least 20 known GHGs. These include water vapour (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), ozone (O 3 ), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), among others. All of these gases have the ability to absorb radiation in that particular band of wavelength which causes them to trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists monitor the concentrations of all these gases in the atmosphere. CO 2  is not the most abundant GHG Water vapour is! However, water vapour concentrations are (a) natural, (b) difficult to "control" and ...