Aha! Chemistry with Prof Bob
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  • NAVIGATION
    • Table of contents
    • Index
    • TALK WITH PROF BOB?
  • LEARNING MODULES
    • Chapter 02 Stuff, matter: What is it? >
      • 0200 Stuff, matter: A theory of atoms
      • 0201 Atoms: The building blocks of all stuff
      • 0202 People classifying stuffs. Why?
    • Chapter 05 Chemical reactions, chemical equations >
      • 0500 Chemical reactions vs. chemical equations. Overview
      • 0501 Chemical amount and its unit of measurement, mole
      • 0502 The Avogadro constant: How many is that?
      • 0503 The Avogadro constant: Why is it that number?
      • 0504 Chemical formulas: What can they tell us??
      • 0505 Chemical equations: What can they tell us?
      • 0506 Limiting reactants: How much reaction can happen?
      • 0507 Balanced chemical equations: What are they?
      • 0508 Chemical reactions as competitions
    • Chapter 09 Aqueous solutions >
      • 0901 What is a solution? And what is not?
      • 0902 Miscibility of liquids in each other
      • 0903 Like dissolves like? Shades of grey
      • 0905 Dissolution of ionic salts in water: A competition
      • 0906 Can we predict solubilities of salts?
      • 0907 Solution concentration
      • 0908 Chemical species, speciation in aqueous solution
      • 0909 Solutes: Electrolytes or non-electrolytes?
      • 0910 Electrolytes - strong or weak?
      • 0911 Concentrated, dilute, strong, weak
      • 0912 Species concentration vs. solution concentration
      • 0913 Weak electrolytes: Getting quantitative
    • Chapter 11: Dynamic chemical equilibrium >
      • 1100 Dynamic chemical equilibrium: Overview
      • 1101 Visualising dynamic chemical equilibrium
      • 1102 The jargon of chemical equilibrium
      • 1103 Equilibrium constants: The law of equilibrium
      • 1104 The law of equilibrium: an analogy
    • Chapter 22 Spectroscopy >
      • 2200 Spectroscopy: Overview and preview
      • 2201 Quantisation of forms of energy
      • 2202 Light: Wave-particle "duality"
      • 2203 Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
      • 2204 Beer’s law: How much light is transmitted?
    • Chapter 27 The greenhouse effect, climate change >
      • 2700 The greenhouse effect: overview
      • 2701 Is Earth in energy balance?
      • 2702 CO2 in the atmosphere before 1800
      • 2703 So little CO2! Pffft?
      • 2704 Does CO2 affect Earth's energy balance?
      • 2705 The "greenhouse effect"
      • 2706 Why does CO2 absorb radiation from Earth?
      • 2707 The "enhanced greenhouse effect"
      • 2708 Why doesn't CO2 absorb the radiation from the sun?
      • 2709 Why are N2 and O2 not greenhouse gases?
      • 2710 Doesn't water vapour absorb all the IR?
      • 2711 Carbon dioxide from our cars
      • 2712 The source of energy from combustion
      • 2713 Comparing fuels as energy sources
      • 2714 Methane: How does it compare as a GHG?
      • 2715 Different sorts of pollution of the atmosphere
      • 2716 "Acidification" of seawater
    • Chapter 27 Communicating chemistry >
      • 2700 Overview, preview
      • 2703 The jargon we use
  • TEACHERS' CORNER
    • T01 Communicating chemistry
    • T02 Beer's law
    • T03 Professional amnesia of the chemistry teaching professio
    • T04 Law of equilibrium
    • T05 Visusalizing dynamic chemical equilibrium
    • Information vs. knowledge
  • PERSONAL GALLERY
    • Family
    • Travel
    • Playful dolphins
    • The University of Western Australia
    • Kings Park
    • Perth
    • At work
    • 999 Thermodynamics
Module 2707



​

The “enhanced greenhouse effect”

How much has the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution?
​

So what?
​

In the beginning .....

It is 1800 (not quite the beginning). Carbon dioxide has been in our atmosphere forever. So too has been the greenhouse effect (Module 2705 The “greenhouse effect”).

For centuries the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been fairly consistent at about 275 ppm. At this level, the greenhouse effect controls the average temperature at the surface of Earth at about + 15 °C, which is 33 °C higher than if there were no carbon dioxide (Module 2704 Does carbon dioxide affect Earth’s energy balance?).

Carbon dioxide is good!
​
The industrial era arrives .....

In return for the benefits that we have enjoyed from the industrial era, is there a payoff coming? During this period, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically – although it could still be considered low (42 carbon dioxide molecules in every 100 000 molecules in the air).
 
Picture
Carbon dioxide concentrations 1760 - 2020. Carbon dioxide concentrations have been measured directly at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, since 1958. Data before 1958 are derived from gases trapped in ice.
The mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has now reached 421 ppm – a massive 50% increase over the past couple of centuries.

​

Just natural variation?
​

Some people say, dismissively .....
​
Picture
“The carbon dioxide concentration has been high before! No problem.”
They should stop trying to confuse the voters ....
​

Picture
For the past 800 000 years, the carbon dioxide concentration has not exceeded 300 ppm – the same as it was in 1950. It is now 421 ppm. Graph courtesy of NASA.
There is no doubt. Ignore the discombobulators.


​

A link: Carbon dioxide concentration and temperature
​

Since carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is responsible for warming of the surface of Earth (the “greenhouse effect”) we should expect that increasing concentrations will lead to still higher temperatures.
​
Picture
There is an evident link between the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the higher global temperatures.
Since increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide are enhancing global temperatures, this phenomenon is called the “enhanced greenhouse effect”. This refers to the increase in global temperature due to increasing carbon dioxide concentration since the pre-industrial era.
 

There has always been the “greenhouse effect” – natural and beneficial to life – with carbon dioxide being the good guy. Now we are experiencing the “enhanced greenhouse effect” – leading to many potential problems facing the human race. Is our perception of carbon dioxide deservedly changing from “good” to “bad”.

Of course, these problems cannot be attributed to carbon dioxide. The fault lies with human beings. Us.

 

​
Is the link scientifically proven?
​

Some people say ....
​

Picture
“Scientists can’t agree on Earth’s temperature changes, so it is all a fraud.”
Yeah well ….
​

Picture
Here’s what “disagreement” looks like! The four sets of data are measurements, obtained by different methods, from four different high-level research institutions in various countries.
An analogy would be if two different international astronomers have simultaneously, but independently, identified a previously unknown exoplanet. One publishes an estimate that it is 195 742 light years from Earth, but the other has estimated that it is 195 751 light years away.

​Do we conclude that they don’t agree, so their findings are untrustworthy – so let’s not believe anything they say?
 
There is no doubt.

 
And just for interest .....
​

You may have noticed the wavy values in the concentrations in the graph of increasing carbon dioxide concentrations since direct analyses have been carried out. Let’s have a closer look …..
​

Picture
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has one maximum, and one minimum, each year.
Zooming in further, to the past few years .....
​

Picture
The data points on the red line are month-by-month measurements. After a maximum each March-April, concentrations begin to decrease each May, bottoming out each November before increasing again. Hawaii is in the Northern hemisphere.
Can you explain that natural phenomenon?
​

Picture
LEARNING CHEMISTRY FOR UNDERSTANDING
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  • HOME
  • NAVIGATION
    • Table of contents
    • Index
    • TALK WITH PROF BOB?
  • LEARNING MODULES
    • Chapter 02 Stuff, matter: What is it? >
      • 0200 Stuff, matter: A theory of atoms
      • 0201 Atoms: The building blocks of all stuff
      • 0202 People classifying stuffs. Why?
    • Chapter 05 Chemical reactions, chemical equations >
      • 0500 Chemical reactions vs. chemical equations. Overview
      • 0501 Chemical amount and its unit of measurement, mole
      • 0502 The Avogadro constant: How many is that?
      • 0503 The Avogadro constant: Why is it that number?
      • 0504 Chemical formulas: What can they tell us??
      • 0505 Chemical equations: What can they tell us?
      • 0506 Limiting reactants: How much reaction can happen?
      • 0507 Balanced chemical equations: What are they?
      • 0508 Chemical reactions as competitions
    • Chapter 09 Aqueous solutions >
      • 0901 What is a solution? And what is not?
      • 0902 Miscibility of liquids in each other
      • 0903 Like dissolves like? Shades of grey
      • 0905 Dissolution of ionic salts in water: A competition
      • 0906 Can we predict solubilities of salts?
      • 0907 Solution concentration
      • 0908 Chemical species, speciation in aqueous solution
      • 0909 Solutes: Electrolytes or non-electrolytes?
      • 0910 Electrolytes - strong or weak?
      • 0911 Concentrated, dilute, strong, weak
      • 0912 Species concentration vs. solution concentration
      • 0913 Weak electrolytes: Getting quantitative
    • Chapter 11: Dynamic chemical equilibrium >
      • 1100 Dynamic chemical equilibrium: Overview
      • 1101 Visualising dynamic chemical equilibrium
      • 1102 The jargon of chemical equilibrium
      • 1103 Equilibrium constants: The law of equilibrium
      • 1104 The law of equilibrium: an analogy
    • Chapter 22 Spectroscopy >
      • 2200 Spectroscopy: Overview and preview
      • 2201 Quantisation of forms of energy
      • 2202 Light: Wave-particle "duality"
      • 2203 Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
      • 2204 Beer’s law: How much light is transmitted?
    • Chapter 27 The greenhouse effect, climate change >
      • 2700 The greenhouse effect: overview
      • 2701 Is Earth in energy balance?
      • 2702 CO2 in the atmosphere before 1800
      • 2703 So little CO2! Pffft?
      • 2704 Does CO2 affect Earth's energy balance?
      • 2705 The "greenhouse effect"
      • 2706 Why does CO2 absorb radiation from Earth?
      • 2707 The "enhanced greenhouse effect"
      • 2708 Why doesn't CO2 absorb the radiation from the sun?
      • 2709 Why are N2 and O2 not greenhouse gases?
      • 2710 Doesn't water vapour absorb all the IR?
      • 2711 Carbon dioxide from our cars
      • 2712 The source of energy from combustion
      • 2713 Comparing fuels as energy sources
      • 2714 Methane: How does it compare as a GHG?
      • 2715 Different sorts of pollution of the atmosphere
      • 2716 "Acidification" of seawater
    • Chapter 27 Communicating chemistry >
      • 2700 Overview, preview
      • 2703 The jargon we use
  • TEACHERS' CORNER
    • T01 Communicating chemistry
    • T02 Beer's law
    • T03 Professional amnesia of the chemistry teaching professio
    • T04 Law of equilibrium
    • T05 Visusalizing dynamic chemical equilibrium
    • Information vs. knowledge
  • PERSONAL GALLERY
    • Family
    • Travel
    • Playful dolphins
    • The University of Western Australia
    • Kings Park
    • Perth
    • At work
    • 999 Thermodynamics