Do you have any friends or family members that you would consider an opinion leader on climate change issues? If not, who would you consider as your opinion leader on climate change issues? Describe how they might have shaped how you might think of climate, climate change, or the environment in general. Has this class so far either reinforced your view or changed your view completely?
Please explain in detail five pieces of evidence that show that climate change exists. Give direct references either from the book (page number), the actual source [ preferred; e.g., NASA, NOAA], or the specific slide from the course. Be specific in your answers, and give numerical values.
How do we use proxy methods to determine temperatures over the past millions of years, and what are the shortcomings of these methods?
(8 pts) Please explain in detail how the greenhouse gas effect works, and what role do the greenhouse gases have? What is the difference between the natural greenhouse gas effect and global warming?
(2 pts) Given the Earth’s Energy Balance diagram below, what percentage of the longwave IR radiation that gets emitted back out (via longwave thermal IR energy) to space (from Earth’s surface) gets absorbed by the GHG’s in the atmosphere? Show the correct calculation and state your answer in one sentence.
(5 pts) Given the figure below of Mauna Loa Monthly CO2 Averages, what season in the Northern Hemisphere has the highest CO2 concentrations? What season has the lowest CO2 concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere? Explain the processes in between the maximum and minimum/minimum and maximum CO2 concentrations and why these processes affect atmospheric CO2 concentrations, including what you expect to happen to CO2 concentrations over the upcoming months.
(5 pts) Given the figure below of Daily Global CO2 over the last decade, knowing what you do about atmospheric CO2 and sunlight, explain why the magnitude of the observations at Barrow is quite different from the observations Mauna Loa. Explain what is different about the atmospheric CO2 concentrations at the South Pole in comparison and why you think this occurs. What is the general Global Trend of CO2 concentrations? Explain what the unit ppm means using a specific example from the graph.
Describe two examples of how humans perturb the Carbon Cycle and how each affects the Energy Balance of Earth’s atmosphere.
How do climate scientists know that the combustion of fossil fuels, in particular, is responsible for the increase in carbon dioxide instead of non-human sources such as volcanoes or plants? Clue: I am looking for 3 main points.
Describe in detail the concept of committed warming, and why does it become dangerous if we become complacent about reducing as much greenhouse gas emissions as we can today?