Download Greenhouse Gases Environmental Science Name

Greenhouse Gases
Environmental Science
Name: _________________________________________________ Period: _______ Date: ___________
Essential Question: What are the gases that cause greenhouse effects?
Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human
expansion of the "greenhouse effect"
Greenhouse effect is the warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth
toward space.
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
1. Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the
climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds
and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse
effect.
2. Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is
released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human
activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased
atmospheric CO2 concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most
important long-lived "forcing" of climate change.
3. Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including
the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant
digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule
basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less
abundant in the atmosphere.
4. Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of
commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
5. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds of entirely of industrial origin used in a number of
applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international
agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer.
The consequences of atmospheric greenhouse are difficult to predict, but certain effects seem likely:
a. On average, Earth will become warmer. Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation
and precipitation ( rain, snow, sleet, hail). This means stronger storms.
b. A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice,
increasing sea level. More freshwater, from the melted ice, added to seawater causes the oceans and
seas to be less saline or salty.
 The lowering of the oceans and seas’ salinity results to extinction of several marine species.
Marine organisms are adapted to their natural environment.
 The global climate is greatly influenced by the convection current in the oceans and seas. The
lowering of the ocean salinity increases the speed of the ocean’s convection current resulting to
global climate change.
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Clarifying Questions:
1. What is the greenhouse effect?
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2. What is the most abundant greenhouse gas?
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3. How are clouds and precipitation affected by the warm atmosphere? Think!
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4. How is carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere?
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5. How is the “Industrial Revolution” and greenhouse related? Think!
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6. What is methane?
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7. Which is more active greenhouse gas methane or carbon dioxide?
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8. How is nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere?
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9. What are Chlorofluorocarbons?
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10. Why did they regulate the use of CFCs? Think!
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11. What are the five greenhouse gases?
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12. What are the effects of warmer conditions?
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13. What are the different types of precipitation?
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14. How are the oceans and seas affected by the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps?
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15. How are marine species affected by the lowering of the oceans and seas’ salinity?
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16. What influence the global climate?
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17. How do greenhouse gases lead to “Global climate change”? Think! ( 10 pts.)
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