Global Energy Balance

and the Greenhouse Effect

What is the
greenhouse
effect?
 What is the greenhouse effect?
• Greenhouse gases consist of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone,
nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor. Water vapor,
which reacts to temperature changes, is referred to as a 'feedback',
because it amplifies the effect of forces that initially caused the
warming.
• These gas molecules all are made of three or more atoms. The
atoms are held together loosely enough that they vibrate when they
absorb heat. Eventually, the vibrating molecules release the
radiation, which will likely be absorbed by another greenhouse gas
molecule. This process keeps heat near the Earth’s surface. Most of
the gas in the atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen, which cannot
absorb heat and contribute to the greenhouse effect.
• Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s temperature would be below
freezing. It is, in part, a natural process. However, Earth’s
greenhouse effect is getting stronger as we add greenhouse gases to
the atmosphere. That is warming the climate of our planet.
The Earth's atmosphere is composed of a
mixture of gases, with the most abundant
ones being nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2).
•
Not all the greenhouse gases have the same
percentage of greenhouse effect contribution

Carbon dioxide is the major green house gas.

If we ignore the effect of other green house

gases, the increase in carbon dioxide has
contributed about seventy per cent of
enhanced greenhouse effect.

The level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s

atmosphere has been rising consistently for
decades and traps extra heat near Earth's
surface, causing temperatures to rise.

If carbon dioxide were removed, the Earth's

surface temperature would drop significantly,
by approximately 33°C.
 What is the greenhouse effect?
• Scientists have determined that carbon dioxide plays a crucial
role in maintaining the stability of Earth's atmosphere.
• Greenhouse gases are part of Earth's atmosphere. This is why
Earth is often called the 'Goldilocks ‫ "المعتدل‬planet – its
conditions are not too hot or too cold, allowing life to thrive.
Part of what makes Earth so amenable is its natural
greenhouse effect, which maintains an average temperature of
15°C.
• However, human activities from burning fossil fuels that have
led to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere, have disrupted Earth's energy
balance. This has led to an increase in carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere and ocean.
 What is the greenhouse effect?
• Each day the Earth is bathed in sunlight. About half the solar radiation
striking the Earth and its atmosphere is reflected back into space. The
rest is absorbed by the air, water, land and plants. The warmed surface
then emits infrared radiation (heat) back towards the atmosphere

• Instead of allowing all of the emitted infrared radiation to escape back

into space, greenhouse gases trap some of it within the Earth's
atmosphere. This trapped heat warms the atmosphere and the Earth's
surface, creating the greenhouse effect..
• In a greenhouse, visible radiation from the sun passes almost unimpeded
through the glass and is absorbed by the plants and the soil inside. The
thermal radiation that is emitted by the plants and soil is, however,
.
absorbed by the glass that re-emits some of it back into the greenhouse.
The glass thus acts as a radiation blanket helping to keep the greenhouse
warm.
 How much any one greenhouse gas influences
global warming?
The influence of each greenhouse gas on global warming depends on several factors,
including its concentration in the atmosphere, its ability to absorb and re-emit infrared
radiation, and its lifetime.
1. How much of the gas exists in the atmosphere. Concentrations are measured in parts
per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb), or parts per trillion (ppt). For example, 1
ppm for a given gas means that there is one molecule of that gas in every one million
molecules of air.
2. How long the gas remains in the atmosphere, known as its lifetime.
3. How effective the gas is at trapping heat, known as its global warming potential
(GWP) and is a measure of the total energy that a gas absorbs over a given period of
time (usually 100 years), relative to the carbon dioxide that is considered as a
reference gas.
climate forcing, indicates the difference between how much of
the sun’s energy gets absorbed by the earth and how much is
released into space as a result of any one climate driver.

A climate driver with a positive RF value indicates that it has

a warming effect on the planet; a negative value represents
cooling.
Methane emission
• The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is
much less than that of carbon dioxide.
• Methane's lifetime in the atmosphere is much
shorter than carbon dioxide (CO2).
• CH4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than
CO2.
• The greenhouse effect caused by a molecule of
methane is about eight times that of a molecule of
carbon dioxide.
Now we will talk about methane, the second gas after carbon
dioxide, in terms of its contribution to global warming.
Globally-averaged, monthly mean atmospheric methane (CH4)
abundance from 1990 to 2023 (in parts per billion)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1314344/atmospheric-concentration-of-ch4-historic-
monthly/
 Methane Emission
It is a potent greenhouse gas.

Globally, over 60% of total CH4

emissions come from human activities.

Methane is emitted from industry,

agriculture, and waste management
activities.

Smaller sources of methane emission include

termites, oceans, sediments, volcanoes, and
wildfires.
Methane is the main component of natural gas.

Some CH4 is emitted to the atmosphere during the production, processing,

storage, transmission, and distribution of natural gas.
Wetlands are source of
methane emission from
bacteria that decompose
organic materials in the
absence of oxygen.
 Methane Emission
• Domestic livestock such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels
produce large amounts of CH4 through their digestion and wastes.
• Also, when animals' manure is stored or managed, CH4 is produced.
• Because humans raise these animals for food, the emissions are
considered human-related.
• Globally, the agriculture sector is the primary source of CH4
emissions.
 Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
• Nitrous oxide, used as a common anesthetic and known
as laughing gas, is another minor greenhouse gas.
• Its concentration in the atmosphere of about 0.3 ppm is
rising at about 0.25 per year and is about 60% greater
than the pre-industrial times.
• It possess a relatively long atmospheric lifetime of about
115 years.
• This gas has a long residence time, even if emission were
stabilized or reduced, elevated concentrations of nitrous
oxide would persist for at least several decades.
Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere primarily
through human activities, including:

➢ Industrial processes, and combustion of fossil

fuels.

➢ Agricultural activities such as the use of synthetic

fertilizers.
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS)

•Despite their very small concentration compared for

instance, with carbon dioxide, they have a significant
green house effect.
•A CFCs molecule added to the atmosphere has a
greenhouse effect 5 to 10 thousand times greater than a
molecule of carbon dioxide.
•CFC remain for a long time-one or two hundred
years-before being destroyed.
 Ecological Impacts of Global Climate
Change

Melting ice and rising seas Drought

Extreme weather Ecosystem

and shifting rainfall Deterioration
• A great many plants and animals could face difficult
times as the planet warms and its climate shifts.

In fact, if the change in temperature continuous at the

predicted rate:
→ Many species could become extinct.
→ Others could suffer enormous declines in
their populations.
→ A limited number will be able to adapt or
migrate to suitable habitat.
 Global warming affects the abundance and
distribution of disease vectors and infectious diseases
• Global warming has serious implications for infectious
diseases.
• Altitudes too cool to sustain vectors will become more
favorable to them.
• Warmer climates are already causing the spread of insects
that may carry malaria and dengue fever to higher
altitudes and latitudes.
• Global warming will cause changes in the epidemiology of
infectious diseases.
• Changes in the environment may trigger human migration.
• Causing disease patterns to shift.
• Crop failures and food shortage may reduce host resistance
to infections.
 How can we
overcome climate
changes?
 How can we overcome
climate changes?

1- Create social 2- Stop deforestation 3-Plant more trees

awareness on climate change

5-Buy energy efficient 6-Reduce wastage of water

4- Save energy
products and appliances and other natural resources

7- Keep the 8-Respect the environment 9-Keep fossil fuels in

surroundings clean and protect its resources the ground

10- Shift to energy sources free from

significant carbon dioxide emission
Thank you