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International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064
Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012
www.ijsr.net
Main Physical Causes of Climate Change and
Global Warming - A General Overview
Biplab Das1
, Utpal Khara2
, Aditya Bandyopadhyay3
1
Research Scholar (PhD), Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, Kolkata
bddasbiplab@gmail.com
2
Research Scholar (PhD), University of Calcutta
3
Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, Kolkata
Abstract: The signs of global warming are becoming ever more prominent, casual observers of the media in the India. Weather changes
all the time. It is highly dynamic in nature. The average pattern of weather, called climate, usually remains uniform for centuries if it is
left to itself. However, the Earth is not being left alone. People are taking multi-dimensional actions that are gradually changing the
morphology, physiology, and anatomy of the planet Earth and its climate in large scale. The single human activity that is most likely to
have a large impact on the climate is the burning of "fossil fuels" such as coal, oil and gas. Citizens are in denial about climate change,
refusing to take responsibility for controlling their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that
cause global warming. Although it is true that the federal government remains stalemated on how to deal with climate change, the
notion that no climate action is taking place in this country is erroneous. The most intriguing story is what has been happening in state
legislatures, at city council meetings, and in corporate boardrooms, as well as on college campuses, in community groups, and in a
range of other local settings. Across the nation, numerous climate action programs are moving aggressively to reduce emissions of
GHGs. It is rare that a week goes by without the announcement of a new initiative among recent clippings.
Keywords: Weather, climate, multi-dimensional, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases
1. Introduction
The single human activity that is most likely to have a
large impact on the climate is the burning of "fossil fuels"
such as coal, oil and gas. These fuels contain carbon.
Burning them liberates carbon dioxide gas in the
atmosphere. Since the early 1800s, when people began
burning large amounts of coal and oil, the amount of
carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere has increased by
nearly 30%, and average global temperature appears to
have risen between 1° and 2°F. This increment of
temperature [10] is keenly related to the basic property of
the gas. Carbon dioxide gas traps solar heat in the
atmosphere, partly in the same way as glass traps solar
heat in a sunroom or a greenhouse. For this reason, carbon
dioxide is sometimes called a "greenhouse gas." As more
carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere, solar heat
faces more trouble in getting out. The result is that, if
everything else remains unchanged, the average
temperature of the atmosphere would increase. As people
burn more fossil fuels for energy they add more carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere. This creates a blanket of
carbon dioxide over the Earth’s surface, which allows the
short waves of the sun to penetrate the Earth’s
atmosphere, but prevents the long wave radiations
(emitted from the Earth’s surface) to get out. If this
activity continues for a long period of time, the average
temperature of the atmosphere will almost certainly rise.
This is commonly referred to as global warming. Global
warming is thus the increase in the average temperature of
the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans in recent decades
and its projected continuation. The term “global warming”
is a sub-set of the universal set climate change [1], which
also encompasses another sub-set namely “global
cooling.” The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses the term “climate
change” for human-induced changes and “climate
variability” [2] for other changes. Climate change is
therefore any long-term significant change in the “average
weather” that a given region experiences and involves
changes in the variability or average state of the
atmosphere over durations ranging from decades to
millions of years. The roots of these changes can be
related to several dynamic processes on Earth, external
forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more
recently by human activities.
2. Objectives
Review literature on environmental behavior focusing on
the current understanding of powerlessness, the commons
dilemma and related perceptions regarding environmental
problems, in particular climate change.
Collect qualitative and quantitative data on perceptions of
powerlessness and the commons dilemma in relation to
climate change.
To find out of the main causes of climate change
Discuss findings about the importance and causes of
powerlessness and the common dilemma in relation to
climate change.
3. Methodology
The intuitive approach to costing adaptation involves
comparing a future [5] world without climate change with
a future world with climate change. The difference
between these two worlds entails a series of actions to
adapt to the new world conditions. And the costs of these
78
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064
Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012
www.ijsr.net
additional actions are the costs of adapting to climate
change. With that in mind, the study took the following
four steps:
Picking a baseline: For the timeframe, the world in 2050
was chosen, not beyond forecasting climate change and its
economic impacts become even more uncertain beyond
this period. Development [6] baselines were crafted for
each sector, essentially establishing a growth path in the
absence of climate change that determines sector-level
performance indicators (such as stock of infrastructure
assets, level of nutrition, and water supply availability).
The baselines used a consistent set of GDP and population
forecasts for 2010–50.
Choosing climate projections: Two climate scenarios were
chosen to capture as large as possible a range of model
predictions. Although model predictions do not diverge
much in projected temperatures increases by 2050,
precipitation changes vary substantially across models.
For this reason, model extremes were captured by using
the two model scenarios that yielded extremes of dry and
wet climate projections. Catastrophic events were not
captured, however.
Predicting impacts: An analysis was done to predict what
the world would look like under the new climate
conditions. This meant translating the impacts of changes
in climate on the various economic activities (agriculture,
fisheries), on people’s behavior (consumption, health), on
environmental conditions (water availability, oceans,
forests), and on physical capital (infrastructure).
The research work prepared in three stages which are as
follows –
4. Pre-field work
This stage includes - i) collection of districts map ii)
collection of secondary information from district
handbook, census report, others books and journals etc.
iii) preparation of questionnaire statistical schedule for
collection of primary data which are closely related with
the research work.
5. Field work
By questionnaire schedule primary data will be collected
from the study area. Observation schedule also help to
collect the information.
6. Post field work
Collected data will be classified in a master table and
various cartographic and statistical techniques will be
made in support of the theoretical discussion.
Figure 1: A Process of Data Management
7. Results
Causes of Climate Change: The general state of the
Earth's climate is a function of the amount of energy
stored by the climate system. More specifically it can be
stated that the Earth’s climate is regulated by the balance
between the amount of energy the Earth receives from the
Sun, in the form of light and ultraviolet radiation, and the
amount of energy the Earth releases back to space, in the
form of infrared heat energy. Causes of climate change
involve any process that can alter this global energy
balance. Scientists call this "climate forcing.” Climate
forcing "forces" or induces the climate to change,
although the acceleration of the process is highly variable.
There are many climate forcing processes, but broadly
speaking, they can be classified into internal and external
types (Fig-1). External processes operate outside the
planet Earth, and include changes in the global energy
balance due to extraterrestrial factors like variations in the
Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and changes in the amount
of energy received from the Sun. Internal processes
operate from within the Earth's climate system, and
include changes in the global energy balance due to
changes in ocean circulation or changes in the
composition of the atmosphere. Other climate forcing
processes include the impacts of large volcanic eruptions,
collisions with comets or meteorites etc. Luckily, the
Earth is not hit by large comets or meteorites very often,
perhaps every 20 to 30 million years or so, and therefore
their associated climate changes occur rarely throughout
Earth History. However, other causes of climate change
influence the Earth on much shorter time scales, with
changes sometimes occurring within a single generation.
Indeed, our present oscillation of the composition of
atmosphere due to emission of greenhouse gases [7] may
be causing the global climate to change with an increased
trend of atmospheric temperature. This man-made climate
change associated with increasing trend of atmospheric
temperature is popularly known as global warming. For
convenience of the readers, we prefer to divide the causes
of climate change into two broad domains: natural and
manmade.
Natural factors: The work of climatologists have found
evidences to suggest that only a limited number of factors
are primarily responsible for most of the past episodes of
climate change on the Earth. These factors include
1. Variations in the Earth's orbital characteristics
2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations
3. Volcanic eruptions
79
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064
Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012
www.ijsr.net
4. Variations in solar output
5. Plate tectonics
Variations in the Earth's orbital characteristics: The
Milankovitch theory suggests that normal cyclical
variations in three of the Earth’s orbital characteristics are
probably responsible for some past climatic change. The
basic idea behind this theory assumes that over time these
three cyclic events vary the amount of solar radiation that
is received on the surface of the planet Earth. The first
cyclical variation, known as eccentricity, controls the
shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The orbit
gradually changes from being elliptical to being nearly
circular and then back to elliptical in a period of about
100,000 years. The greater the eccentricity of the orbit
(i.e., the more elliptical it is), the greater the variation in
solar energy received at the top of the atmosphere between
the Earth's closest (perihelion) and farthest (aphelion)
approach to the Sun. Currently, the Earth is experiencing a
period of low eccentricity. The difference in the Earth's
distance from the Sun between perihelion and aphelion
(which is only about 3%) is responsible for approximately
a 7% variation in the amount of solar energy received at
the top of the atmosphere. When the difference in this
distance is at its maximum (9%), the difference in solar
energy received is about 20%.
The second cyclical variation results from the fact that, as
the Earth rotates on its polar axis, it wobbles like a
spinning top changing the orbital timing of the equinoxes
and solstices (Fig. 1.2). This effect is known as the
precession of the equinox.
The precession of the equinox has a cycle of
approximately 26,000 years. According to illustration (A),
the Earth is closer to the Sun in January (perihelion) and
farther away in July (aphelion) at the present time.
Because of precession, the reverse will be true in 13,000
years and the Earth will then be closer to the Sun in July
(illustration B).
This means, of course, that if everything else remains
constant, 13,000 years from now seasonal variations in the
Northern Hemisphere should be greater than at present
(colder winters and warmer summers) because of the
closer proximity of the Earth to the Sun.
Figure 2: Modification of the timing of aphelion and
perihelion over time (A=today; B=13,000 years into the
future)
The third cyclical variation is related to the changes in the
tilt (obliquity) of the Earth's axis of rotation over a 41,000
years period.
During the 41,000 year cycle, the tilt can deviate from
approximately 22.5 to 24.5°. At the present time, the tilt of
the Earth's axis is 23.5°. When the tilt is small there is less
climatic variation between the summer and winter seasons
in the middle and high latitudes. Winters tend to be milder
and summers cooler. Warmer winters allow for more
snow to fall in the high latitude regions. When the
atmosphere is warmer it has a greater ability to hold water
vapor and therefore more snow is produced at areas of
frontal or orographic uplift. Cooler summers cause snow
and ice to accumulate on the Earth's surface because less
of this frozen water is melted. Thus, the net effect of a
smaller tilt would be more extensive formation of glaciers
in the polar latitudes.
Periods of a larger tilt result in greater seasonal climatic
variation in the middle and high latitudes. At these times,
winters tend to be colder and summers warmer. Colder
winters produce less snow because of lower atmospheric
temperatures. As a result, less snow and ice accumulates
on the ground surface. Moreover, the warmer summers
produced by the larger tilt provide additional energy to
melt and evaporate the snow that fell and accumulated
during the winter months. In conclusion, glaciers in the
Polar Regions should be generally receding, with other
contributing factors constant, during this part of the
obliquity cycle.
Computer models and historical evidence suggest that the
Milankovitch cycles exert their greatest cooling and
warming influence when the troughs and peaks of all three
cycles coincide with each other.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations: Studies on long
term climate change have discovered a connection
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82
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064
Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012
www.ijsr.net
institutions, can support immediate actions, plan for the
medium term and establish key priorities for the longer
term. Whether constituted at the regional [8], national or
international level, these coalitions should aim to bring
about change in environmental management strategy to
accelerate the process of adaptation of ecosystems and
their components to oscillating climate of the planet Earth.
References
[1] Betts R (2007) Implications of land ecosystem–
atmosphere interactions for strategies for climate
change adaptation and mitigation. Tellas 59B:602–
615.
[2] Briffa KR (2000) Annual climate variability in the
Holocene: interpreting the message of ancient trees.
Quat Sci Rev 19:87–105.
[3] Das.B and Bandyopadhyay.A.(2012). ‘Causes of
Flood by Indian River’ A Case Study of
Transboundary River Icchamati in Gangetic Delta,
International Journal of Advanced Research in
Computer Science and Electronics
Engineering,Volume 1, Issue 7, September
2012,277-292, ISSN: 2277 – 9043.
[4] Das.B(2011).Flood Risk Management by
Transboundary River of Gangetic Delta ,Lap
Lambert Academic Publishing ,Saarbrücken,
Germany,65-79.
[5] Giri.P,Barua.PandDas.B(2012).’Sundarban Delta:
Perspective for the Long Term Future’, Lap Lambert
Academic Publishing ,Saarbrücken, Germany,84-
143.
[6] Kerr, John, G Pangre, Vasudha LPangre and P I
George (2002), “An Evaluation of Dryland
Watershed Development Projects in India,” EPTD
Discussion Paper, No.68, Washington D C:
International Food Policy Research Institute.
[7] Desjardins RL, Kulshrestha SN, Junkins B, Smith
W, Grant B, Boehm M (2001) Canadian greenhouse
gas mitigation options in agriculture. Nutr Cycl
Agroecosyst 60:317–326.
[8] Eastman JL, Coughenour MB, Pielke RA (2001)
Does grazing affect regional climate? J
Hydrometeorol 2:243–253.
[9] JA, Prentice IC, Ramankutty N, Snyder PK (2005)
Global consequences of land use. Science 309:570–
574.
[10] RN, Nicholls N, SextonDMH(2001) Global
temperature change and its uncertainties since 1861.
Geophys Res Lett 28:2621–2624.
Author Profile
Biplab Das is interested in doing research
on Geomorphology, disaster management
and environmental issues. He obtained B. Sc
(Hon's), M. Sc and M. Phil in Geography
with first class from University of Calcutta.
Mr. Das is presently perusing PhD on
‘Watershed Management’ with national fellowship (JRF, CSIR-
UGC NET) from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and
Technology, Kolkata.
83

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Main physical causes of climate change and global warming a general overview

  • 1. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012 www.ijsr.net Main Physical Causes of Climate Change and Global Warming - A General Overview Biplab Das1 , Utpal Khara2 , Aditya Bandyopadhyay3 1 Research Scholar (PhD), Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, Kolkata [email protected] 2 Research Scholar (PhD), University of Calcutta 3 Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, Kolkata Abstract: The signs of global warming are becoming ever more prominent, casual observers of the media in the India. Weather changes all the time. It is highly dynamic in nature. The average pattern of weather, called climate, usually remains uniform for centuries if it is left to itself. However, the Earth is not being left alone. People are taking multi-dimensional actions that are gradually changing the morphology, physiology, and anatomy of the planet Earth and its climate in large scale. The single human activity that is most likely to have a large impact on the climate is the burning of "fossil fuels" such as coal, oil and gas. Citizens are in denial about climate change, refusing to take responsibility for controlling their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that cause global warming. Although it is true that the federal government remains stalemated on how to deal with climate change, the notion that no climate action is taking place in this country is erroneous. The most intriguing story is what has been happening in state legislatures, at city council meetings, and in corporate boardrooms, as well as on college campuses, in community groups, and in a range of other local settings. Across the nation, numerous climate action programs are moving aggressively to reduce emissions of GHGs. It is rare that a week goes by without the announcement of a new initiative among recent clippings. Keywords: Weather, climate, multi-dimensional, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases 1. Introduction The single human activity that is most likely to have a large impact on the climate is the burning of "fossil fuels" such as coal, oil and gas. These fuels contain carbon. Burning them liberates carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Since the early 1800s, when people began burning large amounts of coal and oil, the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere has increased by nearly 30%, and average global temperature appears to have risen between 1° and 2°F. This increment of temperature [10] is keenly related to the basic property of the gas. Carbon dioxide gas traps solar heat in the atmosphere, partly in the same way as glass traps solar heat in a sunroom or a greenhouse. For this reason, carbon dioxide is sometimes called a "greenhouse gas." As more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere, solar heat faces more trouble in getting out. The result is that, if everything else remains unchanged, the average temperature of the atmosphere would increase. As people burn more fossil fuels for energy they add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This creates a blanket of carbon dioxide over the Earth’s surface, which allows the short waves of the sun to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, but prevents the long wave radiations (emitted from the Earth’s surface) to get out. If this activity continues for a long period of time, the average temperature of the atmosphere will almost certainly rise. This is commonly referred to as global warming. Global warming is thus the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. The term “global warming” is a sub-set of the universal set climate change [1], which also encompasses another sub-set namely “global cooling.” The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses the term “climate change” for human-induced changes and “climate variability” [2] for other changes. Climate change is therefore any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences and involves changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over durations ranging from decades to millions of years. The roots of these changes can be related to several dynamic processes on Earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities. 2. Objectives Review literature on environmental behavior focusing on the current understanding of powerlessness, the commons dilemma and related perceptions regarding environmental problems, in particular climate change. Collect qualitative and quantitative data on perceptions of powerlessness and the commons dilemma in relation to climate change. To find out of the main causes of climate change Discuss findings about the importance and causes of powerlessness and the common dilemma in relation to climate change. 3. Methodology The intuitive approach to costing adaptation involves comparing a future [5] world without climate change with a future world with climate change. The difference between these two worlds entails a series of actions to adapt to the new world conditions. And the costs of these 78
  • 2. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012 www.ijsr.net additional actions are the costs of adapting to climate change. With that in mind, the study took the following four steps: Picking a baseline: For the timeframe, the world in 2050 was chosen, not beyond forecasting climate change and its economic impacts become even more uncertain beyond this period. Development [6] baselines were crafted for each sector, essentially establishing a growth path in the absence of climate change that determines sector-level performance indicators (such as stock of infrastructure assets, level of nutrition, and water supply availability). The baselines used a consistent set of GDP and population forecasts for 2010–50. Choosing climate projections: Two climate scenarios were chosen to capture as large as possible a range of model predictions. Although model predictions do not diverge much in projected temperatures increases by 2050, precipitation changes vary substantially across models. For this reason, model extremes were captured by using the two model scenarios that yielded extremes of dry and wet climate projections. Catastrophic events were not captured, however. Predicting impacts: An analysis was done to predict what the world would look like under the new climate conditions. This meant translating the impacts of changes in climate on the various economic activities (agriculture, fisheries), on people’s behavior (consumption, health), on environmental conditions (water availability, oceans, forests), and on physical capital (infrastructure). The research work prepared in three stages which are as follows – 4. Pre-field work This stage includes - i) collection of districts map ii) collection of secondary information from district handbook, census report, others books and journals etc. iii) preparation of questionnaire statistical schedule for collection of primary data which are closely related with the research work. 5. Field work By questionnaire schedule primary data will be collected from the study area. Observation schedule also help to collect the information. 6. Post field work Collected data will be classified in a master table and various cartographic and statistical techniques will be made in support of the theoretical discussion. Figure 1: A Process of Data Management 7. Results Causes of Climate Change: The general state of the Earth's climate is a function of the amount of energy stored by the climate system. More specifically it can be stated that the Earth’s climate is regulated by the balance between the amount of energy the Earth receives from the Sun, in the form of light and ultraviolet radiation, and the amount of energy the Earth releases back to space, in the form of infrared heat energy. Causes of climate change involve any process that can alter this global energy balance. Scientists call this "climate forcing.” Climate forcing "forces" or induces the climate to change, although the acceleration of the process is highly variable. There are many climate forcing processes, but broadly speaking, they can be classified into internal and external types (Fig-1). External processes operate outside the planet Earth, and include changes in the global energy balance due to extraterrestrial factors like variations in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and changes in the amount of energy received from the Sun. Internal processes operate from within the Earth's climate system, and include changes in the global energy balance due to changes in ocean circulation or changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Other climate forcing processes include the impacts of large volcanic eruptions, collisions with comets or meteorites etc. Luckily, the Earth is not hit by large comets or meteorites very often, perhaps every 20 to 30 million years or so, and therefore their associated climate changes occur rarely throughout Earth History. However, other causes of climate change influence the Earth on much shorter time scales, with changes sometimes occurring within a single generation. Indeed, our present oscillation of the composition of atmosphere due to emission of greenhouse gases [7] may be causing the global climate to change with an increased trend of atmospheric temperature. This man-made climate change associated with increasing trend of atmospheric temperature is popularly known as global warming. For convenience of the readers, we prefer to divide the causes of climate change into two broad domains: natural and manmade. Natural factors: The work of climatologists have found evidences to suggest that only a limited number of factors are primarily responsible for most of the past episodes of climate change on the Earth. These factors include 1. Variations in the Earth's orbital characteristics 2. Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations 3. Volcanic eruptions 79
  • 3. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012 www.ijsr.net 4. Variations in solar output 5. Plate tectonics Variations in the Earth's orbital characteristics: The Milankovitch theory suggests that normal cyclical variations in three of the Earth’s orbital characteristics are probably responsible for some past climatic change. The basic idea behind this theory assumes that over time these three cyclic events vary the amount of solar radiation that is received on the surface of the planet Earth. The first cyclical variation, known as eccentricity, controls the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The orbit gradually changes from being elliptical to being nearly circular and then back to elliptical in a period of about 100,000 years. The greater the eccentricity of the orbit (i.e., the more elliptical it is), the greater the variation in solar energy received at the top of the atmosphere between the Earth's closest (perihelion) and farthest (aphelion) approach to the Sun. Currently, the Earth is experiencing a period of low eccentricity. The difference in the Earth's distance from the Sun between perihelion and aphelion (which is only about 3%) is responsible for approximately a 7% variation in the amount of solar energy received at the top of the atmosphere. When the difference in this distance is at its maximum (9%), the difference in solar energy received is about 20%. The second cyclical variation results from the fact that, as the Earth rotates on its polar axis, it wobbles like a spinning top changing the orbital timing of the equinoxes and solstices (Fig. 1.2). This effect is known as the precession of the equinox. The precession of the equinox has a cycle of approximately 26,000 years. According to illustration (A), the Earth is closer to the Sun in January (perihelion) and farther away in July (aphelion) at the present time. Because of precession, the reverse will be true in 13,000 years and the Earth will then be closer to the Sun in July (illustration B). This means, of course, that if everything else remains constant, 13,000 years from now seasonal variations in the Northern Hemisphere should be greater than at present (colder winters and warmer summers) because of the closer proximity of the Earth to the Sun. Figure 2: Modification of the timing of aphelion and perihelion over time (A=today; B=13,000 years into the future) The third cyclical variation is related to the changes in the tilt (obliquity) of the Earth's axis of rotation over a 41,000 years period. During the 41,000 year cycle, the tilt can deviate from approximately 22.5 to 24.5°. At the present time, the tilt of the Earth's axis is 23.5°. When the tilt is small there is less climatic variation between the summer and winter seasons in the middle and high latitudes. Winters tend to be milder and summers cooler. Warmer winters allow for more snow to fall in the high latitude regions. When the atmosphere is warmer it has a greater ability to hold water vapor and therefore more snow is produced at areas of frontal or orographic uplift. Cooler summers cause snow and ice to accumulate on the Earth's surface because less of this frozen water is melted. Thus, the net effect of a smaller tilt would be more extensive formation of glaciers in the polar latitudes. Periods of a larger tilt result in greater seasonal climatic variation in the middle and high latitudes. At these times, winters tend to be colder and summers warmer. Colder winters produce less snow because of lower atmospheric temperatures. As a result, less snow and ice accumulates on the ground surface. Moreover, the warmer summers produced by the larger tilt provide additional energy to melt and evaporate the snow that fell and accumulated during the winter months. In conclusion, glaciers in the Polar Regions should be generally receding, with other contributing factors constant, during this part of the obliquity cycle. Computer models and historical evidence suggest that the Milankovitch cycles exert their greatest cooling and warming influence when the troughs and peaks of all three cycles coincide with each other. Atmospheric carbon dioxide variations: Studies on long term climate change have discovered a connection 80
  • 4. be at is gr di en w re ba en gr E 1 R st th hu su ha cl in re cy di pe st m am fu th di In ch th th gr O di be li pr ur ca ca 3 hi w w al en cl - of Inter etween the c tmosphere and s one of the reenhouse eff ioxide, water nergy balance wave radiation esult of this p ack to the Ea nergy in the reenhouse eff Earth would be 5° Celsius. Researchers of trong evidenc he Earth's glo undred thous ubsequent stu ave discovere losely correla n the atmosp eceived by th ycles. Measur ioxide levels w eriods. It was tore of carbo movement of mount of carb unction of tem he oceans whe iffuses into t nitial alteratio hanges in rec he Milankovit hen amplified reenhouse eff Over the past t ioxide has b ecause of hum ke the burni rairie to f rbanization an arbon dioxide arbon dioxide 80 parts per m igher concent will accelerate warmer. Scien lready exper nhancement o limate models 4.5° Celsius i f 600 parts pe rnational J concentration d mean globa most importa fect. Certain a r vapor and m e of the Earth n emitted from process and t arth's surface e Earth's cl fect, the avera e around -18° f the 1970s C ce in deep-oce obal tempera sand years o udies have c ed that these ated to the co phere and v e planet as co rements indic were about 30 also theorize on dioxide a this gas to an bon dioxide th mperature. Ca en global tem the ocean wh ons in global t ceived solar ra tch cycles. Th d the global fect. three centurie een increasin man influence ing of fossil farmland [9] nd deforestati e into the atmo e has increased million in 200 trations of carb e the greenho ntists also be riencing glo of the greenh s suggest that if carbon diox er million by th Journal of S ns of carbon al temperature ant gases res atmospheric g methane, are h by being abl m the Earth's the re-emissio increase the limate system age global tem Celsius rather CLIMAP proj ean sediments ature during of the Earth's onfirmed the e temperature ncentration o variations in ontrolled by t cated that atm 0% lower duri d that the oce and that they nd from the hat can be he arbon dioxide mperatures bec hen temperat temperature w adiation by th he increase in warming by es, the concen ng in the Ea es (Fig. 1.3). H fuels, conve ], intense ion have caus osphere. From d from 280 pa 5. Many scien rbon dioxide in ouse effect m elieve that th obal warmin house effect. the globe wil xide reaches th he year 2050. Science and Volume 1 I dioxide in e. Carbon diox sponsible for gases, like carb able to alter le to absorb l surface. The on of long w quantity of h m. Without mperature of r than the pres oject documen s of variation the past sev s history. Ot ese findings variations w f carbon diox solar radiat the Milankov mospheric carb ing colder gla ans were a ma y controlled atmosphere. T eld in oceans is released fr come warmer tures are coo were triggered he Earth throu n carbon diox y enhancing ntration of carb arth's atmosph Human activi ersion of natu industrializati sed the release m the early 170 arts per million ntists believe n the atmosph making the pla e present era ng due to Most compu l warm up by he predicted le d Research Issue 3, De www.ijsr.n the xide the bon the ong net wave heat the the sent nted s in eral ther and were xide tion itch bon acial ajor the The is a rom and oler. d by ugh xide the bon here ities ural ion, e of 00s, n to that here anet a is an uter 1.5 evel a V n e e o e E S c e e h e A a f (IJSR), In cember 20 net Figure 3: T atmospheric c the increas atmospher examined. A w Volcanic erup noticed a con eruptions and example, one occurred the eruption in 18 Earth witnesse Several other m cooler global eruption. Figure 4: Exp to have a sho they eject la stratosphere Mount St. H effect on clim solar radiatio had very mini eruption occur dioxide into Sur At first, scien atmosphere fro for the coolin dia Online 12 The following carbon dioxide e in carbon di re has been ex An extrapolati would suggest ptions: For m nnection betw d short term of the coldest year follow 815. A numbe ed this lowerin major volcani temperatures plosive volcan ort-term coolin arge quantitie e. The present Helens on May mate because o on on the Eart imal global ef rred at an obli the stratosphe rvey; photogra ntists thought om large volc ng by partially ISSN: 231 g graph illustr e from 1744 to ioxide's conce xponential dur ion into the im continued inc many years, cl ween large ex climatic chan t years in the wing the Ta er of regions ng of atmosph ic events also lasting 1 to 3 nic eruptions h ng effect on th es of sulphur d figure shows y 18, 1980 wh of ash reducing th's surface. M ffect on the cli ique angle put ere. (Source: U aph by Austin that the dust canic eruption y blocking th 19-7064 ates the rise in o 2005. Note t entration in the ing the period mmediate futur rease imatologists h xplosive volc nge (Fig. 4). last two centu ambora volc across the pl heric temperat show a patter 3 years after t have been sho he atmosphere dioxide into th the eruption o hich had a loca g the reception Mount St. Hele imate because tting little sulp U.S. Geologic n Post). t emitted into ns was respons e transmissio n that e d re have canic For uries canic lanet ture. rn of their own e if he of al n of ens e the phur cal o the sible n of 81
  • 5. so m at m ex su as de w a at ra F V sc va H ra S th sh so pe co pr ce be T re Inter olar radiatio measurements tmosphere re months. Recen xplosive volc ulphur dioxid s long as t etermined tha water vapour c dense optic tmospheric tra adiation. Figure 5: Ash Pinatubo on Mount Pinatu 1991 Variations in cientists thoug aried by a However, mea adiometers in un's energy o hought. Meas howed a decr olar energy re eriod. If this t ould influence redict that a c entury would etween 0.5 to Figur The number an eaching a max rnational J on to the indicate that m eturned to th nt stratosphe canic eruption e gas which r three years. at the ejected s commonly fou cally bright h ansmission of column gener 12th June, 199 ubo occurred t 1 (Source: US n solar out ght that the S fraction of a surements ma n the 1980s a output may be surements ma rease of 0.1 p eaching the Ea trend were to e e global clima change in sola d alter the Ea 1.0° Celsius. re 6: Sunspots nd size of sun ximum about Journal of S Earth's sur most of the du he Earth's sur eric data sug ns also eject h remains in the Atmospheric sulphur dioxid und in the stra haze layer t f some of the rated by the er 91. The strong three days late Geological S tput: Until Sun's output o a percent ov ade by satellit and 1990s su e more variabl ade during t percent in the arth over just a extend over se ate. Numerical ar output of on arth's average s on the Sun’s nspots show every 11, 90 Science and Volume 1 I rface. Howev ust thrown in rface within ggests that la huge amounts e atmosphere chemists h de gas reacts w atosphere to fo that reduces e Sun's incom ruption of Mo gest eruption o er on 15th Jun Survey) recently, m of radiation o ver many ye es equipped w uggested that le than was o the early 19 e total amount an 18 month t everal decade l climatic mod nly 1 percent e temperature s surface cyclical patte 0, and 180 ye d Research Issue 3, De www.ijsr.n ver, the six arge s of for have with orm the ming ount of ne, many only ears. with the once 980s t of ime es, it dels per by rns, ears. T c b m th in A e t s L s L a r y y c a o d s D m S S m d s P p l p m w b a a o a s c o c l d r o 8 T o d a l s s a m s a (IJSR), In cember 20 net The decrease corresponds t based on the made with a hat during thi ncreased, the Apparently, th energy from l end to contr scales. 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Co agencies, NG dia Online 12 in solar energ to a period o 11- year cyc solar telescop is period, as th Sun's surfac he sunspots eaving its sur radict observ vations of the e (1650 to 1 ty was occurr was a time o cientists corre solar activity rements have fluence the am hypothesized ke the Maund is reduced. eriod (1645 ty occurring o ds of maximu d is strong. Wh ic field weake verses every ome scientist he Great Plai related with th cs: The pheno role in the ev scales, plate ntinents, shap d generally se e exists. More ed in the inte proximately 3 merican plate’ d shut off dire Oceans. The ubduction also subduction i e and low v here is max weathering, the atmospher he cooling effe linked to fast on calamities ar people, wh of people fr ct on their so The restoratio the call for uses on transp ds to involve mplementation oalitions, incl GOs, local ISSN: 231 gy observed in of maximum cle. In additio pe from 1976 he number and e cooled by prevented so rface. Howev vations made e Sun during t 750) indicate ring on the S of a much coo elate this oc over a perio shown that t mplitude of th d that during er Minimum, Observations to 1715) rev on the Sun. um sunspot a hen sunspot a ens. The mag 22 years, d ts believe th ins of the Un his 22 year cy omenon of pl vent of climate e tectonics w pe oceans, bui erve to provide e recently, pl ensification o 3 million year s collided to ect mixing bet movement o o regulate the s associated w volcanic activ ximum expo which draw re to participat fect. The oppo er subduction re direct threa hich not onl rom their roo ocio-economi on phase can an adaptive parency and l e all stakeho n at the level o luding govern communities 19-7064 n the early 19 sunspot acti on, measurem 6 to 1980 sho d size of suns about 6° Cels ome of the S ver, these find on longer t the middle of ed that very l Sun's surface. ler global clim ccurrence wit od of 90 or these 90 and he 11 year sun g times of the Sun's ou by astronom vealed very l activity, the S activity is low gnetic field of during a sun hat the peri nited States ar cle. late tectonics e change. On will reorient ild and tear d e the matrix u ate motions h of the present rs ago, the N form the Isth tween the Atla of the plate e condition of with narrow m vity. Under sure of ma ws more car te in the react osite phenome n process. ats to the secu ly result in ot, but also p ic conditions n be initiated management learning. Such lders in deci of landscapes nments and t s and rese 980s ivity ments owed spots sius. Sun's dings time f the little The mate th a 180 180 nspot low utput mers little Sun's , the f the nspot iodic re in also n the the down upon have t ice North hmus antic and f the mid- this arine rbon tions enon urity the pose and d by t [4] h an ision and their earch 82
  • 6. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 Volume 1 Issue 3, December 2012 www.ijsr.net institutions, can support immediate actions, plan for the medium term and establish key priorities for the longer term. Whether constituted at the regional [8], national or international level, these coalitions should aim to bring about change in environmental management strategy to accelerate the process of adaptation of ecosystems and their components to oscillating climate of the planet Earth. References [1] Betts R (2007) Implications of land ecosystem– atmosphere interactions for strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Tellas 59B:602– 615. [2] Briffa KR (2000) Annual climate variability in the Holocene: interpreting the message of ancient trees. Quat Sci Rev 19:87–105. [3] Das.B and Bandyopadhyay.A.(2012). ‘Causes of Flood by Indian River’ A Case Study of Transboundary River Icchamati in Gangetic Delta, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Electronics Engineering,Volume 1, Issue 7, September 2012,277-292, ISSN: 2277 – 9043. [4] Das.B(2011).Flood Risk Management by Transboundary River of Gangetic Delta ,Lap Lambert Academic Publishing ,Saarbrücken, Germany,65-79. [5] Giri.P,Barua.PandDas.B(2012).’Sundarban Delta: Perspective for the Long Term Future’, Lap Lambert Academic Publishing ,Saarbrücken, Germany,84- 143. [6] Kerr, John, G Pangre, Vasudha LPangre and P I George (2002), “An Evaluation of Dryland Watershed Development Projects in India,” EPTD Discussion Paper, No.68, Washington D C: International Food Policy Research Institute. [7] Desjardins RL, Kulshrestha SN, Junkins B, Smith W, Grant B, Boehm M (2001) Canadian greenhouse gas mitigation options in agriculture. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 60:317–326. [8] Eastman JL, Coughenour MB, Pielke RA (2001) Does grazing affect regional climate? J Hydrometeorol 2:243–253. [9] JA, Prentice IC, Ramankutty N, Snyder PK (2005) Global consequences of land use. Science 309:570– 574. [10] RN, Nicholls N, SextonDMH(2001) Global temperature change and its uncertainties since 1861. Geophys Res Lett 28:2621–2624. Author Profile Biplab Das is interested in doing research on Geomorphology, disaster management and environmental issues. He obtained B. Sc (Hon's), M. Sc and M. Phil in Geography with first class from University of Calcutta. Mr. Das is presently perusing PhD on ‘Watershed Management’ with national fellowship (JRF, CSIR- UGC NET) from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Kolkata. 83