Earth s Climate System Has Been Experiences - amazonia.fiocruz.br

Curious: Earth s Climate System Has Been Experiences

All of this extra carbon needs to go somewhere.

So far, land plants and the ocean have taken up about 55 percent of the extra carbon people have put into the atmosphere while about 45 percent has stayed in the atmosphere. Eventually, the land and oceans will take up most of the extra carbon dioxide, but as much as 20 percent may remain in the atmosphere for many thousands Ssytem years.

Effects of Changing the Carbon Cycle

The changes in the carbon cycle impact each reservoir. Excess carbon in the atmosphere warms the planet and helps plants on land grow more. Excess carbon in the ocean makes the water more acidic, putting marine life in danger. Carbon dioxide, methane, and halocarbons are greenhouse gases that absorb a wide range of energy—including infrared energy heat emitted by the Earth—and then re-emit it.

The re-emitted energy travels out in all directions, but some returns to Earth, where it heats Bfen surface. Without greenhouse gases, Earth would be a frozen degrees Celsius 0 degrees Fahrenheit. With too many greenhouse gases, Earth would be like Venus, where the greenhouse atmosphere keeps temperatures around degrees Celsius Fahrenheit.

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Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide are warming the atmosphere. The increased temperature results in higher evaporation rates and a wetter atmosphere, which leads to a vicious cycle of further warming. Because scientists know which wavelengths of energy each greenhouse gas absorbs, and the concentration of the gases in the atmosphere, they can calculate how much each gas contributes to warming the planet. The rest is caused by small particles aerosols and minor greenhouse gases like methane. Warmer temperatures evaporate more water from the oceans, expand air masses, and lead to higher humidity.]