Melting of Glaciers
Global Warming:
Global warming, Climate change , Green house effect, Ozone layer depletion make us to think of Geological crisis.We have agencies responsible to monitor and record the atmospheric datas for years. Now it is time to refer and compare the past data to study the change in pattern, lows and highs in graph for earth's surface temperature,solar flames, neutrinos, sea level rising, cyclones and typhoons etc.
Main reasons behind the global warming is excess of industrialization, Releasing poisonous gases to atmosphere, Releases of hard water to rives or ocean, increase of carbon level in atmosphere.
The result from the analysis of four separate sets of observations, including surface temperature measurements, sea surface temperature, sea level changes, and temperature profiles in boreholes, all indicate that the earth’s surface temperature is increasing, suggesting that it is warming. Each of these separate sets of observations yields findings that overlap and complement each other, suggesting that the GWCC is a real phenomenon.
the data from three major compilations based on measured surface temperatures: from GISS (Goddard institute for space studies), HadCRU (global temperature dataset) and NCDC (national oceanic and atmospheric administration) showed upward trend. They have expressed the trend as the temperature difference (“anomaly”) with respect to the 1901–2000 average as the baseline.
We have data for change in temperature for period of time e.g. 50 yrs., for particular place i.e North Atlantic/Arctic Vs. Antarctica ice sheet to compare with. Since there is a substantial difference between solar heat absorption between the equator and the poles, heat must be moving to the North Pole by surface ocean currents and tropical cyclones. The cold, dry Arctic air coming from Siberia picks up heat and moisture from the open oceans, making the sea water denser so that the warm water sinks slowly down to sea by 2000 m.
A deep-water thermohaline flow (THC) transports the excess hot (c. 18°C) water south to Antarctica. It is replaced by a cold (c. 2°C) surface water from that area. he latter quickly cool western Europe and Siberia, and glaciers start to advance in Greenland within about 10 years. The THC flow decreases in Interglacials, causing the increased build-up of heat in the Northern Hemisphere (c. 60% currently stored in the Atlantic Ocean), and the ice cover in the Arctic Ocean thaws. Several such cycles may take place during a single major cold event.
Global warming is observable increase in the global temperature of earth (both land and water) and climate change is the effect brought about by the process of warming globally or in general, overall long-term change in our climate, including sea level rising, extreme weather, and ocean acidification.
Climate is very essential concept, owing to dependence of existence of life on it. Living beings survive on food, is produced by plants and growth of plants depends on climate. So, erratic change in the climate will put billions of lives at stake. it is duties of all the global citizens to be mindful about it and do come together to find the effective solutions to mitigate the problem that is ever going to be bigger as it gets delayed. Many nations recognize it as serious immediate threat and they forms the associations and organizations to combat against it.
The temperature change is not global. Climate change has the potential to change the world permanently. Executive leaders should treat this as an opportunity to reinvent their businesses, as innovations to combat global warming have immediate market potential globally. GW should be taken as opportunity by individual company's CEO to take edge over their competitors.
We consider the various aspects to study happening of Global warming and reason behind it, only way to overcome it. They are,
A. Earth within the solar system:
B. Current patterns of climate change
C. Processes affecting the distribution of heat around the surface of the Earth
D. Movements of heat away from the Tropics
E. Agents of heat transfer around the Earth
F. Transport of heat by water
G. Transport of heat in the atmosphere
H. Tropical and subtropical monsoons
I. Tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons
J. Effects of general and sudden movements of air masses
Green House Effect:
Green house effect keeps earths atmospheric temperature to livable range. If all radiated sun rays are reflected back to outer atmosphere then earth's temperature might get low as -20 C. ‘Greenhouse gases’ are crucial to keeping our planet at a suitable temperature for life. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass outwards from the Earth’s surface into space and the Earth would have an average temperature of about -20°C.
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. We have gases like Carbon dioxide (Co2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide(N2o), Ozone (O3), Florinated gas is potent green house gases. . With global warming potentials (GWPs) that typically range from thousands to tens of thousands, they are sometimes referred to as high-GWP gases because, for a given amount of mass, they trap substantially more heat than CO2. Additional compounds in the atmosphere including solid and liquid aerosol and other greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and ground-level ozone can also impact the climate..
Main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases
1. Burning of fossil fuels
2. Agriculture, forestry and other land use
3. Cement manufacture
4. Aerosols
Ozone layer depletion:
Ozone depletion and climate change are linked in a number of ways, but ozone depletion is not a major cause of climate change. Atmospheric ozone has two effects on the temperature
Balance of the Earth. It absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation, which heats the stratosphere.
A greenhouse gas is called that because it absorbs infrared radiation from the Sun in the form of heat, which is circulated in the atmosphere and eventually lost to space. Greenhouse gases also increase the rate at which the atmosphere can absorb short-wave radiation from the Sun, but this has a much weaker effect on global temperatures.
Kyoto Protocol:
The Kyoto Protocol operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. The Convention itself only asks those countries to adopt policies and measures on mitigation and to report periodically.
The Kyoto Protocol is based on the principles and provisions of the Convention and follows its annex-based structure. It only binds developed countries, and places heavier burden on them under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities”, because it recognizes that they are largely responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere.
In its Annex B, the Kyoto Protocol sets binding emission reduction targets for 37 industrialized countries and economies in transition and the European Union. Overall,these targets add up to an average 5 per cent emission reduction compared to 1990 levels over the five year period 2008–2012 (the first commitment period).
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. Owing to a complex ratification process, it entered into force on 16 February 2005. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
Doha amendment includes:
New commitments for Annex I Parties to the Kyoto Protocol who agreed to take on commitments in a second commitment period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020;
Kyoto Mechanism:
One important element of the Kyoto Protocol was the establishment of flexible market mechanisms, which are based on the trade of emissions permits. Under the Protocol, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Protocol also offers them an additional means to meet their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms:
International Emissions Trading
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Joint implementation (JI)
Monitoring Emission targets
The Kyoto Protocol also established a rigorous monitoring, review and verification system, as well as a compliance system to ensure transparency and hold Parties to account. Under the Protocol, countries' actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out.
Registry systems track and record transactions by Parties under the mechanisms. The UN Climate Change Secretariat, based in Bonn, Germany, keeps an international transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol.
Reporting is done by Parties by submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals.
A compliance system ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so.
Adaptation:
The Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. It facilitates the development and deployment of technologies that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. In the first commitment period, the Fund was financed mainly with a share of proceeds from CDM project activities. In Doha, in 2012, it was decided that for the second commitment period, international emissions trading and joint implementation would also provide the Adaptation Fund with a 2 percent share of proceeds.
Carbon credit:
A carbon credit or offset credit can be bought or sold after certification by a government or independent certification body. One carbon offset or credit represents a reduction, avoidance or removal of one metric Tonne of carbon dioxide or its carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e).
Global warming is the reason behind natural disater and calamity like Floods, Tsunami, Typhoons, earth quakes causes threats for life of humans, animals, birds,etc. to extinction level. For example 1931 China floods cause 40, 000, 00 life, 1976 Tangshan earthquake cause 6,55,000, 2001 Gujarat(India) earthquake cause almost 20,023 lives, 2010 Haiti earthquake cause 3,16,000 lives. So humans are responsible for their existence and co-existence on earth and to save earth.
As a counter measure and to settle threats of global warming we have changed the policy and ISO standards like Bharat IV, Euro II, for vehicles exhausts and emission, industries, Manufacturing plants, Factories to reduce carbon level. Also Battery and Hydrogen driven vehicles is introduced on large scale, use of even/odd and car-pooling practices introduced as compulsion. Also modern town planning, new industrial standards come up with plantation, revive jungle programs, save forests and sanctuary as natural habitat.
