The Causes of Climate Change

A layer of greenhouse gases – primarily water vapor, and including much smaller amounts

of carbon dioxide, methane and oxide that is nitrous acts as a thermal blanket for the Earth, absorbing
heat and warming the outer lining to a life-supporting average of 59 levels Fahrenheit (15 degrees
Celsius).

Scientists attribute the warming that is global noticed since the mid-20th century to the human
expansion of this "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat
radiating from Earth toward space.

Certain gases within the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that stay semi-
permanently in the environment and physically do not respond or chemically to changes in temperature
are called "forcing" climate modification. Gases, such as water vapor, which react physically or
chemically to alterations in heat are seen as "feedbacks."

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:

Water vapor. Probably the most greenhouse that is abundant, but notably, it will act as a feedback to
the climate. Water vapor increases once the Earth's atmosphere warms, but therefore does the
possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these a number of the most feedback that is important to
the greenhouse effect.

Skin tightening and (CO2). A small but very component that is important of atmosphere, carbon dioxide
is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human
tasks such as deforestation, land use modifications, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased CO2
that is atmospheric by significantly more than a third considering that the Industrial Revolution started.
This is actually the most important"forcing that is long-lived of climate change.

Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and tasks being human like the
decomposition of wastes in landfills, farming, and especially rice cultivation, in addition to ruminant
digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a basis that is molecule-for-
molecule methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which will be
much less abundant within the atmosphere.

Nitrous oxide. A greenhouse that is powerful produced by soil cultivation methods, especially the use of
commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic substances entirely of commercial origin utilized in a real number
of applications, but now largely controlled in production and launch to the atmosphere by worldwide
agreement for his or her ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. Also, they are
greenhouse gases.