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Some Simple Physics of Global Warming

Some Simple Physics of Global Warming Jeff Tsao Physical, Chemical and Nano Sciences Center Sandia National Laboratories

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Some Simple Physics of Global Warming

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  1. Some Simple Physics of Global Warming Jeff Tsao Physical, Chemical and Nano Sciences Center Sandia National Laboratories Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy’s National Security Administration under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  2. Controversy, complexity, and uncertainty http://www.ipcc.ch/

  3. Topics • The Earth's Delicate Heat Balance • Earth’s Temperature History • The Earth's Sluggish Carbon Balance • Humanity's Appetite for Energy and Carbon • What Can We Do?

  4. Earth’s Delicate Heat Balance

  5. Simple calculation of the earth’s temperature Power radiating from the earth Fraction of power that intercepts the earth Power radiating from the sun Stefan’s Law Predicted (Stockholm) Actual (Albuquerque)

  6. H2O: Ice, Clouds, Water Vapor Reflection from clouds Reflection from the surface (including ice and snow) Emission by clouds Absorption by water vapor Absorption by clouds http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect

  7. Greenhouse gases % of earth’s atmosphere 1 0.04 Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect 20.9 Oxygen 78 Nitrogen

  8. Earth’s Temperature History

  9. The 450,000-year temperature history 18 16 14 12 10 Approximate average earth temperature (°C) 8 6 4 2 Adapted from http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/change.htm

  10. The 1,000-year temperature and CO2 history The evaporation rate of the rare, heavy 18O isotope of H2O is slower than that of the common, light 16O isotope of H2O, and depends on temperature http://www.nasa.gov/lb/worldbook/wbkids/k_evaporation.html (ppm) (°F) Adapted from http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/images/historical03.gif National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/about-collage.html)

  11. Earth’s Sluggish Carbon Balance

  12. Earth’s carbon sources and sinks Pre-1900’s: Cbiosph = cdeep-ocean 1900’s-2000’s: Cbiosph > cdeep-ocean Post-2000’s?: Cbiosph > cdeep-ocean Post-2100’s?: Cbiosph = cdeep-ocean janthro cbiosph τ ~ 100 years Cdeep-ocean IPCC4 Figure 7.3

  13. The earth’s response to C emission scenarios http://cisac.stanford.edu/news/bps_chief_scientist_discusses_secure_sustainable_energy_in_drell_lecture_20080205/

  14. Humanity’s Appetitefor Energy and Carbon

  15. The “IPAT” Relationship 13.5 TW 43 TW Ė (1012 W) Impact = Affluence · Population · Technology Ė = (GDP/N) · N · (Ė/GDP) 0.45 W/($/yr) 0.15 W/($/yr) Energy Consump- tion Rate per capita Gross Domestic Product Energy Intensity Popu-lation 25,000 US$ 5,000 US$ Adapted from M.I. Hoffert, K. Caldeira, A.K. Jain, E.F. Haites, L.D.D. Harvey, S.D. Potter, M.E. Schlesinger, S.H. Schneider, R.G. Watts, T.M.L. Wigley, and D.J. Wuebbles, "Energy implications of future stabilization of atmospheric CO2 content," Nature 395, 881-884 (Oct 1998) 11 Bper 6.1 Bper

  16. The sluggish decrease in carbon intensity http://www.undp.org/energy/activities/wea/index.html 0.49 GtC/(TW-yr) Adapted from M.I. Hoffert, K. Caldeira, A.K. Jain, E.F. Haites, L.D.D. Harvey, S.D. Potter, M.E. Schlesinger, S.H. Schneider, R.G. Watts, T.M.L. Wigley, and D.J. Wuebbles, "Energy implications of future stabilization of atmospheric CO2 content," Nature 395, 881-884 (Oct 1998) 0.3 GtC/(TW-yr)

  17. What can we do? • Plan A: Sequester the Carbon • Plan B: Switch to Non-Fossil Fuels • E.g., there is plenty of solar (an area the size of Venezuela could power the world) • But not economical yet, so need R&D and carbon tax • But a carbon tax could be a drag on GDP, unless it substitutes for income tax • Plan C: Climate Engineering • Global gardening, atmospheric water/ice nucleation, earth albedo manipulation, … • Plan D: Adapt to global warming • Developed nations are the cause, but undeveloped countries are least able to afford to adapt • What is the cost of adapting, and who should pay?

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