Planet News
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Transcript of Planet News
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PLANET NEWS
Democracy has created
an environment where
an opinion is perceived
to hold as much weight
as a proven fact.
- Paulus McBurnett
In This Issue
The Problem
Carbon Dioxide Emis-
sions Today
Global Warming
Ocean Acidification
Preview of Next Issue
The Problem: Many people in the world today deny the existence of global warming.
This article aims to scientifically explain the effects that carbon dioxide emissions
has on our atmosphere and our oceans, so that you may form your own decisions
on the environmental crisis.
Frequently Asked Questions: Q: Whats so bad about global warming?
A: It causes long-term, permanent changes to the planet, our very home.
Q: What can I do to help?
A: If everyone in the world just drives one hour less a week, we can reduce our
carbon admissions by a lot.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Today: Three years ago, the atmosphere reached a carbon dioxide (CO2) con-
centration of over 388 parts per million versus 288 parts per million less than two
hundred years ago. With thousands of years of human history, about twenty-five
percent of carbon dioxide emissions occurred within the last few generations.
UCLA Oceanography ESS 15 Newsletter Winter Quarter February 2014
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The Sun Shines on Earth
Almost everyday in everyones lives we experience daylight as an
indicator for us to wake up and begin our day. We take the Earth and
the sun for granted, but their relationship actually does a lot to regu-
late our climate. Scientists study this relationship to learn about cli-
mate change.
When the sun shines in, solar energy is put into the Earth. The energy
that is not absorbed into the Earth is reflected by the Earths albedo,
which is created by the clouds, Earths surface, and the atmosphere.
Emissivity is also something to take into account when considering
how much sunlight is reflected off the Earth. Emissivity is the varia-
ble in which gives off more realistic results, because it is a measure
of the intensity of sunlight reflected off the Earth. It ranges from 0
(perfect absorber) to 1 (perfect reflector). This variable prevents the
scientist from assuming that the Earth is a perfect reflector (also
called blackbody emitter), because in reality it is not. Much like a
light bulb, the emissivity is the opacity of the Earth, or how much
sunlight the Earth radiates out given that its lightened up absorbed
by the suns light. However, greenhouse gases hinder this release
out into space. Greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2),
water vapor(H2O), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide
(N2O), creates a layer that absorbs the radiation from Earth, thus
keeping it warmer than it should. So, as greenhouse gas concentra-
tions arise from factors such as fossil fuels, our Earth can burn up
and have weather disasters. This is why the Earth becomes warmer,
because the greenhouse gases form a layer that is similar to a lid on
a pot of boiling water.
Global Warming
When considering the theory of global
warming, one must take in account the input
and output energy from the sun to the Earth.
Not only must one consider the energy
budget, but also factors that alter the rate of
energy, such as the changes in atmospheric
composition, the shrinking sizes of the ice
sheets that are utilized to stabilize and regu-
late the surface temperature of the Earth,
and the Greenhouse Effect, which altogether
contributes to the calculations of the Global
Energy Balance of the Earth.
The Global Energy Balance equation is [(1-)
(S)]/4 = eT4, where is the albedo of the
Earth, S is the solar constant, e is the emissivity,
is the Stefan-Boltzmann Constant, and T is
the temperature of the Earth. To delineate
further, the albedo consists of the reflectivity of
the surface of the planet. The solar constant is
the amount of solar energy that is hitting the
Earth. The constant is a physical constant that
calibrates the proportion of the intensity of
wavelengths to temperature. Finally, I will
explain emissivity in the next head line.
Percentage breakdown of Earths Energy Budget (if Earth was a perfect reflector)
Drawing that differentiates the affectivity of the albedo depend-ing on the setting of the surface of the Earth
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People in general
feel that the objects
and things in their
lives are eternal,
when theyre not.
When you see a full
moon, how many
times will you see it
again before you
die? Five? Six? You
never consider how
many opportunities
are lost and take
things for granted.
- Paulus McBurnett
Two comic strips of animals reacting to global warming, one being humorous and the other having a true but ironic observation
Other Factors to Con-
sider: When Absorbed
What about the sunlight that is absorbed into the Earth? About half of the sunlight is
absorbed by the land and oceans, and it can come out in the form of conduction, being
carried to the clouds through water vapor, and, just as mentioned before about emissivi-
ty, radiation that radiates the sunlight back to space. Because this radiation contributes to
more than half of the outgoing energy that is absorbed by the Earth, radiation is heavily
relied on. However, because of the Greenhouse Gas Effect, radiation is stalled and thus
the Earth is becoming more unable to release energy back out into space successfully
with rising concentrations of greenhouse gases. Now isnt that scary!
The intensity of the sunlight towards the Earth is also dependent of the surface area
that is illuminated. If a small area is illuminated, the temperature would increase much
more quickly than a large area because sunlight is focused on the smaller area. There-
fore, if the area of the ice sheets are large then it will be more difficult for them to melt.
Also, ice sheets reflect the sun-
light that spreads over the Arctic.
However, because it has been
melting, less light is being reflect-
ed and more heat is being
trapped into the Earth. That is
why the melting of ice sheets
through global warming is very
problematic in todays society.
Image showing suns rays across different latitudes
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Carbonate Buffer Carbon dioxide, carbonic acid (H2CO3), bicarbonate ion (HCO3
-), and car-
bonate ion (CO32-) are the four forms in which CO2 can exist in the ocean. As
shown in the equation, these forms are connected by a chain reaction. While car-
bon dioxide contributes to ocean acidification, it does so indirectlyonly when it
reacts with water does H+ or hydrogen ions gets released. Also notice the double
arrows in the above equation, showing that each step in the chain reaction is read-
ily reversible.
As the equation suggests, carbonate and bicarbonate ions acts as a hydrogen
ion absorber, thus decreasing the rate of acidification. If that is the case, then why
is acidification such a big deal? The problem arises when carbonate ions in the
ocean get used up and there isnt enough to drive the backwards reaction. In other
words the hydrogen ions will remain in the ocean, causing pH levels to fall. That is
why the more carbon dioxide there is in water, the more acidic the water. Acidic
water is dangerous for organisms because the hydrogen ions interfere with the
functioning of enzymes, proteins that keep organisms healthy and alive.
Ocean Acidification Many people today have heard of the phenomenon of global warning. They also know that it has something or another to
do with the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. But less often we hear about the evil twin to global warm-
ing: ocean acidification.
Like its name suggests, ocean acidification is the phenomenon where the ocean increase in acidity because of the
oceans absorption of CO2. When CO2 and water combine, a chemical reaction causes the release of hydrogen ions, the par-
ticle that determines acidity.
Ocean acidification has detrimental effects on the ocean environment. Many important organisms such as plankton and
coral reefs are integral to the marine food web. Without them, many marine animals, such as fishes and lobsters, will become
extinct.
Although the effects of ocean acidification are catastrophic, there are ways to reverse it. The first step is to limit carbon
dioxide emission to decrease oceanic uptake of CO2. Then, work must be done to remove the CO2 already present in the wa-
ter. A global, cooperative effort is required if we are to save our oceans.
The Carbonate Buffer Equation
Top: Cartoon showing effects of acidified oceans on mollusks. Bottom: Pictures showing the same thing.
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Carbon
Pumping
The carbon pump is the
biological-driven cycle of
carbon dioxide in the ocean.
Photosynthesis is a process
where carbon dioxide is tak-
en from the environment and
gets converted into energy
and oxygen. On land, plants
are the ones that photosyn-
thesize, but there are micro-
scopic creatures called phy-
toplankton in the oceans that
perform this process as well.
These organisms drive the
carbon pump, regulating the
oceans acidity, but ironical-
ly, ocean acidification is dis-
rupting their function.
Thus, we cannot entirely
depend on photosynthetic
organisms to solve the prob-
lem of acidification.
Graph showing projections of pH and carbon dioxide in the oceans in the next hundred years.
Ocean Ecosystem Many organisms in the ocean rely on calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to form their
exoskeletons or shells. Examples are coral reefs, lobsters and clams. These organ-
isms also form the base of many food webs in the ocean, meaning that predators
such as seals and many fishes rely on them to survive. Also, coral reefs are home to
many ocean species and the destruction of these habitats leave these organisms
defenseless.
Due to ocean acidification, many hard-bodied organisms face dissolution. Recall
that carbonate acts as a hydrogen ion absorber. When hydrogen ions are in the wa-
ter, they attract carbonate, thus diminishing the available carbonate for calcium car-
bonate formation. Even worse, hydrogen ions also strip carbonate from existing calci-
um carbonate, literally dissolving the shells of clams and lobsters, as well as the body
of reefs.
The level of pH indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions in the ocean. As the
pH of the ocean decreases, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Since the pH scale is
logarithmic, a decrease from pH eight to seven means the hydrogen ions concentra-
tion increased ten times. To put this into perspective, lets take a real life scenario.
Within the next ten years, pH levels are expected to decrease by 0.2. A seemingly
small drop translates to a whooping thirty-seven percent increase in hydrogen ion
concentration. And all these hydrogen ions are competing with calcium for car-
bonates in the ocean.
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CEO of Planet News
Preview of Next Issue Just one month ago, an unprecedented blizzard attacked New York,
causing blackouts and property damages. Many people jumped at the opportunity
to scoff at global warming in the face of record low temperatures. However, ex-
treme cold and warm weather is consistent with the modeled effects of global
warming. The warming of the earth increases the effects of evaporation, worsen-
ing precipitation weather such as hurricanes and the New York blizzard. We must
also remember that global warming has to do with average temperature increase
across the planet. As a result, even if you hear about extremely cold tempera-
tures, global warming is still happening.
If you still express doubt about climate change, join us for our next issue
when we describe wind currents and how global warming affects it.
Our Environmental Writers: David Li
Joanna Hong
Planet News brings you the world