Chemistry Concept

Introduction

Global warming is a result of increased greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. This includes the increase in Water, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone.
More GHG in the atmosphere, enhanced GHG effects where the GHG trap and return 80% of energy to the atmosphere. Enhance GHG effects lead to warming of earth – Global Warming.

So WHY is there an increase in volume/concentration of GHG?

Over the years, increase demand for fossil fuel use is the major contribution to the rise in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Increased demand for land leads to an increase level of
deforestation and this is a contribution to the increase in carbon dioxide concentration.
Increased in burning of biomass for energy use contributes to the increase in levels of methane and nitrous oxides.

So HOW does the increase in GHG warms up the earth?

We need to think of earth ad having an ‘Energy Budget’
The energy entering Earth is in the form of light radiation from the sun. This energy that comes in must be balanced by energy that is leaving the system and returning to space.
However, GHG has the ability to retain heat. As more and more GHG accumulates in the atmosphere, more heat will be retained and less will be returned to space.
The GHG molecules usually have three or more atoms and these molecules are usually polar.  They can vibrate when they absorb energy/radiation from the sun.
As they vibrate, they release a lower amount of radiation. (They retain the heat/radiation in them.
Therefore, as more GHG are present in the atmosphere, more and more heat is trapped, warming up the earth.

References

Source: IPCC (2014) EXIT based on global emissions from 2010. Details about the sources included in these estimates can be found in the Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeEXIT

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2011/curbing-the-chemistry-of-climate-change/

https://scied.ucar.edu/longcontent/greenhouse-effect

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