- Understanding Earth’s energy balance is essential to understanding the issue of global warming. For example, the solar energy striking Earth’s surface averages 168W/m^2, but the energy leaving Earth’s surface averages 390W/m^2. Why isn’t Earth cooling rapidly?
This phenomenon is also known as “thermal inertia”. This is due to energy being emitted as longwave radiation because the earth and its atmosphere has characteristic temperatures. The Earth stays hot even after energy leaves it’s surface because it’s still emitting the energy it had absorbed earlier.
- Decide and explain whether the statement, “This winter has lowered my concerns about global warming”, is correct or incorrect. Explain.
This statement is incorrect as increasing snowfall is actually caused by warmer temperatures due to global warming because more evaporating water from water bodies on earth was available for precipitation.
Cold weather is also due to air moving from higher pressures to lower pressures around the world. Artic oscillations push cold wet and snowy weathers to parts of the earth with lower pressures, resulting in colder winters.
- One of the first radar devices developed during the WWII used microwave radiation of a specific wave range that triggers the rotation of water molecules. Why was the design not successful?
Absorption of microwave radiation by water in the atmosphere interferes with the detection of the intended object.
- Now that you have studied air quality, stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming, which do you believe poses the most serious problem for you in the short run and in the long run?
In the short run, air quality is believed to pose the most serious problem as it affects the most important human survival necessity, that is to breathe. For example, air pollutions like the haze causing a surge in PSI values would lead to respiratory problems or even death.
In the long run, global warming is believed to pose the most serious problem as it is destructing the planet we all live in. For example, the melting ice caps causing a rise in sea levels leads to floods and droughts. Also, extreme weather conditions and excessive deforestation affects our land and would eventually lead to our planet being unsuitable for human survival.