February 18, 1998 - What is a Greenhouse Gas?
Text Reading: Houghton Chapters 1,2,3
1. What are the so-called "Greenhouse Gases"?
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Nitrous Oxide
- ... and others (e.g. water vapor)
- Houghton: Fig 3.1: Pie chart of the main (dry) greenhouse gases CO2 , CH4, N2O.
(Doesn't include H2O)
2. How much Greenhouse Gas is there?
- Houghton: Table 2.1: The composition of the atmosphere ...
- The Cole Field House Viewpoint
3. Why do we call them "Greenhouse" Gases?
A. Simple Radiation Considerations
- Prisms and cellophane
- Human Fingerprints
- Radiative Fingerprints
B. The Science of Solar and Thermal Radiation
C. Radiant Energy Absorption by Greenhouse Gases
- Science of Greenhouses
(See Houghton: Fig 2.2)
- Houghton: Fig 2.7: Temperature versus water vapor pressure (with Venus, Earth, and Mars temperatures shown)
- Houghton: Fig 2.5: The blanketing effect of greenhouse gases (OK)
- Houghton: Fig 2.6: Components of the radiation budget ... (OK Use)
4. What do Greenhouse Gases do? (The "Causes and Implications ...")
A. The *123 Greenhouse Effect Model
- Houghton: Fig 2.1: The radiation balance of planet Earth.
- The On-Line Interactive Model
B. Results from Advanced Models
- Houghton: Fig 2.8: Somewhat interesting summary of CO2 doubling model calculations.
- Houghton: Fig 2.3: The distribution of temperature in a convective atmosphere
- Houghton: Table 3.1;
- Houghton: Fig 3.5;
- Houghton: Fig 3.6: Modeling scenarios of CO2 emissions.
5. Where do Greenhouse Gases come from?
A. Sources and Sinks
- Houghton: Fig 2.2: The carbon cycle
- Houghton: Table 3.2: Sources and sinks of methane
B. Historical Viewpoint
- Variations of CO2 with time
- Houghton: Fig 3.3a,b: Variations of CO2 with time
- Houghton: Fig 3.4a,b: Total carbon dioxide emissions versus time since 1860
- Houghton: Fig 3.7: Methane from 1600-1990