Lab 6

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Georgia State University *

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1112

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Geography

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Apr 3, 2024

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Lab 6 Q1: What things appear on the Sun to increase solar output and cause the solar constant to not be constant? Things that appear on the sun to increase solar output is sunspots and the cause is the distant between the sun and earth. Q2: What objects/surfaces have the highest albedos? Clouds (.90), Ice and Snow (.85), and Deserts (.40). Q3: What surfaces have the lowest albedos? Oceans (.50), Forests (.15), and Savanna (.20) Q4: What type of feedback mechanism involves the melting of sea ice which then results in more absorption of solar radiation than the ice did and thus results in the further melting of ice? Hint: Watch the video. Ice albedo is the type of feedback mechanism that requires the melting of sea ice. Q5: What type of radiation is absorbed and emitted by gases as part of the greenhouse effect? Thermal Infrared Radiation. Q6: Which greenhouse gas had the largest radiative forcing from 1750 to 2011? CO2 and CH4 had the largest radiative forces.

Q7: What is the source of the 341 W m -2 of radiation that is entering the Earth-atmosphere system? Incoming solar radiation from the sun. Q8: What gas is responsible for much of the 78 W m -2 that is absorbed by the atmosphere? This gas had a leading role in Lab 2. CO2 Q9: What gases cause the “back radiation” and what type of radiation is it? N2O, CO2, and CH14, and is caused by infrared radiation. Q10: What is the solar constant for Earth that is used throughout this exercise? Please provide the units. 1365 W m-2 Q11: What is Earth’s albedo when Earth is portrayed as a black body without an atmosphere? Zero Q12: What is the only control of Earth’s surface temperature when Earth is portrayed as a black body without an atmosphere? Remember that the main controls of Earth’s surface temperature are incoming solar radiation (i.e., solar constant), albedo of the Earth, and the greenhouse effect. The solar constant Q13: What is the actual albedo of Earth’s surface? 0.13W m-2 based on the reflected solar radiation. Q14: How do you think adding a surface albedo to Earth will affect

the global surface temperature (i.e., how will the temperature change when going from a black body to Earth with surface features)? It will affect the global surface temperature by decreasing. Q15: How and why did Earth’s surface temperature change when going from being a black body to being a planet with surface features (e.g., water, forest, deserts, and snow & ice)? The temperature changed when going from a black body to being a planet with surface features. Q16: Why is it impossible to have surface features, such as water, forests, and snow & ice, and not have an atmosphere? Think of the hydrologic cycle (Lab 3) and the carbon cycle (Lab 4). Surface features can’t maintain themselves without the atmosphere. Q17: What is Earth’s albedo (i.e., what proportion of the incoming solar radiation is reflected by Earth’s atmosphere and surface)? The earth’s albedo is 0.30 W m-2 Q18: Taking into account both the change in albedo and the addition of the greenhouse effect, what effect do you think adding an atmosphere to Earth will have on its surface temperature? I think it would increase in the surface temperatures. Q19: Even with a large increase in albedo, why is current Earth nearly 20° C warmer than Earth with only surface features?

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Because of the Greenhouse Effect. The co2 concentration of 411 in current earth is a larger contributor to earth’s surface temperatures. Q20: How did land cover during the Last Glacial Maximum differ from the current land cover? The four land cover types used in this section of the lab are water, forest, desert, and snow/ice. The Last Glacial Maximum has more land cover than the current land cover. Ice sheets of the Last Maximum covered a nice size of land and ocean. The current is minimum and mostly in the ocean. Q21: What was your estimate of Earth’s albedo during the Last Glacial Maximum? Why should it be larger than the Earth’s current albedo of 0.30? My estimate was about 22.68. It is larger because the Last Glacial Maximum surface features were covered in ice sheets. There is high albedo in ice and snow. Q22: How much cooler do you think Earth was during the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the current temperature? Very much cooler because of the ice sheets that covered most of the land. 23: How much colder was Earth’s surface temperature during the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the current temperature? The surface temperature during the Last Glacial Maximum was around 8 degrees colder compared to the current temperature. Q24: Why did the lower temperatures result in lower atmospheric CO 2 concentrations? Think back to Lab 4 about the carbon cycle and what component of the cycle was taking in more CO 2 during the Last Glacial Maximum. The massive amounts of ice sheets caused the lower temperatures which cause the lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Q25: What impact did a lower CO 2 concentration have on the greenhouse effect and ultimately Earth’s surface temperature? It had a negative effect on the greenhouse effect. This made the earth’s surface temperature cooler. Q26: What is the projected atmospheric CO 2 concentration in 2050 and why are CO 2 concentrations projected to increase? 510 ppm, it is projected to increase because of fossil fuel emissions from human activities. Q27: What do you expect the global surface temperature to be in 2050 and how much different will it be from the current temperature? I would like to think that temperatures would decrease, and we’ll get better with green energy. However, we’ll have to do much better than now. But I think it will increase. Q28: How much global warming is expected between now and 2050 and what is the major factor behind the warming? About a 2.6 degree increase in surface temperatures. The factor behind it is the co2 concentration will have doubled. Q29: List one assumption you made when modeling Earth’s surface temperature. One assumption that I made was if and when the CO2 concentrations increase, so does the surface temperatures. The solar constant never changes. Because most of earth’s energy is accumulated in the ocean. The concentration of greenhouse gases increases earth’s surface temperature except for water vapor.

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Lab 6

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