Lecture 6

Environmental Sciences and
Sustainability
WMES 6101B
Course Teacher:
Dr. Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Associate professor
Department of Environmental Science
Jahangirnagar University
Email: [email protected]
Google Scholar ID: https://scholar.google.com/citations?pli=1&user=nzljxJcAAAAJ
Research gate ID:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Md-Mostafizur-Rahman-9/research
What is Meteorology?
Meteorology is the science of atmospheric phenomena,
encompassing the study of the movement of air masses as
well as physical forces in the atmosphere—
heat,
wind, and
transitions of water, primarily liquid to vapor or vice versa.
Meteorological
phenomena affect, and
in turn are affected by,
the chemical properties
of the atmosphere.
2
• Weather
• the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as
regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
The weather is defined in terms of seven major factors:
– temperature,
– clouds,
– winds,
– humidity,
– horizontal visibility (as affected by fog, etc.),
– type and quantity of precipitation, and
– atmospheric pressure
• Climate
– Long term statistical description of the atmospheric
conditions, averaged over a specified period of time -
usually decades.
3
What's the difference between weather and climate?
Mostly, the difference is time. Weather is the set of
conditions in the atmosphere at a specific location at a
specific time. Weather changes day to day, hour to hour.
But climate describes the average conditions in an area over
a long period of time. Climate changes over decades or
centuries.
And it's not just time though, it's also area. Weather is
sometimes different just a few miles away. But climate is
often used to describe whole regions of the planet.
Global Warming
“Global warming is defined as a natural or human
induced increase in the average global temperature of the
atmosphere near Earth’s surface.”
How the earth temperature determined?
 The temperature at or near the surface of Earth is
determined by four main factors:
1. The amount of sunlight earth receives,

2. The amount of sunlight earth reflects,
3. Retention of heat by the atmosphere, and
4. Evaporation and condensation of water vapor
 The energy that lights and warms Earth comes from the
Sun. Most of the energy that floods onto our planet is
short-wave radiation, including visible light.
What cause the temperature of the
atmosphere to go up?
– Natural variation – the climate becomes warmer by
internal chaotic dynamics of the earth-atmosphere system
(that is, no external influence).
– Solar activity – either direct increase of solar energy
output or indirect “trigger” mechanisms due to solar
activity (though nobody knows how) may cause the
surface temperature to go up.
– Greenhouse effect – increasing “greenhouse” gases
such as CO2, CH4, NO, CFC,…etc. (actually H2O is very
efficient, too, but at present it is assumed to be in steady
state).
• The last one is presently thought to be the most likely cause
of the global warming and hence we will examine it here in
this chapter..
The real greenhouse
Green House Gases
“Greenhouse gases are those gaseous
constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and
anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific
wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation
emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere, and
clouds.” This property causes the greenhouse effect.
The (Atmospheric) Greenhouse Effect
UV radiation is absorbed by the earth and it is converted to IR

due to collision, temperature and other factors. IR is reflected
from the earth and absorbed by the green house gases and
GHGs releases heat to the atmosphere.
Global warming of this earth is enhancing by this way.
Types of Green House Gases
Trace gasses Relative

contribution (%)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) 15 -25
Methane (CH4) 12 - 20
Ozone (O3) 8
Nitrous oxide (N2O) 5
Total 40 - 50
50 - 60
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Global Warming Potentials
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the Earth by absorbing

energy and slowing the rate at which the energy escapes to
space; they act like a blanket insulating the Earth. Different
GHGs can have different effects on the Earth's warming.
The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to

allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of
different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much
energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a
given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of
carbon dioxide (CO2). The larger the GWP, the more that a
given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time
period. The time period usually used for GWPs is 100
years.
Global Warming Potentials
CO2, by definition, has a GWP of 1 regardless of the time period used,
because it is the gas being used as the reference. CO 2 remains in the
climate system for a very long time: CO2 emissions cause increases in
atmospheric concentrations of CO2 that will last thousands of years.
Methane (CH4) is estimated to have a GWP of 28–36 over 100

years . CH4 emitted today lasts about a decade on average, which is much
less time than CO2. But CH4 also absorbs much more energy than CO2. The
net effect of the shorter lifetime and higher energy absorption is reflected in
the GWP.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) has a GWP 265–298 times that of CO2 for a 100-year
timescale. N2O emitted today remains in the atmosphere for more than 100
years, on average.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),

hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6) are sometimes called high-GWP gases because, for a
given amount of mass, they trap substantially more heat than CO . (The
Sources of Greenhouse Gases
 Natural
 Anthropogenic
Anthropogenic Sources
 Burning of fossil fuels, land use change and deforestation
leading to higher carbon dioxide concentrations.
 The seven sources of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion are:
1. Liquid fuels (e.g., gasoline, fuel oil)
2. Solid fuels (e.g., coal)
3. Gaseous fuels (e.g., natural gas)
4. Cement production
5. Flaring gas industrially and at wells
6. Non-fuel hydrocarbons
7. "International bunker fuels" of transport not included
in national inventories
Anthropogenic Sources
 Human activities such as agriculture, fuel combustion,
solid waste, and industrial processes are increasing the
amount of N2O in the atmosphere.
 Methane is emitted during the production and transport of

coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result
from livestock and other agricultural practices and by the
decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills.
 Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration

systems, air conditioners and use of CFCs and halons in
fire suppression systems and manufacturing processes.
Natural Sources
 Natural processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decay, and

sea surface gas exchange lead to massive exchanges, sources and
sinks of CO2 between the land and atmosphere and the ocean and
atmosphere.
 The main natural source of CH4 to the atmosphere is wetlands.

Additional natural sources include: Termites, Oceans, Vegetation and
CH4 hydrates
 Natural sources of N2O : Oceans, Chemical oxidation of ammonia in

the atmosphere, and Soils (Tropical soils are a particularly important
source of N2O to the atmosphere.)
 Troposphere ozone is produced by photochemical reactions in the

atmosphere involving precursor chemicals such as Carbon monoxide,
CH4, Volatile organic compounds and Nitrogen oxides
Top 10 Emitters (countries) of GHGs
LUCF refers to emissions stemming from land use change and forestry.
Effects of Global Warming
• Extreme weather Rising sea levels/oceans
• Ecosystems Agriculture
• Human health War and conflicts
Extreme Weather
 Scientists predict that during global warming, the northern
regions of the Northern Hemisphere will heat up more than
other areas of the planet, northern and mountain glaciers
will shrink, and less ice will float on northern oceans.
 The warmed world will be generally more humid as a result

of more water evaporating from the oceans.
Greater humidity will increase rainfall, on average, about 1
percent for each Fahrenheit degree of warming.
 Storms are expected to be more frequent and more intense.

Winds will blow harder and perhaps in different patterns.
Hurricanes, which gain their force from the evaporation of
water, are likely to be more severe.
Rising Sea Levels/Oceans
 As the atmosphere warms, the surface layer of the ocean
warms as well, expanding in volume and thus raising sea
level.
 Warming will also melt much glacier ice, especially around
Greenland. Sea levels worldwide rose 10 to 25 cm during the
20th century, and scientists predict a further rise of 9 to 88
cm in the 21st century.
Effects on Ecosystems
 All ecosystems are affected by global warming.
 The UN Environment Program (UNEP) predicts that by

2075 few locally endemic species will survive.
 25% of the Earth’s mammals and 12% of bird species will

be extinct within the next 30 years.
 Polar bears are stressed through loss of habitat. Many

species are steadily moving their ranges towards higher
northern and southern latitudes, including butterflies, frogs,
and birds. They breed earlier and plants flower earlier in
the season.
Effects on Agriculture
Effects on Human Health
 In a warmer world more people will get sick or die from heat
stress, due less to hotter days than to warmer nights (giving
the sufferers less relief).
 Diseases transmitted by animal hosts will widen their range

as these animal hosts move into regions formerly too cold
for them.
 Other tropical diseases may spread similarly, including

dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Scientists also
predict rising incidence of allergies and respiratory diseases
as warmer air grows more charged with pollutants, mold
spores, and pollens.
Effects on Human Health
Efforts to Control Global warming
 The only way to control the global warming is to control
the anthropogenic production of green house gases.
 There are two major approaches to slowing the buildup of

greenhouse gases.
1) The first is to keep carbon dioxide out of the

atmosphere by storing the gas or its carbon
component somewhere else, a strategy called
carbon sequestration.
2) The second major approach is to reduce the

production of greenhouse gases.
Climate Change
Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate

that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by
changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties,
and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or
longer.
Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or

external forcing such as
• modulations of the solar cycles,
• volcanic eruptions, and
• persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the
atmosphere or in land use.
International organization working with climate change
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC)
(Wikipedia)
International environmental treaty
Objective: "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the

atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system"
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
https://www.ipcc.ch/
IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related
to climate change.
The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular

scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and
potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and
mitigation options.
References
1) Manahan, Stanley E. 2000 “Environmental

Chemistry”, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton: CRC
Press LLC, New York. 7th Edition
2) Textbook of Environmental Studies by Erach

Bharucha, Universities Press, India, 2005
3) http://en.wikipedia.org

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Environmental Sciences and

1. The amount of sunlight earth receives,

UV radiation is absorbed by the earth and it is converted to IR

Trace gasses Relative

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the Earth by absorbing

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to

Methane (CH4) is estimated to have a GWP of 28–36 over 100

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),

 Methane is emitted during the production and transport of

 Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration

 Natural processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decay, and

 The main natural source of CH4 to the atmosphere is wetlands.

 Natural sources of N2O : Oceans, Chemical oxidation of ammonia in

 Troposphere ozone is produced by photochemical reactions in the

 The warmed world will be generally more humid as a result

 Storms are expected to be more frequent and more intense.

 All ecosystems are affected by global warming.

 The UN Environment Program (UNEP) predicts that by

 25% of the Earth’s mammals and 12% of bird species will

 Polar bears are stressed through loss of habitat. Many

 Diseases transmitted by animal hosts will widen their range

 Other tropical diseases may spread similarly, including

 There are two major approaches to slowing the buildup of

1) The first is to keep carbon dioxide out of the

2) The second major approach is to reduce the

Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate

Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

International environmental treaty

Objective: "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the

The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular

1) Manahan, Stanley E. 2000 “Environmental

2) Textbook of Environmental Studies by Erach

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