Climate System

The climate system, is an interactive system

consisting of five major components:

- atmosphere,
- hydrosphere,
- cryosphere,
- land surface and
- biosphere

The Earths dry atmosphere is composed

mainly of
- nitrogen (N2, 78.1% volume mixing ratio),
- oxygen (O2, 20.9% volume mixing ratio, and
- argon (Ar, 0.93% volume mixing ratio).
However, these gases have only limited

interaction with the incoming solar radiation

and they do not interact with the infrared
radiation emitted by the Earth.

there are a number of trace gases, which do absorb and emit

infrared radiation. such as

- carbon dioxide (CO2),
- methane (CH4),
- nitrous oxide (N2O) and
- ozone (O3),
# atmosphere contains water vapour (H2O), which is also a
natural greenhouse gas.

These so called greenhouse gases, with a total volume mixing

ratio in dry air of less than 0.1% by volume, play an essential

role in the Earths energy budget.

Ozone Layer
ozone layer plays an essential role in radiative balance, at

the same time filtering out this potentially damaging form of

radiation.

a layer of ozone in the upper atmosphere that prevents

dangerous radiation from the Sun from reaching the surface

of the Earth
an atmospheric layer at heights of about 20 to 30 miles (32

to 48 kilometers) that is normally characterized by high

ozone content which blocks most solar ultraviolet radiation
from entry into the lower atmosphere
absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth

from the sun.

Water
The most variable component of the

atmosphere is water in its various phases

such as
- vapour,
- cloud droplets, and
- ice crystals.
Water vapour is the strongest greenhouse

gas.

Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is the component comprising all

liquid surface and subterranean water, both fresh

water, including rivers, lakes and aquifers, and saline
water of the oceans and seas.
Fresh water runoff from the land returning to the

oceans in rivers influences the oceans composition

and circulation. The oceans cover approximately 70%
of the Earths surface.
They store and transport a large amount of energy and

dissolve and store great quantities of carbon dioxide.

Subterranean - situated or operating beneath

the earth's surface; underground.

(subsurface water, underground water), water

located in rocks in the upper portion of the

earths crust in a liquid, solid or gaseous state.

Cryosphere
The cryosphere, including the ice sheets of

Greenland and Antarctica, continental glaciers

and snow fields, sea ice and permafrost,
derives its importance to the climate system
from its high reflectivity (albedo) for solar
radiation

glaciers - a slowly moving mass or river of ice

formed by the accumulation and compaction

of snow on mountains or near the poles
permafrost - a thick subsurface layer of soil

that remains frozen throughout the year,

occurring chiefly in polar regions.

Land surface
Vegetation and soils
land surface control how energy received

from the Sun is returned to the atmosphere.

Some is returned as long-wave (infrared)
radiation, heating the atmosphere as the land
surface warms.
Some serves to evaporate water, either in the

soil or in the leaves of plants, bringing water

back into the atmosphere.

Biosphere
The marine and terrestrial
biospheres have a major impact on the atmospheres composition.
uptake and release of greenhouse gases.
Through the photosynthetic process, both marine and terrestrial

plants (especially forests) store significant amounts of carbon from

carbon dioxide.
Thus, the biosphere plays a central role in the carbon cycle, as

well as in the budgets of many other gases, such as methane and

nitrous oxide.

Three natural factors exert the most influence

on Earths climate.
Sun
Atmosphere
Ocean

Three factors influence

climate
The first is the sun. Without the sun, Earth

would be dark and frozen.

The sun supplies most of our planets energy.

The second is the atmosphere. Without this

protective and buffering layer of gases, Earth

would be as much as 33C (59F) colder on
average, and temperature differences
between night and day would be far greater
than they are.
The third is the oceans, which store and

transport heat and moisture.

Earths atmosphere, clouds, land, ice, and

water together absorb about 70% of incoming

solar radiation and reflect the remaining 30%
back into space

Greenhouse gases
As Earths surface absorbs solar radiation, the surface

increases in temperature and emits infrared radiation

radiation with wavelengths longer than those of visible light.
Atmospheric gases having three or more atoms in their

molecules tend to absorb infrared radiation.

These include water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon

dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4), as

well as halocarbons, a diverse group of mostly human-made
gases that includes chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). All these
gases are known as greenhouse gases.

After absorbing radiation emitted from the

surface, greenhouse gases re-emit infrared

radiation.
Some of this re-emitted energy is lost to

space, but most travels back downward,

warming the lower atmosphere (specifically
the troposphere) and the surface, in a
phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect.

greenhouse gas emissions from human

activity consist mostly of CO2.

for these reasons, carbon dioxide has caused

nearly twice as much warming since the

industrial revolution as methane, nitrous
oxide, and halocarbons combined

Greenhouse gas concentrations

are rising fast
We have boosted Earths atmospheric concentration of

carbon dioxide from 280 parts per million (ppm) in the

late 1700s to 399 ppm in 2014.
Today the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere is

far higher than it has been in over 800,000 years, and

it is likely the highest in the last 20 million years.
it is not the natural greenhouse effect that concerns

scientists today, but rather the anthropogenic (humangenerated) intensification of the greenhouse effect.

Most carbon is stored for long periods in the upper layers of the

lithosphere.
The deposition, partial decay, and compression of organic matter

(mostly plants and phytoplankton) in wetland or marine areas

hundreds of millions of years ago led to the formation of coal, oil,
and natural gas in buried sediments.
In the past two centuries, we have extracted these fossil fuels from

the ground and burned them in our homes, factories, and

automobiles, transferring large amounts of carbon from one
reservoir (the underground deposits that stored the carbon for
millions of years) to another (the atmosphere). This sudden flux of
carbon is the main reason atmospheric CO2 concentrations have
risen so dramatically.

lithosphere - the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting

of the crust and upper mantle.

plankton - the small and microscopic organisms drifting

or floating in the sea or fresh water, consisting chiefly of

diatoms, protozoans, small crustaceans, and the eggs
and larval stages of larger animals. Many animals are
adapted to feed on plankton, especially by filtering the
water.
fossil fuels - a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in

the geological past from the remains of living organisms.

At the same time, people have cleared and burned

forests to make room for crops, pastures, villages, and

cities.
Forests serve as a reservoir for carbon as plants

conduct photosynthesis and store carbon in their

tissues.
When we clear forests, we reduce the biospheres

ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

In this way, deforestation contributes to rising
atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Methane concentrations are also rising - 2.6-

fold since 1750

todays atmospheric concentration is the

highest by far in over 800,000 years.

We release methane by tapping into fossil fuel

deposits, raising livestock that emit methane

as a metabolic waste product, disposing of
organic matter in landfills, and growing certain
crops, such as rice.

nitrous oxide - a by-product of feedlots,

chemical manufacturing plants, auto

emissions, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers,
has risen by 20% since 1750