Physical basis of the greenhouse effect. Human activities lead to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Is there really nothing that can regulate the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Of course it can. Oxygen does this job perfectly. But the problem is that the planet’s population is growing inexorably, which means that more and more oxygen is being consumed. Our only salvation is vegetation, especially forests. They absorb excess carbon dioxide and release much more oxygen than humans consume.

Greenhouse effect and Earth's climate

When we talk about the consequences of the greenhouse effect, we understand its impact on the Earth's climate. First of all, this is global warming. Many people equate the concepts of “greenhouse effect” and “global warming”, but they are not equal, but interrelated: the first is the cause of the second.

Global warming is directly related to the oceans. Here is an example of two cause-and-effect relationships.

1. The average temperature of the planet is rising, liquid begins to evaporate. This also applies to the World Ocean: some scientists are afraid that in a couple of hundred years it will begin to “dry up.”
2. Moreover, due to high temperatures, glaciers and sea ​​ice will begin to actively melt in the near future. This will lead to an inevitable rise in sea levels.

We are already observing regular floods in coastal areas, but if the level of the World Ocean rises significantly, all nearby land areas will be flooded and crops will perish.

Impact on people's lives

Do not forget that an increase in the average temperature of the Earth will affect our lives. The consequences can be very serious. Many areas of our planet, already prone to drought, will become absolutely unviable, people will begin to migrate en masse to other regions. This will inevitably lead to socio-economic problems and the outbreak of the third and fourth world wars. Lack of food, destruction of crops - this is what awaits us in the next century.

But does it have to wait? Or is it still possible to change something? Can humanity reduce the harm from the greenhouse effect?

Actions that can save the Earth

Today everything is known harmful factors, which lead to the accumulation of greenhouse gases, and we know what needs to be done to stop it. Don't think that one person won't change anything. Of course, only all of humanity can achieve the effect, but who knows - maybe a hundred more people are reading a similar article at this moment?

Forest conservation

Stopping deforestation. Plants are our salvation! In addition, it is necessary not only to preserve existing forests, but also to actively plant new ones.

Every person should understand this problem.

Photosynthesis is so powerful that it can provide us with huge amounts of oxygen. It's enough for normal life people and eliminating harmful gases from the atmosphere.

Use of electric vehicles

Refusal to use fuel-powered vehicles. Each car highlights great amount greenhouse gases per year, so why not make healthier choices environment? Scientists are already offering us electric cars - environmentally friendly cars that do not use fuel. The minus of a “fuel” car is another step towards eliminating greenhouse gases. All over the world they are trying to speed up this transition, but so far the modern developments of such machines are far from perfect. Even in Japan, where greatest use such cars are not ready to completely switch to their use.

Alternative to hydrocarbon fuels

Invention of alternative energy. Humanity doesn't stand still, so why are we stuck using coal, oil and gas? Burning these natural components leads to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so it's time to switch to an environmentally friendly form of energy.

We cannot completely abandon everything that emits harmful gases. But we can help increase oxygen in the atmosphere. Not only a real man Every person must plant a tree!

What is the most important thing in solving any problem? Don't close your eyes to her. We may not notice the harm from the greenhouse effect, but future generations will definitely notice it. We can stop burning coal and oil, preserve the natural vegetation of the planet, abandon a conventional car in favor of an environmentally friendly one - and all for what? So that our Earth will exist after us.

Speaking about the greenhouse effect, one immediately imagines a large greenhouse, gentle rays of the sun penetrating through the glass, bright green beds and enough heat inside, when winter still reigns outside

Speaking of the greenhouse effect, one immediately imagines a large greenhouse, gentle rays of the sun penetrating through the glass, bright green beds and a fairly high temperature inside, when winter still reigns outside. Yes, this is true; this process can most clearly be compared with what happens in a greenhouse. Only in the role of glass are greenhouse gases, which are abundant in the atmosphere; they transmit and retain heat in the lower air layers, ensuring the growth of plants and the life of people. Today, more and more often, the greenhouse effect is called an environmental term that has become a disaster. Thus, nature is crying out for help, and if nothing is done, humanity will have only 300 years left until the inevitable end of the world. It is important to understand that the greenhouse effect has always existed on Earth; without it, the normal existence of living organisms and plants is impossible, and we owe a comfortable climate to it. The problem is that harmful human activities have assumed such a scale that they can no longer pass without a trace, affecting global, irreversible changes in the environment. And in order to survive, the population of our Planet needs the same global solidarity in resolving this serious issue.

The essence of the greenhouse effect, its causes and consequences

The vital activity of mankind, the burning of millions of tons of fuel, increased energy consumption, an increase in the vehicle fleet, a significant increase in the amount of waste, production volumes, and so on, leads to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. Statistics show that over the past two hundred years, carbon dioxide in the air has increased by 25%, over the entire geological history this have not happened before. Thus, a kind of gas cap is formed above the Earth, which delays the return thermal radiation, returning it back and leading to climate imbalance. As the average temperature at the Earth's surface increases, the amount of precipitation also increases. Remember that condensation always forms on the glass in a greenhouse or greenhouse; in nature, this happens in a similar way. It is impossible to accurately calculate all the disastrous consequences of this, but one thing is clear: man has started a dangerous game with nature, and we urgently need to come to our senses in order to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

To the reasons causing exacerbation greenhouse effect in the atmosphere include:
- economic activity which changes gas composition and causes dustiness in the lower air layers of the Earth;
- combustion of carbon-containing fuels, coal, oil and gas;
- exhaust gases from automobile engines;
- operation of thermal power plants;
- Agriculture, associated with excessive rotting and excess fertilizers, a significant increase in livestock numbers;
- extraction of natural resources;
- release of household and industrial waste;
- deforestation.

Surprisingly, it is a fact that air has ceased to be the renewable natural resource that it remained before the onset of intensive human activity.

Consequences of the greenhouse effect

The most dangerous consequence The greenhouse effect is considered to be global warming, which leads to an imbalance in the thermal balance on the Planet as a whole. Already today, each of us has experienced an average increase in temperature, phenomenal heat in the summer months and sudden thaws in the middle of winter, this is a frightening phenomenon as a consequence of global air pollution. And droughts, acid rain, hot winds, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters have become a terrible norm of life these days. Scientists' data indicate far from comforting forecasts; every year the temperature increases by almost one degree, or even more. In this regard, tropical rainfall intensifies, the boundaries of arid territories and deserts grow, rapid melting of glaciers begins, permafrost areas disappear and taiga territories are significantly reduced. This means that harvests will sharply decrease, inhabited areas will be flooded with water, many animals will not be able to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, the level of the World Ocean will rise and the general water-salt balance. Scary, but the current generation may be witnessing the fastest warming on Planet Earth. But, as world practice shows, for some parts of the world global warming also brings positive effect, giving the opportunity to develop agriculture and cattle breeding, this insignificant benefit is lost against the backdrop of massive negative impacts. Debates are raging around the greenhouse effect, research and testing are being conducted, and people are looking for ways to reduce its harmful effects.

Modern ways to solve the problem

There is only one way out of this situation: to find a new type of fuel, or to radically change the technology for using existing types of fuel resources. Coal and oil, when burned, release 60% more carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, than any other fuel per unit of energy.

What you need to do to escape the threat of the greenhouse effect:
- reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, especially coal, oil and natural gas;
- use special filters and catalysts to remove carbon dioxide from all emissions into the atmosphere;
- increase the energy efficiency of thermal power plants through the use of hidden environmentally friendly reserves;
- increase the use of alternative energy sources, wind, sun and so on;
- stop cutting down green spaces and establish targeted landscaping;
- stop the general pollution of the Planet.

There is now an active discussion of measures to reduce anthropogenic impact, such as regularly removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the use of high-tech devices, liquefying it and injecting it into the waters of the World Ocean, thereby approaching natural circulation. There are ways to solve the problem, the main thing is for everyone to take on this together, the population, the government and the younger generation, and carry out a huge, but so useful, work to cleanse Mother Earth. It's time to stop the consumer attitude and start investing energy and time in your future, the bright life of the next generations, it's time to give back to nature what we regularly take from it. There is no doubt that the ingenious and enterprising humanity will cope with this very difficult and responsible task.

Greenhouse effect– the ability (of gases in the atmosphere) to transmit solar radiation to a greater extent to the Earth’s surface compared to thermal radiation emitted by the Earth heated by the Sun. As a result, the temperature of the Earth's surface and the ground layer of air is higher than it would be in the absence of the greenhouse effect. The average temperature of the Earth's surface is plus 15°C, and without the greenhouse effect it would be minus 18°! The greenhouse effect is one of the life support mechanisms on Earth.

Human activities over the past 200 years, and especially since 1950, have led to a continuing increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The inevitable reaction of the atmosphere that follows is an anthropogenic enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect. Total anthropogenic enhancement of the greenhouse effect +2.45 watt/m2 (International Climate Change Committee IPCC).

The greenhouse effect of each of these gases depends on three main factors:

a) the expected greenhouse effect over the next decades or centuries (for example, 20, 100 or 500 years) caused by a unit volume of gas already entering the atmosphere, compared with the effect of carbon dioxide taken as a unit;

b) the typical duration of its stay in the atmosphere, and

c) volume of gas emission.

The combination of the first two factors is called “Relative greenhouse potential” and is expressed in units of CO2 potential.

Greenhouse gases:

Role water vapor contained in the atmosphere in the global greenhouse effect is large, but difficult to determine unambiguously. As the climate warms, the content of water vapor in the atmosphere will increase, thereby increasing the greenhouse effect.

D carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide (CO2) (64% in the greenhouse effect), differs according to

compared to other greenhouse gases, a relatively low potential for the greenhouse effect, but a fairly significant duration of existence in the atmosphere - 50–200 years and relatively high concentration. Concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the period from 1000 to 1800. was 270–290 parts per million by volume (ppmv), and by 1994 it had reached 358 ppmv and continues to rise. May reach 500 ppmv by the end of the 21st century. Stabilization of concentrations can be achieved through significant reductions in emissions. The main source of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) to produce energy.

CO2 sources

(1) Release to the atmosphere due to combustion of fossil fuels and cement production 5.5±0.5

(2) Release into the atmosphere due to the transformation of landscapes in the tropical and equatorial zones, soil degradation 1.6±1.0

Absorption by various reservoirs

(3) Accumulation in the atmosphere 3.3±0.2

(4) Accumulation by the World Ocean 2.0±0.8

(5) Accumulation in the biomass of the Northern Hemisphere 0.5±0.5

(6) Residual balance term, explained by the absorption of CO2 by terrestrial ecosystems (fertilization, etc.) = (1+2)-(3+4+5)=1.3±1.5

An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere should stimulate the process of photosynthesis. This is the so-called fertilization, due to which, according to some estimates, the production of organic matter can increase by 20-40% at twice the current concentration of carbon dioxide.

Methane (CH4) - 19% of its total value of greenhouse gases (as of 1995). Methane is produced in anaerobic conditions such as natural swamps different types, thickness of seasonal and permafrost, rice plantations, landfills, as well as as a result of the activity of ruminants and termites. Estimates show that about 20% of total methane emissions are associated with technology for the use of fossil fuels (fuel combustion, emissions from coal mines, extraction and distribution of natural resources).

gas, oil refining). In total, anthropogenic activities provide 60–80% of the total methane emissions into the atmosphere. Methane is unstable in the atmosphere. It is removed from it due to interaction with the hydroxyl ion (OH) in the troposphere. Despite this process, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has approximately doubled compared to pre-industrial times and continues to increase at a rate of about 0.8% per year.

An increase in temperature and an increase in humidity (that is, the duration of the territory being in anaerobic conditions) further enhance methane emissions. This is the character-

a great example of positive feedback. On the contrary, a decrease in groundwater levels due to decreased moisture should lead to a decrease in methane emissions (negative feedback).

Current role nitric oxide (N2O) in the total greenhouse effect is only about 6%. The concentration of nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere is also increasing. It is assumed that its anthropogenic sources are approximately half the size of natural ones. Sources of anthropogenic nitric oxide include agriculture (especially tropical grasslands), biomass burning, and nitrogen-producing industries. Its relative greenhouse potential (290 times

above the potential of carbon dioxide) and the typical duration of existence in the atmosphere (120 years) are significant, compensating for its low concentration.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)- these are substances synthesized by humans and containing chlorine, fluorine and bromine. They have a very strong relative greenhouse potential and a significant atmospheric lifespan. Their final role in the greenhouse effect is 7%. The production of chlorofluorocarbons in the world is currently controlled by international agreements on the protection of the ozone layer, which include a provision for a gradual reduction in the production of these substances, replacing them with less ozone-depleting ones, followed by its complete cessation. As a result, the concentration of CFCs in the atmosphere began to decline.

Ozone (O3) is an important greenhouse gas found in both the stratosphere and troposphere. It affects both short-wave and long-wave radiation, and therefore the resulting direction and magnitude of its contribution to the radiation balance strongly depends on the vertical distribution of ozone content, especially at the tropopause level. Estimates indicate a positive resultant of +0.4 watts/m2.

Introduction

1. Greenhouse effect: historical information and causes

1.1. Historical information

1.2. Causes

2. Greenhouse effect: mechanism of formation, strengthening

2.1. The mechanism of the greenhouse effect and its role in biosphere

processes

2.2. Increased greenhouse effect in the industrial era

3. Consequences of the increased greenhouse effect

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The main source of energy that supports life on Earth is solar radiation - electromagnetic radiation from the Sun that penetrates into earth's atmosphere. Solar energy also supports all atmospheric processes that determine the change of seasons: spring-summer-autumn-winter, as well as changes in weather conditions.

About half of the sun's energy comes from the visible part of the spectrum, which we perceive as sunlight. This radiation passes quite freely through the earth's atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface of land and oceans, heating them. But after all, solar radiation reaches the Earth every day for many millennia, why, in this case, does the Earth not overheat and turn into a small Sun?

The fact is that the earth, the water surface, and the atmosphere, in turn, also emit energy, only in a slightly different form - as invisible infrared, or thermal radiation.

On average it is enough long time V space Exactly as much energy goes out in the form of infrared radiation as it comes in in the form of sunlight. Thus, the thermal equilibrium of our planet is established. The whole question is at what temperature this equilibrium will be established. If there were no atmosphere, the average temperature of the Earth would be -23 degrees. Protective effect of the atmosphere, which absorbs part of the infrared radiation earth's surface, leads to the fact that in reality this temperature is +15 degrees. An increase in temperature is a consequence of the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, which intensifies with an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere. These gases absorb infrared radiation best.

In recent decades, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing more and more. This happens because; that the volume of burning fossil fuels and wood increases every year. As a result, the average air temperature at the Earth's surface increases by about 0.5 degrees per century. If the current rate of fuel combustion, and therefore the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, continues in the future, then, according to some forecasts, even greater climate warming is expected in the next century.

1. Greenhouse effect: historical information and causes

1.1. Historical information

The idea of ​​the mechanism of the greenhouse effect was first outlined in 1827 by Joseph Fourier in the article “A Note on the Temperatures of the Globe and Other Planets,” in which he considered various mechanisms formation of the Earth's climate, while he considered factors influencing the overall heat balance of the Earth (heating solar radiation, cooling due to radiation, internal heat of the Earth), and factors influencing heat transfer and temperatures of climatic zones (thermal conductivity, atmospheric and oceanic circulation).

When considering the influence of the atmosphere on the radiation balance, Fourier analyzed the experiment of M. de Saussure with a vessel covered with glass, blackened from the inside. De Saussure measured the temperature difference between the inside and outside of such a vessel exposed to direct sunlight. Fourier explained the increase in temperature inside such a “mini-greenhouse” compared to the external temperature by the action of two factors: blocking convective heat transfer (glass prevents the outflow of heated air from the inside and the influx of cool air from outside) and the different transparency of glass in the visible and infrared range.

It was the last factor that received the name of the greenhouse effect in later literature - absorbing visible light, the surface heats up and emits thermal (infrared) rays; Since glass is transparent to visible light and almost opaque to thermal radiation, the accumulation of heat leads to such an increase in temperature at which the number of thermal rays passing through the glass is sufficient to establish thermal equilibrium.

Fourier postulated that the optical properties of the Earth's atmosphere are similar to the optical properties of glass, that is, its transparency in the infrared range is lower than transparency in the optical range.

1.2. Causes

The essence of the greenhouse effect is as follows: the Earth receives energy from the Sun, mainly in the visible part of the spectrum, and itself emits mainly infrared rays into outer space.

However, many gases contained in its atmosphere - water vapor, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. - are transparent to visible rays, but actively absorb infrared rays, thereby retaining some of the heat in the atmosphere.

In recent decades, the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased greatly. New, previously non-existent substances with a “greenhouse” absorption spectrum have also appeared - primarily fluorocarbons.

The gases that cause the greenhouse effect are not only carbon dioxide (CO2). These also include methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). However, it is the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, accompanied by the release of CO2, that is considered the main cause of pollution.

Cause rapid growth The amount of greenhouse gases is obvious - humanity now burns as much fossil fuel per day as it was formed over thousands of years during the formation of oil, coal and gas deposits. From this “push” the climate system went out of “equilibrium” and we see larger number secondary negative phenomena: especially hot days, droughts, floods, sudden changes in weather, and this is what causes the greatest damage.

According to researchers, if nothing is done, global CO2 emissions will quadruple over the next 125 years. But we must not forget that a significant part of future sources of pollution has not yet been built. Over the past hundred years, temperatures in the northern hemisphere have increased by 0.6 degrees. The predicted temperature increase over the next century will be between 1.5 and 5.8 degrees. The most likely option is 2.5-3 degrees.

However, climate change is not just about rising temperatures. Changes also affect other climatic phenomena. Not only extreme heat, but also severe sudden frosts, floods, mudflows, tornadoes, and hurricanes are explained by the effects of global warming. The climate system is too complex to be expected to change uniformly and uniformly in all parts of the planet. And scientists see the main danger today precisely in the growth of deviations from average values ​​- significant and frequent temperature fluctuations.

2. Greenhouse effect: mechanism, enhancement

2.1 The mechanism of the greenhouse effect and its role in biosphere processes

The main source of life and all natural processes on Earth is the radiant energy of the Sun. The energy of solar radiation of all wavelengths entering our planet per unit time per unit area perpendicular to sun rays, is called the solar constant and is 1.4 kJ/cm2. This is only one two-billionth of the energy emitted by the surface of the Sun. From total number The atmosphere absorbs -20% of solar energy entering the Earth. Approximately 34% of the energy penetrating deep into the atmosphere and reaching the Earth's surface is reflected by atmospheric clouds, aerosols contained in it, and the Earth's surface itself. Thus, -46% of solar energy reaches the earth's surface and is absorbed by it. In turn, the surface of land and water emits long-wave infrared (thermal) radiation, which partly goes into space and partly remains in the atmosphere, being retained by the gases included in its composition and heating the ground layers of air. This isolation of the Earth from outer space created favorable conditions for the development of living organisms.

The nature of the greenhouse effect of atmospheres is due to their different transparency in the visible and far infrared ranges. The wavelength range 400-1500 nm (visible light and near-infrared) accounts for 75% of solar radiation energy; most gases do not absorb in this range; Rayleigh scattering in gases and scattering on atmospheric aerosols do not prevent radiation of these wavelengths from penetrating into the depths of atmospheres and reaching the surface of planets. Sunlight is absorbed by the surface of the planet and its atmosphere (especially radiation in the near UV and IR regions) and heats them up. The heated surface of the planet and the atmosphere emit in the far infrared range: for example, in the case of Earth (), 75% of thermal radiation falls in the range of 7.8-28 microns, for Venus - 3.3-12 microns.

The atmosphere containing gases that absorb in this region of the spectrum (the so-called greenhouse gases - H2O, CO2, CH4, etc.) is significantly opaque for such radiation directed from its surface into outer space, that is, it has a large optical thickness. Due to such opacity, the atmosphere becomes a good heat insulator, which, in turn, leads to the fact that the reradiation of absorbed solar energy into outer space occurs in the upper cold layers of the atmosphere. As a result, the effective temperature of the Earth as a radiator is lower than the temperature of its surface. .

Thus, the delayed thermal radiation coming from the earth's surface (like a film over a greenhouse) received the figurative name of the greenhouse effect. Gases that trap thermal radiation and prevent heat from escaping into space are called greenhouse gases. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, the average annual temperature at the Earth's surface over the last millennium has been approximately 15°C. Without the greenhouse effect, this temperature would drop to -18°C and the existence of life on Earth would become impossible. The main greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is water vapor, which traps 60% of the Earth's thermal radiation. The content of water vapor in the atmosphere is determined by the planetary water cycle and (with strong latitudinal and altitudinal fluctuations) is almost constant. Approximately 40% of the Earth's thermal radiation is trapped by other greenhouse gases, including more than 20% by carbon dioxide. Basic natural springs CO2 in the atmosphere - volcanic eruptions and natural forest fires. At the dawn of the geobiochemical evolution of the Earth, carbon dioxide entered the World Ocean through underwater volcanoes, saturated it and was released into the atmosphere. There are still no accurate estimates of the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere at early stages its development. Based on the results of the analysis of basalt rocks of underwater ridges in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans American geochemist D. Marais concluded that the CO2 content in the atmosphere in the first billion years of its existence was a thousand times higher than at present - about 39%. Then the air temperature in the surface layer reached almost 100°C, and the water temperature in the World Ocean was approaching the boiling point (the “supergreenhouse” effect). With the advent of photosynthetic organisms and chemical processes During the binding of carbon dioxide, a powerful mechanism began to operate, removing CO2 from the atmosphere and ocean into sedimentary rocks. The greenhouse effect began to gradually decrease until the equilibrium in the biosphere reached that which existed before the era of industrialization and which corresponds to the minimum content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - 0.03%. In the absence of anthropogenic emissions the carbon cycle of terrestrial and aquatic biota, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere was in equilibrium. The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to volcanic activity is estimated at 175 million tons per year. Precipitation in the form of carbonates binds about 100 million tons. The oceanic carbon reserve is large - it is 80 times greater than the atmospheric one. Three times more carbon than in the atmosphere is concentrated in biota, and with an increase in CO2, the productivity of terrestrial vegetation increases.

The greenhouse effect is a phenomenon in which the solar heat entering the Earth is retained at the Earth's surface by so-called greenhouse or greenhouse gases. These gases include the familiar carbon dioxide and methane, the content of which in the atmosphere is steadily increasing. This is facilitated primarily not only by the burning of gigantic volumes of fuel, but also by a number of other factors, including deforestation, emissions of freons into the atmosphere, improper agricultural practices and overgrazing. Deforestation is especially dangerous and undesirable. It will lead not only to water and wind erosion, thereby disturbing the soil cover, but will also continue the non-renewable loss of organic matter in the biosphere, the very thing that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It should also be noted that at least 25% of this gas contained in the atmosphere is due to unjustified deforestation in the northern and southern zones. Even more alarming is the evidence that deforestation and fuel combustion balance each other out in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Forests also suffer due to their excessive use for recreation and recreation. Often, the presence of tourists in such cases leads to mechanical damage to the trees, their subsequent illness and death. Mass visits also contribute to trampling of the soil and lower layers of vegetation.

The degeneration of forests with significant air pollution is very noticeable. Fly ash, coal and coke dust clog leaf pores, reduce light access to plants and weaken the assimilation process. Soil pollution with emissions of metal dust, arsenic dust in combination with superphosphate or sulfuric acid poisons the root system of plants, retarding its growth. Sulfur dioxide is also toxic to plants. Vegetation is completely destroyed under the influence of fumes and gases from copper smelters in the immediate vicinity. Damage to vegetation, and primarily to forests, is caused by acidic precipitation as a result of the spread of sulfur compounds over hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Acidic precipitation has a regional destructive effect on forest soils. A noticeable decrease in forest biomass is apparently also due to fires. Of course, plants are characterized by the process of photosynthesis, during which plants absorb carbon dioxide, which serves as biomass, but in Lately The level of pollution has increased so much that plants can no longer cope with it. According to scientists, every year all land vegetation absorbs 20–30 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the form of its dioxide, and the Amazon alone absorbs up to 6 billion tons of harmful atmospheric impurities. Algae play an important role in the absorption of carbon dioxide.

Another problem of the modern dynamically developing world is the improper conduct of agriculture, which in some cases uses the slash-and-burn system, which has not yet been eliminated in the equatorial regions, and overgrazing of livestock, which leads to the same soil compaction. The problem of fuel combustion and the release of dangerous industrial gases such as freons is also traditional.

History of greenhouse effect research

An interesting point of view was put forward by the Soviet climatologist N. I. Budyko in 1962. According to his calculations, the concentration of atmospheric CO 2 is predicted to increase in 2000 to 380 parts per million, in 2025 - to 520 and in 2050. - up to 750. The average annual surface global air temperature will increase, in his opinion, compared to its value at the beginning of the twentieth century. by 0.9 degrees Celsius in 2000, by 1.8 degrees in 2025 and by 2.8 degrees in 2050. That is, we should not expect glaciation.

However, the study of the greenhouse effect began much earlier. The idea of ​​the mechanism of the greenhouse effect was first outlined in 1827 by Joseph Fourier in the article “A Note on the Temperatures of the Globe and Other Planets,” in which he considered various mechanisms for the formation of the Earth’s climate, while he considered both factors influencing the overall heat balance of the Earth ( heating by solar radiation, cooling due to radiation, internal heat of the Earth), as well as factors influencing heat transfer and temperatures of climatic zones (thermal conductivity, atmospheric and oceanic circulation).

When considering the influence of the atmosphere on the radiation balance, Fourier analyzed the experiment of M. de Saussure with a vessel covered with glass, blackened from the inside. De Saussure measured the temperature difference between the inside and outside of such a vessel exposed to direct sunlight. Fourier explained the increase in temperature inside such a “mini-greenhouse” compared to the external temperature by the action of two factors: blocking convective heat transfer (glass prevents the outflow of heated air from the inside and the influx of cool air from outside) and the different transparency of glass in the visible and infrared range.

It was the last factor that received the name of the greenhouse effect in later literature - absorbing visible light, the surface heats up and emits thermal (infrared) rays; Since glass is transparent to visible light and almost opaque to thermal radiation, the accumulation of heat leads to such an increase in temperature at which the number of thermal rays passing through the glass is sufficient to establish thermal equilibrium.

Fourier postulated that the optical properties of the Earth's atmosphere are similar to the optical properties of glass, that is, its transparency in the infrared range is lower than transparency in the optical range.

The conclusions of other geophysicists such as V.I. Lebedev are also known. He believes that an increase in the concentration of CO 2 in the air should not affect the earth's climate at all, while the productivity of terrestrial vegetation, and in particular grain crops, will increase.

Physicist B. M. Smirnov also points to the possibility of increasing yields. In this regard, he considers the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a factor beneficial for humanity.

A different point of view is held by the so-called Club of Rome, founded in 1968 and the Americans came to the conclusion that there is a gradual increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The opinions of a number of scientists about the cyclical nature of climate are interesting, saying that there are “warm” and “cold” centuries. This is not to say that they are wrong, because everyone is right in their own way. That is, in modern climatology we clearly trace 3 directions:

Optimistic

Pessimistic

Neutral

Causes of the greenhouse effect

In the modern balance of consumption of organic matter, 45% in our country belongs to natural gas in terms of reserves of which we occupy 1st place in the world. Its advantage in contrast to other fossil fuels (fuel oil, coal, oil, etc.) is obvious: it has a lower carbon dioxide emission factor. In the global fuel balance, natural gas occupies a much more modest role - only 25%. Currently, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 0.032% (in cities - 0.034%). Doctors say that the concentration of CO 2 in the air is harmless to human health up to a level of 1%, i.e. humanity still has enough time to solve this problem. The data from the RAS Institute is interesting. Thus, annual reports on air pollution problems provide data that Russia exhales 3.12 billion tons of carbon dioxide, with 1.84 kg per person per day. The lion's share of carbon dioxide is emitted by the car. Added to this are 500 million tons from forest fires, but in general in Russia the level of pollution is an order of magnitude lower than in foreign countries such as the USA. But the problem is not limited to carbon dioxide alone. Gases that create a greenhouse effect also include a number of others, such as methane, so it is very important to be able to determine its real losses during production, transportation through pipelines, distribution in major cities and populated areas, use in thermal and power plants. It should be noted that its concentration remained unchanged for a long time, and from the 19th to 20th centuries it began to grow rapidly.

According to scientists, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere decreases annually by more than 10 million tons. If its consumption continues at this rate, then two-thirds of the total amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere and hydrosphere will be exhausted in just over 100 thousand years. Accordingly, the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere will reach excessive concentrations.

According to research by Russian, French, and American scientists, the total level of these gases has reached its historical maximum over the past 420 thousand years, surpassing even emissions of natural origin, which include volcanism and the release of hydrates from the ocean floor. Proof of this is data from the “pole of cold” of the Russian Antarctic station Vostok, where polar explorers obtained an ice core with a thickness of 2547 m, which clearly demonstrates this or similar data from glacial Tibet, one of the highest places on our planet.

It must be said that the natural greenhouse effect has always been characteristic of the Earth. It is with this that the age-old and not only climate cyclicality is connected. A number of scientists also suggest that they are caused by a change in the Earth’s orbit relative to the Sun, but the inconsistency of this theory is obvious. Every year our planet passes 2 points of perihelion and aphelion, leading to a change in the planet’s orbit. Nevertheless, any significant changes, with the exception of the change of seasons, characteristic of other terrestrial planets such as Mars, do not occur. Large-scale changes occur extremely rarely, so there is no need to talk about the prevailing role of this factor.

Since the end of the 19th century, there has been a continuous debate between ecocentrists, who believe that a breakdown in cyclicality occurred with the beginning of industrialization, and anthropocentrists, who believe that this process is influenced not only by human economic activity. Here, first of all, it is necessary to note the differentiation of emissions. After all, even the United States emits only 20% of the global level, and the emissions of the “third world” countries, which after 1991 include Russia, do not exceed 10%.

But even standing aside from this debate, the evidence of climate warming becomes obvious. This is confirmed by a simple fact. Back in 1973 in the USSR, on November 7 - the day of the Great October Socialist Revolution, snow removal equipment walked in front of a column of demonstrators, but now there is no snow in early December and even in January! Continuing this topic, geographers have already included 1990, 1995, 1997 and the last 2 years in the “list of the warmest” over the past 600 years. And in general, the 20th century, despite a number of costs, was recognized as the “warmest” in 1200 years!

However, apparently this is how man works - the only creature on Earth in the literal sense of the word “sawing the tree on which he sits.” What I mean is that the above information discovered in America makes you at least think, but at the same time, in the southeast of this country (Florida), swamps are being drained for the construction of prestigious houses and sugar cane plantations.

Possible consequences of the greenhouse effect

Nature never forgives mistakes. Climate change from the greenhouse effect can reach, and in some cases exceed, our wildest expectations. In this context, the most dangerous and alarming is the melting of the polar ice caps, as a result of a general increase in temperature by 5 degrees. As a result, chain reactions akin to the “domino effect” will begin. The melting of glaciers will lead primarily to a rise in sea levels in best case scenario by 5 - 7 meters, and in the future even up to 60 meters. Entire countries will disappear, in particular low-lying ones such as Bangladesh, Denmark, the Netherlands, and many port cities around the world such as Rotterdam and New York. All this will lead to the second “great migration of peoples”, this time from the low-lying zones, in which, according to UN estimates, about a billion people live. Moreover, if over the last 250-300 years the level of the World Ocean has risen by an average of 1 mm per year, then in the 20s of the twentieth century. its rise reached 1.4-1.5 mm per year, which is equivalent to an annual increase in oceanic water mass by 520-540 cubic meters. km. It is assumed that in the 20s of the XXI century. the rate of ocean level rise will exceed 0.5 cm per year. An increase in water mass will affect seismicity in different areas of the planet. By 2030, the Gulf Stream will disappear as a current. The consequence of this will be a decrease in the contrast between North and South.

Other existing ecosystems will also change. In particular, due to the change in the oblateness of the planet in Africa and Asia, crop yields will fall and the risk of catastrophic floods will increase in Europe and on the east coast of the United States, where coastal erosion will also occur. Thus, a number of catastrophically radical climate changes will occur in the UK, including a manifold increase in the frequency of hot and dry summers similar to the summer of 1995. Two such summers in a row will lead to drought, crop failure and famine. Aquitaine, Gascony, and Normandy will disappear from the map of France. In place of Paris there will be an ocean. The sword of Damocles hangs over Venice. Severe droughts will engulf Australia, the states of Texas, California, and long-suffering Florida. Where rain was very rare, it will become even rarer; in other wetter areas, the amount of precipitation will increase even more. Average annual temperatures in Algeria will increase, glaciers in the Caucasus and Alps will disappear, and in the Himalayas and Andes they will decrease by 1/5, permafrost will disappear in Russia, calling into question the existence of northern cities. Siberia will change radically. The valleys of many rivers such as the Rio Grande, Magdalena, Amazon, and Parana will disappear. The Panama Canal will lose its importance. So, if we agree with the calculations of some scientists, then by the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. As a result of warming caused by an increase in CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere, the climate of Moscow will be similar to the modern climate of humid Transcaucasia.

There will be a restructuring of the entire atmospheric circulation system with corresponding changes in the thermal regime and humidification. The process of reforming geographical zones will begin with their “shift” to higher latitudes at a distance of up to 15 degrees. It must be taken into account that the atmosphere is a very dynamic system and can change extremely quickly; As for other components of the geosphere, they are more conservative. Thus, it takes hundreds of years for radical changes in soil cover. A situation is possible when the most fertile soils, for example chernozems, will end up in climatic conditions deserts, and the already waterlogged and swampy taiga lands will receive even more precipitation. Desert areas may increase dramatically. Indeed, even at present, desertification processes are developing on 50-70 thousand square meters. km of cultivated areas. Warming will lead to an increase in the number of cyclones, including hurricanes. It is also important that certain animal populations may simply disappear from the face of the Earth, while a number of others may decline catastrophically. There is no doubt that the advancement of the tropical and subtropical zones will lead to an expansion of the habitats of pathogenic microbes and bacteria. Energy will also incur significant costs. Everything wasn't so bad if it weren't for the speed of everything that was happening. A person does not have time to adapt to changed conditions, because 50 centuries ago, when a similar phenomenon was observed, there were no factors accelerating it tens or even hundreds of times. Especially in this regard, developing countries that have just begun to create their own economies suffer.

On the other hand, warming promises us great opportunities that people may not yet be aware of. There is no need to immediately refute these few statements. After all, man, according to Vernadsky, “a great geological force,” can reorganize his economy in a new way, for which nature, in turn, will provide great opportunities. So the forests will move further north and cover, in particular, all of Alaska; the opening of rivers in the Northern Hemisphere will occur 2 weeks earlier compared to the same period in the 19th century. This will give a “new breath” to river shipping. Agronomists will undoubtedly not be against increasing the growing season of plants in Europe by 1 month; there will be more wood. There are calculations by physicists according to which, when the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere doubles, the air temperature will increase by no more than 0.04 degrees Celsius. Thus, an increase in CO 2 concentration on such a scale may be more likely to be beneficial for agricultural production, because should be accompanied by an increase in the intensity of photosynthesis (by 2-3%).

Migratory birds will arrive earlier and stay with us longer than now. Winters will become significantly warmer, and summers will lengthen and become hotter; the heating season will objectively be shortened in cities where warming will average about 3 degrees. In Russia, agriculture in the future may move to the north, as N.S. Khrushchev wanted, but the most important thing is that Russia will be able to raise these regions, destroyed by the liberal reforms of the 90s, by connecting them into a single road network we're talking about about the construction of a fundamentally new railway from Yakutsk further to Anadyr and Alaska through the Bering Strait and the possible continuation of existing ones such as the Transpolar Highway.