Climate Change

What is Climate Change?

Climate change specifically is talking about an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, as

the result of human activity.

Why is there so much Carbon?

Humans combust fossil fuels, like oil, coal, and gas. Combustion is a chemical reaction
involving a fuel and oxygen. The energy given off in a combustion reaction is very useful to us
– think, driving cars. However combustion reactions always have the same products – water
and a carbon product, usually carbon dioxide. Think about the combustion reaction that
happens in your car’s engine:

Petrol + oxygen  Carbon Dioxide + Water.

All of this extra Carbon Dioxide ends up in the atmosphere.

This majorly affects the carbon cycle. It takes millions of
years for fossil fuels to form, and we have released a huge
portion of it back into the atmosphere in the space of about
150 years!

Why so warm?

The energy reaching earth from the sun typically consists

of a lot of high energy rays, like Ultra-Violet. Ultraviolet light
is not really absorbed much by carbon dioxide. It gets
straight through the atmosphere. When the sunlight hits
the earth, the earth warms up, and releases some energy
back into space. The released energy is a type of every
called infra-red. Carbon dioxide is very good at absorbing
infra-red energy.
Energy comes in, but can’t get out. The more carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere, the more energy is trapped, and the atmosphere slowly warms
up. This is called the greenhouse effect.

Effects on Climate

When water warms, it expands. At the moment, this is the main cause of sea-level rise. But
melting ice is also a factor. Having such a rapidly changing temperature also affects our
weather. Part of the reason is that the equator is affected differently to the poles, and the
temperature difference between these regions is what drives most of our weather.

Effects on the Ocean.

Apart from warming up and causing havoc with marine life and our climate, something else is
happening to the ocean. Part of the carbon cycle is the exchange between atmosphere
and ocean. More Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more is dissolved into the ocean.
This causes higher levels of carbonic acid in the ocean. The pH of the ocean is about 8.1.
Note this is still basic, but the ocean is becoming more acidic. This is a problem, particularly for
things like coral or shellfish whose shells are made of calcium carbonate.

Carbonic Acid + Calcium Carbonate  Water + Carbon Dioxide + Calcium Bicarbonate