This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: Some climate scientists feel that humans have affected climate and greenhouse gases in the ... (Read 239 times)

mcmcdaniel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 550
Some climate scientists feel that humans have affected climate and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere for at least 5000 years, dating back far before consumption of fossil fuels. Based on what you have learned in this chapter,
 
  how could the rise of agricultural societies have produced this longer impact on climate?
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

There are many atmospheric gases that contribute to greenhouse warming, so why do climate scientists focus on carbon dioxide and methane and not on more abundant water vapor?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

blfontai

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 327
Answer to Question 1

The rise of agricultural societies may have had two impacts that could cause climate change. One is changes in land use by replacing forests with crop land. The crop-land surfaces would probably have higher albedo, which could cause warming. However, there may also be less photosynthesis compared to the previous forest, so that would lead to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Some agricultural practices, like growing rice, increase the atmospheric concentration of methane, an important greenhouse gas.

Answer to Question 2

Water vapor concentrations are not thought to change dramatically from year to year because the hydrologic cycle efficiently moves water molecules from vapor to liquid and back again. So, although water vapor is abundant in the atmosphere, it probably doesn't change very much, so it is insignificant for explaining changing temperature. In contrast, measurements of air samples and air bubbles trapped in glacial ice show that carbon dioxide and methane concentrations have increased dramatically in the last century.




mcmcdaniel

  • Member
  • Posts: 550
Reply 2 on: Jul 16, 2018
Great answer, keep it coming :)


JaynaD87

  • Member
  • Posts: 368
Reply 3 on: Yesterday
Thanks for the timely response, appreciate it

 

Did you know?

The use of salicylates dates back 2,500 years to Hippocrates’s recommendation of willow bark (from which a salicylate is derived) as an aid to the pains of childbirth. However, overdosage of salicylates can harm body fluids, electrolytes, the CNS, the GI tract, the ears, the lungs, the blood, the liver, and the kidneys and cause coma or death.

Did you know?

Aspirin may benefit 11 different cancers, including those of the colon, pancreas, lungs, prostate, breasts, and leukemia.

Did you know?

Bisphosphonates were first developed in the nineteenth century. They were first investigated for use in disorders of bone metabolism in the 1960s. They are now used clinically for the treatment of osteoporosis, Paget's disease, bone metastasis, multiple myeloma, and other conditions that feature bone fragility.

Did you know?

The horizontal fraction bar was introduced by the Arabs.

Did you know?

Sperm cells are so tiny that 400 to 500 million (400,000,000–500,000,000) of them fit onto 1 tsp.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library