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it could block out the sun and cause the earth to cool

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Q: How could massive amount of dust in the atmosphere cause global climate changes?
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How will climate change?

Climates will change if the factors that influence them fluctuate. To change climate on a global scale, either the amount of heat that is let into the system changes, or the amount of heat that is let out of the system changes. For instance, warming climates are either due to increased heat let into the Earth or a decrease in the amount of heat that is let out of the atmosphere. The heat that enters into the Earth system comes from the Sun. Sunlight travels through space and our atmosphere, heating up the land surface and the oceans. The warmed Earth then releases heat back into the atmosphere. However, the amount of sunlight let into the system is not always the same. Changes in Earth's orbit over thousands of years and changes in the Sun's intensity affect the amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth.


Are short periods of climate changes caused by changes caused by changes in amount of solar radiation an area receives?

Seasons :)


How are people distroying the atmosphere?

To be 100% correct: people aren't destroying the atmosphere we just change the composition. The changes we do are for example increase the amount of CO2, CH4 in the atmosphere. By this also the temperature of the earth surface will rise. (climate change blablabla). Also we decrease the amount of O3 (ozone) in the atmosphere. This is because some of our chemicals we use(d) react with O3 to O2. By this our ozone lair gets thinner. Does this answer you Q?


Why should the amount of carbon in the atmosphere today be reduced?

The present levels of carbon dioxide dioxide in the atmosphere are causing global warming and climate change.


How might gases cause climatic changes?

Greenhouse gases that we are adding to the atmosphere are carbon dioxide and methane (mostly). These gases reduce the amount of thermal energy escaping into space, effectively warming the atmosphere. Too much warming heats the whole globe, global warming, which is causing climate change.


Hoe does the amount of air change as you travel up through the Earth's atmosphere?

it changes because there are laess oxegen atoms


What are the short periods of climate change caused by changes in the amount of solar radiation an area receives?

Seasons :)


How is the size of the planet related to its thickness atmosphere?

There is no simple relationship, but the general tendency is that more massive planets have more gravitational attraction, and are able to maintain a denser atmosphere. The amount of atmosphere a planet has may also depend on it closeness to the Sun / to the planet's star, and to its evolutionary history.


How is the size of planet related to thickness of its atmosphere?

There is no simple relationship, but the general tendency is that more massive planets have more gravitational attraction, and are able to maintain a denser atmosphere. The amount of atmosphere a planet has may also depend on it closeness to the Sun / to the planet's star, and to its evolutionary history.


How does the atmosphere prevent us from getting too hot during the day?

Because of the amount of energy the sun sends out always changes


How does the atmosphere prevents us from getting too hot during the day?

Because of the amount of energy the sun sends out always changes


What is climate and why does it change?

"Climate" is a very general term that has a variety of closely related meanings. Usually, "climate" refers to the average, or typical, weather conditions observed over a long period of time for a given area. For instance, the climate of Wisconsin in the winter is cold, with occasional snow. The climate of the tropical oceans is warm and humid, with occasional showers or thunderstorms. Climate variations can occur from year to year, or one decade to another, one century to another or any longer time scale. There is still a lot of uncertainty about what causes climate variations, with some of the factors being: variations in the sun, changes in ocean circulation, changes in land cover types, the production of greenhouse gases by mankind's burning of fossil fuels, and the role of man-made aerosols on cloud formation. The global mean climate changes because the amount of net energy that enters the climate system changes in time. The Earth receives energy from the sun. Part of this energy is transformed into heat. The total amount of solar energy that is transformed into heat is not always the same because: * The amount of energy that the Sun radiates is not always the same * The orbit of the Earth around the Sun is not always the same * The composition of the atmosphere is not always the same * The reflection of sunlight at the Earth's surface (albedo) is not always the same * The amount of cloud cover is not always the same The Earth also receives energy from the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation. Without the atmosphere, the Earth would only receive solar radiation and the temperature on Earth would be much lower. The warming of the Earth as a result of the infrared radiation of the atmosphere to the Earth is called the greenhouse effect. This greenhouse effect does not always have the same intensity because: * The amount of cloud cover is not always the same * The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not always the same Furthermore the Earth loses energy to space in the form of infrared radiation. This amount of radiation depends on the temperature. The global mean temperature adjusts in such a way that the mean amount of energy that enters the Earth-atmosphere system (in the form of solar radiation) balances to the amount that leaves the atmosphere (in the form of infrared radiation). These processes mentioned above do not operate independent of each other but can strengthen or weaken each other. If the temperature of the atmosphere rises, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases which results in an increase of the amount of infrared radiation to the Earth (the greenhouse effect is strengthened). This will reinforce the initial temperature rise. Such reinforcement is called a positive feedback. In this example one speaks of the water vapor feedback. Another important feedback is the snow albedo-feedback. When the temperature of the atmosphere falls, more snow remains on the Earth's surface. More sunlight is reflected and the initial temperature drop will be reinforced. This last feedback is an essential link in the onset of ice ages. A rather uncertain feedback is the cloud feedback. Clouds reflect the sunlight and thus have a cooling effect on the climate. Night clouds however diminish the amount of infrared radiation to space and thus have a warming effect on the climate. Moreover this effect on the infrared radiation strongly depends on the temperature and thus the height at which the cloud is situated. Because it is by no means clear how the cloud distribution responds to temperature changes, there is a lot of uncertainty about the nature and strength of the cloud feedback and it behaves very different in the different climate models. Because of atmospheric and ocean currents there is a constant redistribution of heat over the Earth's surface. Changes in these currents can cause large climate fluctuations in certain regions. The variations in the mean temperature of a certain region are generally much bigger than the variations of the global mean temperature. In the climate simulations of this project we prescribe the following so called climate forcing: * the amount of energy that the sun radiated from 1940 to 2000 * the amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere between 1940 and 2000 * the amount of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere between 1940 and 2000 * the concentration of greenhouse gases between 1940 and 2080 For the first three forcing we set the values for the years after 2000 to the year 2000 values. For the concentration of greenhouse gases in the years after 2000, of which CO2 is the most important, we use the 'business as usual' scenario, in which the world continues to burn fossil fuels undiminished and as a result, the concentration of CO2 continuously increases. "Climate" is a very general term that has a variety of closely related meanings. Usually, "climate" refers to the average, or typical, weather conditions observed over a long period of time for a given area. For instance, the climate of Wisconsin in the winter is cold, with occasional snow. The climate of the tropical oceans is warm and humid, with occasional showers or thunderstorms. Climate variations can occur from year to year, or one decade to another, one century to another or any longer time scale. There is still a lot of uncertainty about what causes climate variations, with some of the factors being: variations in the sun, changes in ocean circulation, changes in land cover types, the production of greenhouse gases by mankind's burning of fossil fuels, and the role of man-made aerosols on cloud formation. The global mean climate changes because the amount of net energy that enters the climate system changes in time. The Earth receives energy from the sun. Part of this energy is transformed into heat. The total amount of solar energy that is transformed into heat is not always the same because: * The amount of energy that the Sun radiates is not always the same * The orbit of the Earth around the Sun is not always the same * The composition of the atmosphere is not always the same * The reflection of sunlight at the Earth's surface (albedo) is not always the same * The amount of cloud cover is not always the same The Earth also receives energy from the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation. Without the atmosphere, the Earth would only receive solar radiation and the temperature on Earth would be much lower. The warming of the Earth as a result of the infrared radiation of the atmosphere to the Earth is called the greenhouse effect. This greenhouse effect does not always have the same intensity because: * The amount of cloud cover is not always the same * The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not always the same Furthermore the Earth loses energy to space in the form of infrared radiation. This amount of radiation depends on the temperature. The global mean temperature adjusts in such a way that the mean amount of energy that enters the Earth-atmosphere system (in the form of solar radiation) balances to the amount that leaves the atmosphere (in the form of infrared radiation). These processes mentioned above do not operate independent of each other but can strengthen or weaken each other. If the temperature of the atmosphere rises, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases which results in an increase of the amount of infrared radiation to the Earth (the greenhouse effect is strengthened). This will reinforce the initial temperature rise. Such reinforcement is called a positive feedback. In this example one speaks of the water vapor feedback. Another important feedback is the snow albedo-feedback. When the temperature of the atmosphere falls, more snow remains on the Earth's surface. More sunlight is reflected and the initial temperature drop will be reinforced. This last feedback is an essential link in the onset of ice ages. A rather uncertain feedback is the cloud feedback. Clouds reflect the sunlight and thus have a cooling effect on the climate. Night clouds however diminish the amount of infrared radiation to space and thus have a warming effect on the climate. Moreover this effect on the infrared radiation strongly depends on the temperature and thus the height at which the cloud is situated. Because it is by no means clear how the cloud distribution responds to temperature changes, there is a lot of uncertainty about the nature and strength of the cloud feedback and it behaves very different in the different climate models. Because of atmospheric and ocean currents there is a constant redistribution of heat over the Earth's surface. Changes in these currents can cause large climate fluctuations in certain regions. The variations in the mean temperature of a certain region are generally much bigger than the variations of the global mean temperature. In the climate simulations of this project we prescribe the following so called climate forcing: * the amount of energy that the sun radiated from 1940 to 2000 * the amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere between 1940 and 2000 * the amount of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere between 1940 and 2000 * the concentration of greenhouse gases between 1940 and 2080 For the first three forcing we set the values for the years after 2000 to the year 2000 values. For the concentration of greenhouse gases in the years after 2000, of which CO2 is the most important, we use the 'business as usual' scenario, in which the world continues to burn fossil fuels undiminished and as a result, the concentration of CO2 continuously increases.