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Radiative Forcing

All articles tagged with #radiative forcing

science-climate12 days ago•14 min saved

CO2 Turns the Stratosphere Into a Cooling Engine, New Study Finds

New Columbia University–led research, published in Nature Geoscience, identifies why Earth’s upper atmosphere has cooled while the surface warms: increasing CO2 alters how infrared light is absorbed and emitted in the stratosphere, with a particular “Goldilocks zone” of wavelengths driving efficient cooling that expands as CO2 rises. Ozone and water vapor play smaller roles. Cooling strengthens with altitude, and about a doubling of CO2 cools the stratopause by ~8°C, contributing to less heat escaping to space and a feedback that traps more heat near the surface. The study provides a quantitative mechanism for stratospheric cooling and has implications for understanding atmospheres beyond Earth.

via SciTechDaily|

#carbon-dioxide #cooling #infrared-radiation

environment27 days ago•3 min saved

Tiny Plastics in the Sky May Be Warming the Planet

A Nature Climate Change study finds colored micro- and nanoplastics suspended in the atmosphere have a net warming effect. While the global impact remains small, the warming can exceed that of black carbon in regions with high plastic concentrations, such as the North Pacific Gyre, by up to about fivefold. The researchers used high-resolution spectroscopy and atmospheric transport simulations to refine estimates of direct radiative forcing, but they emphasize the need for more world-wide measurements to accurately map airborne microplastics.

via Gizmodo|

#air-pollution #black-carbon #climate-change

climate-change2 years ago•1 min saved

The Growing Threat of Carbon Dioxide: Scientists' Findings

New research published in the journal Science reveals that the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) becomes even more potent as more of it is emitted. The study shows that CO2's cooling effect in the stratosphere actually intensifies the greenhouse effect, making it stronger at heating up the planet. The radiative forcing of CO2 is increasing by about 25 percent with each doubling, suggesting that future increases in CO2 will lead to a faster rate of global warming. This finding underscores the urgent need to curb carbon emissions to mitigate the severe impacts of climate change.

via Futurism|

#carbon-dioxide #climate-change #greenhouse-effect