Human activity has already reached such proportions that the general content carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has reached the maximum permissible values. Natural systems - land, atmosphere, ocean - are under destructive influence.
Important Facts
For example, these include fluorochlorohydrocarbons. These gas impurities emit and absorb solar radiation, which affects the planet's climate. Together, CO 2 , other gaseous compounds that end up in the atmosphere, are called greenhouse gases.
Historical reference
He warned that an increase in the volume of fuel burned could lead to a violation of the Earth's radiation balance.
Modern realities
Today, more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere when fuel is burned, and also due to the changes that occur in nature due to deforestation and an increase in agricultural land.
Mechanism of carbon dioxide impact on wildlife
An increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a greenhouse effect. If carbon monoxide (IV) is transparent during short-wave solar radiation, then it absorbs long-wave radiation, radiating energy in all directions. As a result, the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases significantly, the surface of the Earth heats up, and the lower layers of the atmosphere become hot. With a subsequent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide, global climate change is possible.
That is why it is important to predict the total amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.
Sources of release into the atmosphere
Among them are industrial emissions. The content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing due to anthropogenic emissions. Economic growth directly depends on the amount of natural resources burned, since many industries are energy-intensive enterprises.
The results of statistical studies indicate that since the end of the last century in many countries there has been a decrease in specific energy costs with a significant increase in electricity prices.
Its effective use is achieved through the modernization of the technological process, vehicles, the use of new technologies in the construction of production workshops. Some developed industrial countries have moved from the development of the processing and raw materials industries to the development of those areas that are engaged in the manufacture of the final product.
In large metropolitan areas with a serious industrial base, carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are significantly higher, since CO 2 is often a by-product of industries whose activities satisfy the needs of education and medicine.
In developing countries, a significant increase in the use of high-quality fuel per 1 inhabitant is considered a major factor in the transition to a higher standard of living. The idea being put forward is that continued economic growth and improved living standards are possible without increasing the amount of fuel burned.
Depending on the region, the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ranges from 10 to 35%.
Relationship between energy consumption and CO2 emissions
Let's start with the fact that energy is not produced just for the sake of receiving it. In developed industrial countries, most of it is used in industry, for heating and cooling buildings, and for transport. Studies conducted by major research centers have shown that using energy-saving technologies can lead to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions into the earth's atmosphere.
For example, scientists were able to calculate that if the United States switched to less energy-intensive technologies in the production of consumer goods, this would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere by 25%. On a global scale, this would reduce the problem of the greenhouse effect by 7%.
carbon in nature
Analyzing the problem of carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth's atmosphere, we note that carbon, which is part of it, is vital for the existence of biological organisms. Its ability to form complex carbon chains (covalent bonds) leads to the appearance of protein molecules necessary for life. The biogenic carbon cycle is a complex process, since it involves not only the functioning of living things, but also the transfer of inorganic compounds between different carbon reservoirs, as well as within them.
These include the atmosphere, the continental mass, including soils, as well as the hydrosphere, lithosphere. Over the past two centuries, changes in carbon fluxes have been observed in the biosphere-atmosphere-hydrosphere system, which in their intensity significantly exceed the rate of geological processes of transfer of this element. That is why it is necessary to confine ourselves to considering the relationships within the system, including the soil.
Serious studies concerning the determination of the quantitative content of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere began to be carried out from the middle of the last century. The pioneer in such calculations was Killing, who works at the famous Mauna Loa observatory.
An analysis of observations showed that changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are affected by the cycle of photosynthesis, the destruction of plants on land, as well as the annual temperature change in the oceans. During the experiments, it was possible to find out that the quantitative content of carbon dioxide in the northern hemisphere is significantly higher. Scientists have suggested that this is due to the fact that most of the anthropogenic income falls on this hemisphere.
For analysis, they were taken without special methods; in addition, the relative and absolute errors of calculations were not taken into account. Thanks to the analysis of air bubbles contained in glacial cores, the researchers were able to establish data on the content of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere in the range of 1750-1960.
Conclusion
Over the past centuries, there have been significant changes in continental ecosystems, the reason was the increase in anthropogenic impact. With an increase in the quantitative content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of our planet, the greenhouse effect increases, which negatively affects the existence of living organisms. That is why it is important to switch to energy-saving technologies that allow reducing CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere.
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere goes through a path that is vaguely reminiscent of the water cycle known to everyone since childhood in nature. Its meaning boils down to the fact that CO2 appears in the air due to natural and man-made processes, and then partly removed from the atmosphere, and partly accumulates in its upper layers and affects the climate.
Distribution of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere
For many centuries, up to the beginning of the industrial revolution, natural processes served as the main sources of CO2 formation: volcanic eruptions, decomposition of organic matter, forest fires and animal respiration. But from about the middle of the XVIII century. the content of CO2 in the air begins to be significantly affected by human industrial activity, primarily those that are associated with the combustion of fossil fuels (oil, coal, shale, natural gas, etc.) and the production of cement. They account for about 75% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Land use is responsible for the remaining 25%, in particular, active deforestation.
The removal of part of CO2 from the air occurs due to its dissolution in the ocean and absorption by plants. However, plants not only absorb carbon dioxide, but also release it: in the process of breathing, they, like people, “inhale” oxygen and “exhale” CO2. So carbon dioxide is always present in the atmosphere, the only question is how much it is.
Over the past decades, CO2 has increased more rapidly than ever before in recorded history. In 1750, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 270 ppm, and only after more than two hundred years, by 1958, did it "creep" to the mark of 320 ppm. Another fifty years - and a leap of as much as 60 points: in 2005, the CO2 content in the atmosphere was 380 ppm. In 2010 - already 395 ppm. And recently, scientists reported that the carbon dioxide content has exceeded 400 ppm and will not return in the foreseeable future. Looks like it's time to rewrite encyclopedias.
By the way, in the history of the Earth there were periods with a much higher content of carbon dioxide. Four billion years ago, our young planet's atmosphere contained as much as 90% CO2. True, life had not yet originated: there was no oxygen at all. 2.5 billion years ago, plants appeared and everything was fine.
I must say that the mark of 400 ppm was overcome before. The content of CO2 in the atmosphere varies throughout the year, reaching a maximum in May. So the spring-summer increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide did not cause concern to scientists. In May 2015, even in Antarctica, CO2 levels reached 400 ppm, which has not happened in 4 million years! But on the other hand, in September, the lowest CO2 content in the atmosphere of the year is traditionally observed. Therefore, the September overcoming of the 400 ppm mark is the clearest evidence of an uncontrolled increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.
carbon dioxide and we
What will happen to us in this “new four-hundred-pipiem world,” as the Western press managed to christen our planet? Can be answered in two words: global warming.
Global warming began a long time ago, and it is directly related to the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The fact is that CO2 is not just a gas, but a greenhouse gas. CO2 is extremely inert, it is reluctant to react with other chemical elements. Due to this, it accumulates in the Earth's atmosphere, where it retains thermal radiation from its surface and prevents its return to outer space. This is the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect is so strongly associated in our minds with global warming that it is usually associated with something negative. Meanwhile, it is the greenhouse effect that we owe a comfortable life on Earth. Without greenhouse gases (except for CO2, these include water vapor, methane and ozone), the average temperature on the planet would be -15 ° C, and not + 15 ° C, as it is now.
But an uncontrolled increase in the content of greenhouse gases leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect, and that, in turn, to global warming. Everyone has heard about it and often treats it with irony, and sometimes with suspicion: is this a conspiracy of eco-fuel producers? The thing is that we do not seem to see any signs of global warming in everyday life.
Indeed, global warming is a slow process. Greenland will not melt tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or even in a hundred years. There will be no giant wave washing away New York like in disaster movies. It will be flooded gradually: the city will have to retreat under the onslaught of the rising ocean. Small Pacific islands will disappear from the face of the Earth (or rather, the sea). Wet regions will become even wetter, and dry regions even drier. In the first, insect carriers of diseases will breed, in the second, an acute shortage of food and drinking water will begin. The inflow of fresh glacial water into the ocean will change the course of warm and cold currents, which threatens to cool in the Northern Hemisphere and hurricanes around the planet. You can not continue further: even if a small part of these predictions come true, humanity will have a hard time.
In the meantime, the average annual temperature around the world has been breaking records for the third year in a row. 2016 is called the hottest year in the last 150 years. Scientists have found that the Earth's atmosphere has warmed by 1.45°C compared to the pre-industrial period. The figure may seem insignificant, but it is more than enough to melt the ice.
See for yourself:
Ice melting (NASA photos)
Very large. Carbon dioxide takes part in the formation of all living matter on the planet and, together with water and methane molecules, creates the so-called "greenhouse (greenhouse) effect".
Carbon dioxide value ( CO 2 , dioxide or carbon dioxide) in the life of the biosphere consists primarily in maintaining the process of photosynthesis, which is carried out by plants.
Being greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in the air affects the heat exchange of the planet with the surrounding space, effectively blocking the reradiated heat at a number of frequencies, and thus participates in the formation.
IN Lately there is an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, which leads to.
Carbon (C) in the atmosphere is found mainly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO 2) and in a small amount in the form of methane (CH 4), carbon monoxide and other hydrocarbons.
For atmospheric gases, the concept of "gas lifetime" is used. This is the time during which the gas is completely renewed, i.e. the time it takes for as much gas to enter the atmosphere as it contains. So, for carbon dioxide this time is 3-5 years, for methane - 10-14 years. CO oxidizes to CO 2 within a few months.
In the biosphere, the importance of carbon is very high, since it is part of all living organisms. Within living beings, carbon is contained in a reduced form, and outside the biosphere - in an oxidized form. Thus, the chemical exchange of the life cycle is formed: CO 2 ↔ living matter.
Sources of carbon in the atmosphere.
The source of primary carbon dioxide is, during the eruption of which a huge amount of gases is released into the atmosphere. Part of this carbon dioxide arises from the thermal decomposition of ancient limestones in various metamorphic zones.
Carbon also enters the atmosphere in the form of methane as a result of anaerobic decomposition of organic residues. Methane under the influence of oxygen is quickly oxidized to carbon dioxide. The main suppliers of methane to the atmosphere are tropical forests and.
In turn, atmospheric carbon dioxide is a source of carbon for other geospheres -, the biosphere and.
Migration of CO 2 in the biosphere.
Migration of CO 2 proceeds in two ways:
In the first method, CO 2 is absorbed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and participates in the formation of organic substances with subsequent burial in the form of minerals: peat, oil, oil shale.
In the second method, carbon is involved in the creation of carbonates in the hydrosphere. CO 2 goes into H 2 CO 3, HCO 3 -1, CO 3 -2. Then, with the participation of calcium (less often magnesium and iron), the precipitation of carbonates occurs in a biogenic and abiogenic way. Thick strata of limestones and dolomites appear. According to A.B. Ronov, the ratio of organic carbon (Corg) to carbonate carbon (Ccarb) in the history of the biosphere was 1:4.
How is the geochemical cycle of carbon carried out in nature and how carbon dioxide is returned back to the atmosphere
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The role of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.
Recently, there has been an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, which leads to a change in the Earth's climate.
Carbon (C) in the atmosphere is found mainly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO 2) and in a small amount in the form of methane (CH 4), carbon monoxide and other hydrocarbons.
For gases of the Earth's atmosphere, the concept of "gas lifetime" is used. This is the time during which the gas is completely renewed, i.e. the time it takes for as much gas to enter the atmosphere as it contains. So, for carbon dioxide this time is 3-5 years, for methane - 10-14 years. CO oxidizes to CO 2 within a few months.
In the biosphere, the importance of carbon is very high, since it is part of all living organisms. Within living beings, carbon is contained in a reduced form, and outside the biosphere, in an oxidized form. Thus, the chemical exchange of the life cycle is formed: CO 2 ↔ living matter.
Sources of carbon in the Earth's atmosphere.
The primary source of carbon dioxide are volcanoes, during the eruption of which a huge amount of gases is released into the atmosphere. Part of this carbon dioxide arises from the thermal decomposition of ancient limestones in various metamorphic zones.
Carbon also enters the Earth's atmosphere in the form of methane as a result of anaerobic decomposition of organic residues. Methane under the influence of oxygen is quickly oxidized to carbon dioxide. The main suppliers of methane to the atmosphere are tropical forests and swamps.
Migration of CO 2 in the biosphere.
Migration of CO 2 proceeds in two ways:
- In the first method, CO 2 is absorbed from the Earth's atmosphere during photosynthesis and participates in the formation of organic substances with subsequent burial in the earth's crust in the form of minerals: peat, oil, oil shale.
- In the second method, carbon is involved in the creation of carbonates in the hydrosphere. CO 2 goes into H 2 CO 3, HCO 3 -1, CO 3 -2. Then, with the participation of calcium (less often magnesium and iron), the precipitation of carbonates occurs in a biogenic and abiogenic way. Thick strata of limestones and dolomites appear. According to A.B. Ronov, the ratio of organic carbon (Corg) to carbonate carbon (Ccarb) in the history of the biosphere was 1:4.
Geochemical cycle of carbon.
Extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere is extracted by green plants through the process of photosynthesis, which is carried out through the energy-using pigment chlorophyll. solar radiation. Plants convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into carbohydrates and oxygen. Carbohydrates are involved in the formation of organic compounds of plants, and oxygen is released back into the atmosphere.
Binding of carbon dioxide.
A very small part of its total mass is involved in the active cycle of carbon. A huge amount of carbonic acid is conserved in the form of fossil limestones and other rocks. Between the carbon dioxide of the Earth's atmosphere and the water of the ocean, in turn, there is a moving equilibrium.
Due to the high reproduction rate, plant organisms (especially lower microorganisms and marine phytoplankton) produce about 1.5-10 11 tons of carbon in the form of organic matter per year, which corresponds to 5.86-10 20 J (1.4-10 20 cal) of energy .
Plants are partially eaten by animals, during the death of which organic matter is deposited in the form of sapropel, humus, peat, which, in turn, give rise to many other caustobioliths - coal, oil, combustible gases.
In the processes of decomposition of organic substances, their mineralization, bacteria (for example, putrefactive), as well as many fungi (for example, molds) play a huge role.
The main reserves of carbon are in a bound state (mainly in the composition of carbonates) in the sedimentary rocks of the Earth, a significant part is dissolved in the waters of the ocean, and a relatively small part is present in the air.
The ratio of carbon amounts in the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth, according to updated calculations, is 28570: 57: 1.
How does carbon dioxide get back into the Earth's atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide is released into the Earth's atmosphere:
- in the process of respiration of living organisms and the decomposition of their corpses, the decay of carbonates, the processes of fermentation, decay and combustion;
- green plants, during the day absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis, at night some of it is returned back;
- as a result of the activity of volcanoes, the gases of which consist mainly of carbon dioxide and water vapor. Modern volcanism on average leads to the release of 2 10 8 tons of CO 2 per year, which is less than 1% of the anthropogenic emissions (from human activities);
- as a result of human industrial activity, in last years occupying a special place in the carbon cycle. The mass burning of fossil fuels leads to an increase in the carbon content in the atmosphere, since only 57% of the carbon dioxide produced by mankind is processed by plants and absorbed by the hydrosphere. Massive deforestation also leads to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air.
This was the article Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. ". Read further: « Argon in the composition of the Earth's atmosphere - the content in the atmosphere is 1%.«
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego reported USA Today that the carbon dioxide content in the Earth's atmosphere has reached its highest level in the last 800,000 years. Now it is 410 ppm (parts per million). This means that in every cubic meter of air carbon dioxide occupies a volume of 410 ml.
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide, or carbon dioxide, performs an important function in the atmosphere of our planet: it passes part of the radiation from the Sun, which heats the Earth. However, because the gas also absorbs the heat emitted by the planet, it contributes to the greenhouse effect. This is considered the main factor of global warming.
The constant increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere began with the industrial revolution. Prior to that, the concentration had never exceeded 300 ppm. In April of this year, the highest average mark for the last 800 thousand years was set. The first time a figure of 410 ppm was recorded at an air quality monitoring station in Hawaii in April 2017, but then it was rather out of the ordinary. In April 2018, this mark became the average for the entire month. The concentration of carbon dioxide has risen by 30% since the beginning of observations by researchers from the Scripps Institution.
Why does the concentration rise?
Scientist Ralph Keeling of the Scripps Institution, head of the CO2 research program, believes that the concentration of carbon dioxide continues to rise in the atmosphere due to the fact that we are constantly burning fuel. The processing of oil, gas and coal releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. The gases have caused the Earth's temperature to rise over the past century to levels that cannot be explained by natural variability. This has long been a known fact, but no one is taking steps to somehow remedy the situation.
In turn, the World Meteorological Organization said that the increase in greenhouse gases contributes to climate change and makes "the planet more dangerous and inhospitable for future generations." The issue needs to be addressed at the global level, and done as soon as possible.
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