What was it Why was it Significance 1987 Montreal Protocol An international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out ozone depleting This Lecture s Goals Formation of Coal Oil Natural Gas Keeling Curve causes for annual fluctuations of Global CO2 Ice Cores what they tell us about past climates Describe Sources vs Sinks CO2 CH4 CFC s Formation of Coal Coal formation differs from oil and natural gas in that the process involved mostly partially decomposed plants as apposed to aquatic animals 1 Trees and plants within swamps die and partially decompose 2 This organic material is covered by sediment 3 Over long periods of time millions of years the heat and pressure of added layers of sediment change the decomposing plant material into carbon based solid coal Carboniferous Period 285 360 Million Years Ago All of the coal we will ever have was made about 300 Million years ago when much of the planet was dominated by hot damp swamps Partially decomposed plants pressure heat coal Formation of Oil Natural Gas Oil and Natural Gas tend to occur together and the process of their formation is similar They are both made from remains of marine and aquatic organisms Higher heat leads to Gas production lower heat leads to oil production 1 Aquatic organisms die and partially decompose 2 They sink to the bottom and are covered by sediment 3 Over long periods of time millions of years the heat and pressure of added layers of sediment change the decomposing organisms into carbon based liquid oil or gas Higher heat leads to more gas production We have both oil and gas in Michigan What does that say about the history of this area This also explains why there are large salt deposits under parts of southeast Michigan The Industrial Revolution http www history com topics industrial revolution CO2 and the Industrial Revolution Evidence of Increased Atmospheric CO2 In Earth s recent history maximum CO2 concentration is 300 ppm What do we know about C02 prior to this http www globalwarmingart com wiki Image Carbon Dioxide 400kyr Rev png What can Ice Cores Tell Us 1 Concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere over time ie CO2 2 Past plant communities by looking at pollen grains trapped in the ice 3 Frequency and severity of past volcanic events http video search yahoo com video play ylt A2KLqIN6ZF1SlEEAJbT7w8QF ylu X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDd mlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ p co2 from ice core vid e6d7d6dec8c5f4d7120189938bc6e758 l 3 3A03 turl http 3A 2F 2Fts4 mm bing net 2Fth 3Fid 3DV 4756905079342179 26pid 3D15 1 rurl http 3A 2F 2Fwww youtube com 2Fwatch 3Fv 3DoHzADl XID8 tit CO2 in the Ice Core Record c 0 sigr 11a32t03f age 0 fr yfp t 900 tt b Evidence of Increased Atmospheric CO2 In Earth s recent history maximum CO2 concentration is 300 ppm What do we know about C02 prior to this http www globalwarmingart com wiki Image Carbon Dioxide 400kyr Rev png The Keeling Curve Recent Data What is causing the Annual Cycle Northern hemisphere has more land more trees more photosynthesis more CO2 removal during its summer Sources versus Sinks Elements and molecules are sometimes held in one place for long periods These places are called sinks When released back into the environment they become sources What are sources sinks of H20 Locked in a glacier sink Melting glacier source CARBON DIOXIDE CO2 Sources and Sinks SOURCES combustion of fossil fuels oil coal and natural gas slash and burn agriculture land use change manufacturing of cement releases trapped CO2 SINKS POWER Photosynthesis forests are carbon sinks WHY Deposition to the ocean Algal mats Held in the atmoshpere half of all warming potential caused by human activity Slash and Burn Agriculture is an Example of Land use Change Cutting down trees reduces an area s ability to remove CO2 and burning the trees further adds more CO2 Why Cement CO2 is absorbed by the ocean and the carbon is used to build shells and coral Old coral and shells eventually become limestone Limestone is one of the key minerals used in cement making Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcium carbonate CaCO3 Algae phytoplankton pull in CO2 during photosynthesis sink and these algal mats die and sink to the ocean floor Some Potential Solutions for Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere 1 Reduce emissions of CO2 2 Awareness Education Full cost pricing Carbon credits Carbon offsets Environmental ethics Vs 3 Remove CO2 from the atmosphere HOW Plant or re plant trees and or green plants Technology fake trees Artificial trees or CO2 scrubbers are being placed in areas of heavy vehicle traffic The filters capture CO2 and then rinsed below ground to re sink the carbon Air is pulled into the cylinders Algae is key to this system a Mexico based startup has come up with a solution to fight urban pollution It has developed an artificial tree called BioUrban that it claims is capable of absorbing as much air pollution as 368 real trees Algae Farms Why can this be considered an environmental win win win scenario 1 2 3 Algae converted into livestock feed No Homework Assignment I will assign something Tuesday Next class we will address Cow Farts and explain one potential explanation for the origin of the word S H I T