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VERSION:2.0
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PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-4359
DTSTART:20170421T203000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260414T050828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170418T152404Z
LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin Hall
SUMMARY:Carbon Dioxide – A Force for Global Change Throughout the Ea
 rth’s Atmosphere\, Physics Department Colloquium\, Martin Mlynczak\,
  NASA Langley Research Center
DESCRIPTION:The concentration of carbon dioxide\, CO2\, has been incre
 asing in Earth’s atmosphere since the beginnings of the Industrial R
 evolution in the late 1700’s. Largely due to the burning of fossil f
 uels\, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere as measured by its volume m
 ixing ratio has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) around the 
 year 1800 to over 400 ppm today. CO2 strongly absorbs infrared radiati
 on near the peak of Earth’s emission spectrum. Increases in CO2 resu
 lt in additional capture of energy emitted by Earth’s surface\, and 
 ultimately lead to a warming of the Earth’s surface and lower atmosp
 here. A key estimate as to the degree to which increasing CO2 causes c
 limate change is expressed in the concept of “radiative forcing”\,
  which is defined as the change in net radiative energy within the cli
 mate system associated with the buildup of CO2. The concept of radiati
 ve forcing (RF)\, and its accurate computation\, are the benchmarks up
 on which all of climate change science rests. In this talk we will exa
 mine the computation of RF and discuss some fundamental physical princ
 iples (including the first law of thermodynamics\; the Heisenberg unce
 rtainty principle\; and the harmonic oscillator) underlying these calc
 ulations. We will progress through some rather complex calculations co
 nducted at high spectral resolution to elucidate the uncertainty assoc
 iated with our understanding and knowledge of RF. Lastly\, we will  di
 scuss the radiative effects of increased CO2 on Earth’s high atmosph
 ere (above 100 km altitude)\, which leads to cooling aloft\, with long
 -term consequences for space flight operations. 
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=4359
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