Exploring Global Warming: Anthropogenic or Natural Causes

Is global warming anthropogenically caused or natural to earth's systems? Media covering global warming, one would be hard pressed not to find something in the news or social media discussing this topic. Global warming affects every part of our daily lives whether its economic or pressing issues that influence our political and financial systems.

How are the issues to be addressed if we are not sure of the cause, as my grandfather use to say you can't fix what you cannot see broken? The media, politicians, and even some companies represents the notion that global warming is caused by man and his pollution (Paterson, 2011).

Studies have been produced showing the influences from the sun and oceanic atmosphere including both the multidecadal climatic oscillations and unforced internal variability (Paterson, 2011). Geological evidence has shown that the earth has had warming trends for thousands of years due to the solar forcing (Geoscience Canada, 2011).

Studies can explain why the earth's warming trends through the 1800's to natural causes, and from the 1800's through to the 1970's the models were able to explain warming trends by including the pollution from the industrial revolution (Marsh, G.

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E., 2012).

During the later twentieth century and now the twenty-first century, the models are only able to explain up to 80% of the warming trends (Zwiers & Andrews, 2000). Other celestial bodies are reported to be experiencing global warming trends where ice caps have melted due to solar irradiance aggregate (Eliot, 1989 p.765).

Studies show how man has released into the atmosphere areole gases like carbon monoxide and methane gases.

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Some of these gases that when introduced with solar forcing interact in a way that redirects radiation that normally would be directed out to space to dispersing the radiation back into the earth's atmosphere thereby causing the earth to warm. Other gases like methane destroy the protective layers of our atmosphere called ozone (Vez?r, 2016).

Is global warming anthropogenically caused or natural to earth's systems? Media covering global warming, one would be hard pressed not to find something in the news or social media discussing this topic. After all global warming affects every part of our daily lives whether its economic or pressing issues that influence our political and financial systems.

How are the issues to be addressed if we are not sure of the cause, as my grandfather use to say you can't fix what you cannot see broken? The media, politicians, and even some companies represents the notion that global warming is caused by man and his pollution (Paterson, 2011).

Other studies have been produced include the influences from the sun and oceanic-atmosphere interactions (Paterson, 2011). When the earth's surface warms up a detectible affect is found at different levels of the atmosphere. Since the atmosphere and hydrosphere are interconnected, the warm surface is warming at other levels of the atmosphere and ocean in a predictable manner (Vez?r, 2016).

Geological evidence has shown that the earth has had warming trends for thousands of years due to the solar forcing (Geoscience Canada, 2011) During the twentieth century the models are only able to explain up to 80% of the warming trends (Zwiers & Andrews, 2000).

Studies can explain why the earth's warming trends through the 1800's to natural causes, and from the 1800's through to the 1970's the models were able to explain warming trends by including the pollution from the industrial revolution (Marsh, G. E., 2012).

First, is global warming anthropogenically caused or natural to earth's systems? Paterson, N. R. (2011) acknowledges there are other theories but that only man is responsible for the CO2 levels that exist today (p.1). Man has forever strongly made changes to his environment.

Since the mid twentieth century greenhouse gases added almost a full degree of warming insinuating an even higher confidence that anthropogenic causes dominate the observed warming (Vez?r, 2016). When the earth's surface warms up a detectible affect is found at different levels of the atmosphere.

Since the atmosphere and hydrosphere are interconnected, the warm surface is warming at other levels of the atmosphere and ocean in a predictable manner (Vez?r, 2016). Furthermore, the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gasses influence the atmosphere at nearly at all altitudes.

Presently there are many studies involving geoengineering where the very definition is deliberate intervention in the climate system to counteract man-made global warming. Anthropogenic forcing by other types of aerosols, such as mineral deposit dust, biomass burning, and industrially emitted black carbon (Zwiers & Weaver, 2000).

Zwlers & Weaver, (2000) counter argues the data does show CO2 rising because of man's actions but offers numerous points discussing views of more natural causes like solar activity and ocean tides as being ingredients to a much bigger pie containing many parts (p.5).

Agreeably, Paterson (2011) offers that the most recent research data suggests contrary to the 'anthropogenic warming' hypothesis supported by most policies and governments. Stating that two reasons for this exists. The arguments invoke the effects of 'solar irradiance' and 'ocean-atmospheric interactions, both of which have been shown to have warming effects at least as great as those claiming CO2 and to be based on sound, well-understood theory (Paterson, 2011, p.1).

Solar irradiance intensifications directly affect the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field (which deflects the charged particles that constitute cosmic rays) and associated sun - spot maxima are coupled with specific historic periods of global warming and typically occur midway between ice ages (Paterson, 2011, p.6).

Zwiers & Weaver, (2000) aver natural forcing, the energy imbalance caused by changes such as rising greenhouse gas concentrations resulting in a net positive forcing, will cause a warming. Furthermore, they find that this alone is not the sole liable answer for global warming. Other reconstructions are built for volcanic forcing as well as greenhouse forcing (Zwiers and Weaver, 2000, p.2081).

The volcanism record is generally based upon electrical conductivity or sulfate measurements found in ice cores (Marsh, 2012). Volcanic influences on temperature are also evident probably caused by the injection of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, where it is converted into sulfate aerosols that reflect incoming solar radiation (Paterson, 2011). Most of these approaches have only viewed internally within the earth's processes.

Man is not causing global warming on other planets. Yet, Elliot, et al have reported observations of a recent stellar occultation by Triton, when combined with earlier results, show Triton has undergone a period of global warming since 1989 (1989, p765).

The pressure is steadily increasing from Triton's ice poles melting. The ice is melting due to growing temperatures triggered by accumulative solar irradiance. Similar processes should also be active on Pluto (Eliot, 1989 p.765). For these and other reasons the anthropogenic warming hypothesis is regarded by many as suspect and lacking in empirical evidence (Paterson, 2011, p.1).

Studies show anthropogenic release, into the atmosphere, areole gases like carbon monoxide and methane gases. When areole gases are introduced with solar forcing, radiation normally directed out to space are redirected, dispersing the radiation back into the earth's atmosphere thereby causing the earth to warm. Other gases like methane destroy the protective layers of our atmosphere called ozone (Vez?r, 2016).

Other studies have been produced include the influences from the sun and oceanic-atmosphere interactions (Paterson, 2011). Geological evidence has proven that the earth has had warming trends over thousands of years due to the solar forcing (Geoscience Canada, 2011).

Studies can explain why the earth's warming trends through the 1800's to natural causes, and from the 1800's through to the 1970's the models were able to explain warming trends by including the pollution from the industrial revolution (Marsh, G. E., 2012).

During the later twentieth century, the models are only able to explain up to 80% of the warming trends (Zwiers & Andrews, 2000).

The observed and simulated data supports the contention that forcing from anthropogenic activities combined with environmental variations in solar and volcanic forcing has been the main driver of climate change during the last century at least on planet earth. Other celestial bodies are reported to be experiencing global warming trends where ice caps have melted due to solar irradiance aggregate.

References

  • Elliot, J. L., Hammel, H. B., Wasserman, L. H., Franz, O. G., McDonald, S. W., Person, M. J., ... McConnochie, T. H. (1998). Global warming on Triton. Nature, 393(6687), 765. org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1038/31651
  • Marsh, G. E. (2012). Climate Change: Sources of Warming in the Late 20th Century. Energy & Environment, 23(1), 95-104.
  • Mendoza, Blanca. (2005). Total solar irradiance and climate. Advances in Space Research. 35. 882-890. DOI:
  • Paterson, N.R., (2011). Global Warming: A Critique of the Anthropogenic Model and its Consequences. Geoscience Canada. Vol. 38, Issue 1, Page41 -48. Retrieved from:
  • Vez?r, M. (2016). Computer models and the evidence of anthropogenic climate change: An epistemology of variety-of-evidence inferences and robustness analysis. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A. 56. 95-102. DOI:
  • Zwiers, W. and Weaver, J., (2000). The Causes of 20th Century Warming. Science Magazine, Vol. 290, Issue 54990, Page2018 -2083. DOI: 2081.
Updated: Nov 30, 2023
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Exploring Global Warming: Anthropogenic or Natural Causes. (2019, Dec 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/is-global-warming-anthropogenically-caused-or-natural-to-example-essay

Exploring Global Warming: Anthropogenic or Natural Causes essay
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