Back ثاني أكسيد الكربون في الغلاف الجوي للأرض Arabic Въглероден диоксид в земната атмосфера Bulgarian পৃথিবীর বায়ুমণ্ডলে কার্বন ডাই অক্সাইড Bengali/Bangla Diòxid de carboni a l'atmosfera terrestre Catalan Toky uhlíku Czech Carbon deuocsid yn atmosffer y Ddaear Welsh Kohlenstoffdioxid in der Erdatmosphäre German Dióxido de carbono atmosférico Spanish کربن دی‌اکسید در اتمسفر زمین Persian Dioxyde de carbone#CO2 dans l'atmosphère terrestre French

Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere

Atmospheric CO2 concentration measured at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii from 1958 to 2023 (also called the Keeling Curve). The rise in CO2 over that time period is clearly visible. The concentration is expressed as μmole per mole, or ppm.

In Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of three main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere reached 427 ppm (0.0427%) on a molar basis in 2024, representing 3341 gigatonnes of CO2.[1] This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century.[2][3][4] The increase is due to human activity.[5]

The current increase in CO2 concentrations is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels.[6] Other significant human activities that emit CO2 include cement production, deforestation, and biomass burning. The increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases such as methane increase the absorption and emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere. This has led to a rise in average global temperature and ocean acidification. Another direct effect is the CO2 fertilization effect. The increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 causes a range of further effects of climate change on the environment and human living conditions.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. It absorbs and emits infrared radiation at its two infrared-active vibrational frequencies. The two wavelengths are 4.26 μm (2,347 cm−1) (asymmetric stretching vibrational mode) and 14.99 μm (667 cm−1) (bending vibrational mode). CO2 plays a significant role in influencing Earth's surface temperature through the greenhouse effect.[7] Light emission from the Earth's surface is most intense in the infrared region between 200 and 2500 cm−1,[8] as opposed to light emission from the much hotter Sun which is most intense in the visible region. Absorption of infrared light at the vibrational frequencies of atmospheric CO2 traps energy near the surface, warming the surface of Earth and its lower atmosphere. Less energy reaches the upper atmosphere, which is therefore cooler because of this absorption.[9]

The present atmospheric concentration of CO2 is the highest for 14 million years.[10] Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere were as high as 4,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago, and as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years.[2] Reconstructed temperature records for the last 420 million years indicate that atmospheric CO2 concentrations peaked at approximately 2,000 ppm. This peak happened during the Devonian period (400 million years ago). Another peak occurred in the Triassic period (220–200 million years ago).[11]

  1. ^ Change, NASA Global Climate. "Carbon Dioxide Concentration | NASA Global Climate Change". Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Eggleton, Tony (2013). A Short Introduction to Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 9781107618763. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Carbon dioxide now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. ^ "The NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) – An Introduction". NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory/Earth System Research Laboratories. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  5. ^ Etheridge, D.M.; L.P. Steele; R.L. Langenfelds; R.J. Francey; J.-M. Barnola; V.I. Morgan (1996). "Natural and anthropogenic changes in atmospheric CO2 over the last 1000 years from air in Antarctic ice and firn". Journal of Geophysical Research. 101 (D2): 4115–28. Bibcode:1996JGR...101.4115E. doi:10.1029/95JD03410. ISSN 0148-0227. S2CID 19674607.
  6. ^ IPCC (2022) Summary for policy makers Archived 12 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine in Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Archived 2 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA
  7. ^ Petty, G.W. (2004). "A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation". Eos Transactions. 85 (36): 229–51. Bibcode:2004EOSTr..85..341P. doi:10.1029/2004EO360007.
  8. ^ Atkins, P.; de Paula, J. (2006). Atkins' Physical Chemistry (8th ed.). W.H. Freeman. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-7167-8759-4.
  9. ^ "Carbon Dioxide Absorbs and Re-emits Infrared Radiation". UCAR Center for Science Education. 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  10. ^ Ahmed, Issam. "Current carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago". phys.org. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Climate and CO2 in the Atmosphere". Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
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