Global Warming Overvirew Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Warming Overvirew - Research Paper Example Global warming has been consistent according to the data recorded by temperature measuring instruments and which is consistent with other observations such as rise in the sea levels due to expansion of water when heated (Miller, 34). Melting of snow and ice, increased heat levels in oceans, increase in the levels of humidity and the appearance of spring season earlier than it ought to appear are other observable changes that point to global warming. Data estimates from the national climatic data centre and the world metrological organization (WMO) show that the warmest years ever recorded in the world are 2005 and 2010, with temperatures estimated to have increased by 0.52 degree Celsius and 0.53 degree Celsius respectively, while all the years since 1986 have had temperature above the 1961-1990 average.Temperatures in 1998, which was one of the warmest years to have ever been experienced can be attributed to the El Nià ±o-Southern Oscillation, which was the largest El Nià ±o that had been experienced for the past one century. In 2010 the trend was also the same with the high temperatures experienced in that year due to the El Nino in that year, however the temperatures reduced in 2011 since it was a La Nina year. These fluctuations in temperatures are sometimes covered by periods of relative stability such as the years between 2002 and 2009.The fluctuations in temperatures due to global warming differ widely across the planet and in different surfaces. Land surface warming twice as fast as the oceans. (0.25 degrees Celsius for land compared to 0.13 degrees Celsius for oceans). This difference in change of temperatures can be attributed to the fact that oceans have a higher effective heat capacity and they lose more heat through evaporation than land surface. The northern hemisphere experience higher temperatures than the southern hemisphere due to the meridional heat transfer in the ocean that is higher in the northern hemisphere, and the albedo difference i n the Polar Regions. Causes of global warming One of the major causes of global warming is the greenhouse gases through greenhouse effect, which is the process by which emission and absorption of infrared radiations by gases warm the earth’s lower atmosphere and surface. The naturally occurring greenhouse gases warm the earth by about 33 degrees Celsius and they include water vapour, which is responsible for 36-70% of greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide that is responsible for 9-26% of greenhouse effect, methane responsible for 4-9% of greenhouse effect and ozone, which cause 3-7% of the greenhouse effect. Human activities have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has led to radioactive forcing of