NATURAL COOLING / WARMING EFFECTS

There are naturally occurring cooling and warming effects on the earth. Unfortunately, the natural warming effects can not really explain the current warming trend and the cooling effects (frightfully) are not enough to let the global average temperatures drop at the time.

Unfortunately, the natural warming effects can not explain the current warming trend at all, and the cooling effects, frightfully, are not enough to let the global average temperatures drop at the time. At the very least, they might still help us to delay Global Warming for a bit. Without these effects, we would have been overrun by Global Warming.

The sun is the primary heat source of our planet. And we like to think of the sun as a steady heat source, but that is not the case. The solar intensity is and always has slightly varied over the time of millions of years; this can be a critical factor of the change in earth’s general climate. UV rays, ozone, clouds and Cosmic rays are all things that influence the mean atmospheric temperature, as well. Nevertheless, the impacts of all of the above called are too small to justify the current rise in global average temperatures. If I were you, I would consider reading these two (NASA and UCSUSA) highly fascinating articles about the stimulating effects of aerosol particles on the climate. The aerosol particles are very significant because they have been said to have prevented over half of the warming that would have been caused by Human activity, giving us a head start to start thinking about some strategies ourselves. However, there is still a little problem left with the aerosol particles, and that would be that they are unevenly distributed over mother earth. That causes a cooling effect, which is only noticeable at a regional level.

Earth`s orbit

The Earth’s orbit, it is proven that small variations in the orbit of the planet we all live on can cause changes in the over-all climate. That is due to the fact that, the Earth’s orbit could be best described by an ellipse and not by a circle. As the earth gets closer to the sun it gets warmer, as it gets further away the Earth will become colder. That is represented by the seasons on earth (spring, summer, fall and winter. Anyhow, the variations in the earth’s orbit can cause an additional warming or cooling effects and eventually become a leading climate change force. Nevertheless, that would happen over a time scale of tens of millennia; therefore, it is not really significant for our current warming episode.

The axis rotation of the Earth

Our Earth axis is not perfectly straight, furthermore it describes basically a circle and the angle of the axis rotation varies over time. Could it justify the current warming trend? Probably no, it just basically exaggerates the seasons, that means cold Winters would become harsh even colder Winters and warm Summers would become burning hot Summers.

Volcanoes

90% of all Volcanoes were created in the so-called Ring of Fire and 1.900 Volcanoes are active. These Volcanoes unleash a huge amounts of GHG, Sulfur and Particles of dust and ash, mostly by erupting. The GHG, which are released by erupting Volcanoes are water vapor and carbon dioxide. There were times, in which extreme volcanism was a very significant factor for the change in Earth’s climate. However, the recent amounts of GHG put into the atmosphere of the Earth by active Volcanoes are not noticeable increasing the amount of these gases. The dust and ash put into the air by an eruption might be able to temporary shade the sunlight, through that, cooling the regions mostly directly below it. That being said, the bigger particles are falling out of the air pretty soon. Only the smallest particles are effectively cooling the Earth on a more global scale for a couple of months. The sulfur dioxide, which is released into the atmosphere by the eruptions are more noteworthy cooling the Earth. Sulfur dioxide combines itself with water in the stratosphere. They can stay in the atmosphere up to 3 years of time before they drop down to earth and are able to reflect solar radiation into space, which generates a drop in temperatures worldwide.

(The paragraph Volcanoes is based on this list of facts from National Geographic)

Forests and Deforestation

Forests are serving the environment, as a storage for CO2, therefore, they are basically fishing CO2 out of the air and storing it. As a result, forests are help to regulate our climate. That is why, an important factor of the carbon cycle are forests. Anyhow, due to our deforestation many forests are not capable of doing that anymore. Moreover, they are even releasing more carbon dioxide, hence, that is a massive disruption of the carbon cycle with a positive feedback loop.

Sea Ice

Sea ice is currently melting, as we have already read in the section of Consequences, but in addition to the above stated Consequences there is one major impact, which contributes to a positive feedback loop. The frozen water in the ocean is called sea ice and while it may seem innocent, if it melts. After all, it does not contribute to the current rise in global sea level, at least directly. Ultimately, it is far from innocent the sea ice is much more reflective than the ocean, and if it melts, it will not be able to reflect as much sunshine to space anymore. Who would have guessed that this would create a further rise in global average temperatures?

Whales

Already mentioned, Whales are and will suffer from the Consequences of Global Warming and the ecosystem in the ocean with them. Whales are important to these ecosystems to maintain their current shape. Furthermore, Whales help to regulate the climate worldwide. How do they do that? As whales are entering the Photic Zone (in order to breathe, etc.) they often excrete large amounts of Iron and Nitrogen. These excreta, which are so rich in Iron and Nitrogen function as a fertilizer for (among else) plant plankton (, like phytoplankton), by diving up and down they also keep the plant plankton for a longer time in the photic zone. Plant plankton does not only provide food for many different kinds of animals. Moreover, they also absorb carbon dioxide, which is, as we all are well aware of by now, the main contributing GHG. That means that Whales are contributing to a cooling effect, which can help delaying climate change. What happens to the absorbed plankton? Indeed, that is a good question. If the plankton eventually sinks, it will take the absorbed carbon dioxide with it to the ground of the oceans, where it will remain for at least thousands of years.
(This chapter “Natural Cooling/Warming Effects” is based on BGS, UCSUSA, NOAA, Climate and Weather, NASA(2), Britannica and UCAR)
Erupting volcano