Water contributes to global warming
Could something as simple and essential as water be causing global warming? A team of Swiss scientists say their research seems to bear out that theory, at least in part. The Northern Hemisphere is heating up but the temperatures in the atmosphere over Europe seem to be heating up three times as fast.
Both areas seems to have the same factors; people, land, an ocean and industry. In addition, the scientists studied weather patterns starting several decades ago to insure that they got an accurate picture of the activity. They have found that normal weather circulation patterns are only a minor influence on temperature increases and that the sun and other factors such as aerosols were minor contributors at best. What they did find, however, is that cloud cover is the biggest contributor to warming the air above the earth.
According to a team of Swiss scientists, heat from other greenhouse gases is causing more water to evaporate, releasing the vapor into the atmosphere above Europe. That vapor in turn, adds to the greenhouse effect, further warming the region.
Increased greenhouse gases, when mixed with the natural cloud cover of the earth hold more water vapor in the atmosphere. The increase in greenhouse gases since the 1960’s from car exhausts, industrial pollution and other sources have been steadily mounting; only recently have governments and people gotten serious about trying to reduce them. As the gases rise in the atmosphere and attach their molecules to those of the clouds, more water vapor is attracted and drives up the temperatures on the surface of the earth.
Heat from the surface of the earth, called long-wave radiation, naturally rises into the atmosphere and is dispelled into space. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, however, are absorbing much of that heat, causing more of it to be trapped in the atmosphere. This captive long-wave radiation then warms the earth and drives up temperatures.
The cycle of water evaporation and precipitation, up till recently, has been a balanced and natural phenomenon benefitting the planet and nurturing all growing things, including its human occupants. However, as greenhouse gases have increased, the natural cycle of water has been disrupted. Clouds are now denser due to pollution and greenhouse gases, attracting more moisture and trapping the radiant heat from the earth.
The Swiss research team made another surprising discovery, too. By taking copious measurements of temperatures in and around Europe, they found that it was cooler near the ocean and warmer the closer they got to Germany and Poland. The reason seems to be the water vapor being released form forests and farmland where the humidity is much greater, thus driving up the temperatures which react with the newly disrupted cloud/water cycle. They concluded that seventy percent of Europe’s temperature increase was due to water vapor and only thirty percent was caused by excessive greenhouse gases.
This research reinforces that need to control and reduce greenhouse gases produced from human activity, as well as pollution contributed by cars and industry. It is imperative to restore the natural water cycle if we are to get global warming under control.
