Weart 2
- note that meteorology is the scientific study
of weather, to make short term predictions (a few days to a
week). Climatology looks at average patterns over many years.
there is still debate about what caused the ice ages to end
- here
is an argument for variations in earth's tilt,
particularly cooler summers
- here
for natural variations in carbon dioxide (CO2)
- climate is terribly complex and
interdisciplinary
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere fluctuates a
lot, so how to measure accurately changes in average?
the military funded a lot of research after WWII
ended, such as
- focusing on local areas and forecasts for up
to a week (not longer term climate)
- how much infrared did the atmosphere absorb to
build better heat seeking missiles
- what would happen to nuclear fallout in the
ocean?
This shook up the established understanding in
several ways
- led Gilbert Plass to realize that the amount
of CO2 in the upper atmosphere was critical, solving the old
objection that the amount of CO2 didn't matter
- Dave Keeling worked out ways to measure
average CO2
- Hans Suess showed carbon from burning fossil
fuel wasn't instantly absorbed by the ocean but still thought
it would be quickly enough
- Roger Revelle showed the oceans released
nearly as much CO2 as they absorbed but did not realize at
first what a difference that made
The navy
wasn't interested in funding much more, but geophysics was a
perfect topic for governments to encourage international
cooperation
- you need data from all around the world and
need to agree on how it is taken to get consistent results
- World Meteorological Organization established
in 1951, set up stations
- scientists wanted more cooperation
internationally and between fields, persuaded governments to
fund the International Geophysical Year
Now scientists had the data to show global
warming was a serious scientific possibility