Which contributes the maximum to the greenhouse effect

Source: Dr. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography scrippsco2. A commonly used estimate for CO 2 lifetime is years, but this really only reflects the lifetime of a portion of the atmospheric carbon dioxide reservoir. Tags Science Extreme Weather. Climate Basics » Climate Science. Main Greenhouse Gases. GHG emissions are often measured in carbon dioxide CO 2 equivalent. Concentration, or abundance , is the amount of a particular gas in the air.

Larger emissions of greenhouse gases lead to higher concentrations in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas concentrations are measured in parts per million, parts per billion, and even parts per trillion. One part per million is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into about 13 gallons of liquid roughly the fuel tank of a compact car.

To learn more about the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, visit the Climate Change Indicators: Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases page.

Each of these gases can remain in the atmosphere for different amounts of time, ranging from a few years to thousands of years. All of these gases remain in the atmosphere long enough to become well mixed, meaning that the amount that is measured in the atmosphere is roughly the same all over the world, regardless of the source of the emissions.

Some gases are more effective than others at making the planet warmer and "thickening the Earth's blanket. For each greenhouse gas, a Global Warming Potential GWP has been calculated to reflect how long it remains in the atmosphere, on average, and how strongly it absorbs energy. Note: All emission estimates are from the Inventory of U.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: — Carbon dioxide CO 2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In , CO 2 accounted for about 80 percent of all U. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the Earth's carbon cycle the natural circulation of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and animals.

Human activities are altering the carbon cycle—both by adding more CO 2 to the atmosphere, and by influencing the ability of natural sinks, like forests and soils, to remove and store CO 2 from the atmosphere. While CO 2 emissions come from a variety of natural sources, human-related emissions are responsible for the increase that has occurred in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide is constantly being exchanged among the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface as it is both produced and absorbed by many microorganisms, plants, and animals.

However, emissions and removal of CO 2 by these natural processes tend to balance, absent anthropogenic impacts. Since the Industrial Revolution began around , human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO 2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere.

In the United States, since , the management of forests and other land e. This carbon sink offset is about 12 percent of total emissions in and is discussed in more detail in the Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry section. To find out more about the role of CO 2 in warming the atmosphere and its sources, visit the Climate Change Indicators page.

Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States increased by about 3 percent between and Since the combustion of fossil fuel is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, changes in emissions from fossil fuel combustion have historically been the dominant factor affecting total U. Changes in CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion are influenced by many long-term and short-term factors, including population growth, economic growth, changing energy prices, new technologies, changing behavior, and seasonal temperatures.

Between and , the increase in CO 2 emissions corresponded with increased energy use by an expanding economy and population, including overall growth in emissions from increased demand for travel. The most effective way to reduce CO 2 emissions is to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Many strategies for reducing CO 2 emissions from energy are cross-cutting and apply to homes, businesses, industry, and transportation. Improving the insulation of buildings, traveling in more fuel-efficient vehicles, and using more efficient electrical appliances are all ways to reduce energy use, and thus CO 2 emissions.

Reducing personal energy use by turning off lights and electronics when not in use reduces electricity demand. Reducing distance traveled in vehicles reduces petroleum consumption. Both are ways to reduce energy CO 2 emissions through conservation. Producing more energy from renewable sources and using fuels with lower carbon contents are ways to reduce carbon emissions.

Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration is a set of technologies that can potentially greatly reduce CO 2 emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other stationary sources of CO 2. But do you know which greenhouse gases created by humans most contribute to global warming? Not all have the same effect, nor do they come from the same sources, and in the same way each lasts for a different time in the atmosphere.

We have excluded other variables such as the formation of water of anthropogenic origin and black carbon in snow for their lesser effect. Here you will discover the source of their emission, the time they spend in the atmosphere and what percentage they contribute to the greenhouse effect.

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