[geeks] Global Warming causes...

[Shannon Hendrix]

On Dec 2, 2007, at 11:38 AM, Phil Stracchino wrote:


> Now see, I can see cosmic-ray particle tracks forming cloud and  
> COOLING
> the planet by raising the albedo.  But warming it, I don't think I  
> get.
> Unless they're trying to argue that cosmic rays preferentially strike
> the planet at night.

There are two possible effects of an increase in particulate matter in  
the atmosphere: it can cool things off by reducing radiation, or it  
can increase it through amplifying greenhouse effect.

We still don't fully understand why one or the other happens.

Also, cooling periods can actually cause temperatures to rise sometimes.

One common model I've seen a lot is particles causing a decrease in  
radiation and a cooling of areas of the planet, which can generate  
storms that end up warming the planet, or at least cause a rise in  
natural destruction.

Likewise there are models which can show how the Earth can warm, which  
melts glaciers and increases humidity, which in turn increase rainfall  
and causes a reverse to cooling more extreme than the warming period.   
Or sometimes it just evens out, being a fairly well balanced system.

Like I said, we are going to literally have to live through a few of  
these and takes notes to start understand them in detail.

It's also possibe, as der Mouse suggested, that even with perfect data  
we don't yet know how to model chaotic systems or monitor them on a  
local basis enough to make predictions.

-- 
Shannon Hendrix
shannon at widomaker.com