Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Settled science update: Black carbon's influence on climate "has been greatly underestimated"; "approximately two thirds of the effect of the largest man made contributor to global warming"

If black carbon is a much more effective warming agent than we thought, how much of the alleged .74 C warming over the last century is left to be allegedly caused by CO2?

Big boost to role of black carbon (from diesel,...
Big boost to role of black carbon (from diesel, wood, inefficient coal) in global warming calculations from important new study. (Black carbon on @dotearth here). News release:

● Black carbon has a much greater (twice the direct) climate impact than reported in previous assessments.
...
Black carbon is the second largest man-made contributor to global warming and its influence on climate has been greatly underestimated, according to the first quantitative and comprehensive analysis of this issue.

The landmark study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres today says the direct influence of black carbon, or soot, on warming the climate could be about twice previous estimates. Accounting for all of the ways it can affect climate, black carbon is believed to have a warming effect of about 1.1 Watts per square meter (W/m2), approximately two thirds of the effect of the largest man made contributor to global warming, carbon dioxide...In addition, the report finds black carbon is a significant cause of the rapid warming in the Northern Hemisphere at mid to high latitudes, including the northern United States, Canada, northern Europe and northern Asia.
How much has the global temperature risen in the last 100 years? | UCAR - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Averaged over all land and ocean surfaces, temperatures have warmed roughly 1.33°F (0.74ºC) over the last century

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