login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Black Carbon Pollution is a Major Contributor to Global Warming
Scripps Institution of Oceanography carried out the research at UC San Diego atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan and University of Iowa chemical engineer Greg Carmichael.
According to the scientists, soot and other forms of black carbon, which are often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide.
That is more than that of any greenhouse gas besides CO2.
For their research, Ramanathan and Carmichael integrated observed data from satellites, aircraft and surface instruments about the warming effect of black carbon and found that its forcing, or warming effect in the atmosphere, is about 0.9 watts per meter squared.
That compares to estimates of between 0.2 watts per meter squared and 0.4 watts per meter squared that were agreed upon as a consensus estimate in a report released last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The most recent observations, in contrast, have found significant black carbon warming effects at altitudes in the range of 2 kilometers (6,500 feet), levels at which black carbon particles absorb not only sunlight but also solar energy reflected by clouds at lower altitudes.
“We now have to examine if black carbon is also having a large role in the retreat of arctic sea ice and Himalayan glaciers as suggested by recent studies,” said Ramanathan.
|
|
|
More News on: Health Effects of Global Warming
 Comment & Contribute
|
- Health News Index
- News Quick Links
 | News Central | | Health Watch | |
| Latest Health News | | Health In Focus | |
| News Category (500+) | | Breaking Health News | |
| Popular News | | Celebrating Life | |
| Health News and Press Release | | Medindia - Exclusive | |
| News Photo Gallery | | India Special | |
| News Video Gallery | | Lifestyle and Wellness | |
| News From Other Resources | |||
| News Categories: |
| » | Olympic Athlete's Body Via the 80-10-10 Raw Vegan Diet |
| » | Importance of Canned Foods To Help Tackle IOM Weight Of The Nation Recommendations, Highlights Study |
| » | US Rules Pomegranate Juice Claims Deceptive |
| » | Reducing Entrée Size Could Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children |
| » | Dieters Should Eat 300 Calories Less to Avoid Regaining Lost Weight After Dieting |
| More Diet News | |
|
Environmental Health Related News |
||||||||
| » | Nuclear Disasters Likely to Occur Once in 20 Years | » | Cut Down Seagrass Ecosystems to Liberate Carbon | |||||
| » | Research Shows Global Warming Intensifying Water Cycle | » | Future of Renewable Energy: Space-Based Solar Power? | |||||
| » | Earth Will Not be Able to Sustain Human Activity by 2030 | » | Fungus That Can Consume Discarded Plastic Discovered | |||||
| » | Prudent Intake Can Induce Dip in Carbon Footprint: Study | » | Study Links Air Pollution Level Changes in Beijing With Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers | |||||
| Read More >> | ||||||||
