greenhouse gas

Examples of greenhouse gas in the following topics:

• Changing Human Behavior in Response to Biodiversity Loss

  • In relation to global warming, The Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that came out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that committed countries to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, was ratified by some countries, but spurned by others.
  • Some goals for reduction in greenhouse gasses were met and exceeded by individual countries, but worldwide, the effort to limit greenhouse gas production is not succeeding.

• The Nitrogen Cycle

  • The nitrogen that enters living systems by nitrogen fixation is successively converted from organic nitrogen back into nitrogen gas by bacteria .
  • Third, the process of denitrification occurs, whereby bacteria, such as Pseudomonas and Clostridium, convert the nitrates into nitrogen gas, allowing it to re-enter the atmosphere.
  • Atmospheric nitrogen is associated with several effects on earth's ecosystems, including the production of acid rain (as nitric acid, HNO3) and greenhouse gas (as nitrous oxide, N2O), potentially causing climate change.

• Human Population Growth

  • Most scientists agree that climate change caused by the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is a significant consequence of human activities.

• Abscisic Acid, Ethylene, and Nontraditional Hormones

  • Its activity counters many of the growth-promoting effects of GAs and auxins.
  • Ethylene is unusual because it is a volatile gas (C2H4).
  • Commercial fruit growers control the timing of fruit ripening with application of the gas.
  • Horticulturalists inhibit leaf dropping in ornamental plants by removing ethylene from greenhouses using fans and ventilation.
  • Signals between these compounds and other hormones, notably auxin and GAs, amplify their physiological effect.

• Causes of Global Climate Change

  • Greenhouse gases are probably the most significant drivers of the climate.
  • When heat energy from the sun strikes the earth, gases known as greenhouse gases trap the heat in the atmosphere, similar to how the glass panes of a greenhouse keep heat from escaping.
  • Greenhouse gases, as they absorb and emit radiation, are an important factor in the greenhouse effect, or the warming of earth due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
  • The primary mechanism that releases carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, coal, and natural gas .
  • Methane can also be released from natural gas fields and the decomposition that occurs in landfills.

• Auxins, Cytokinins, and Gibberellins

  • Applying synthetic auxins to tomato plants in greenhouses promotes normal fruit development.
  • GAs are synthesized in the root and stem apical meristems, young leaves, and seed embryos.
  • Abscisic acid is a strong antagonist of GA action.
  • Other effects of GAs include gender expression, seedless fruit development, and the delay of senescence in leaves and fruit.
  • Because GAs are produced by the seeds and because fruit development and stem elongation are under GA control, these varieties of grapes would normally produce small fruit in compact clusters.

• Gas Pressure and Respiration

  • Gas pressures in the atmosphere and body determine gas exchange: both O2 and CO2 will flow from areas of high to low pressure.
  • This collision between gas particles and vessel walls produces gas pressure.
  • Each gas component of that mixture exerts a pressure.
  • The pressure for an individual gas in the mixture is the partial pressure of that gas.
  • These pressures determine the gas exchange, or the flow of gas, in the system.

• Basic Principles of Gas Exchange

  • The purpose of the respiratory system is to perform gas exchange.
  • Henry’s law states that the concentration of gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the solubility and partial pressure of that gas.
  • The greater the partial pressure of the gas, the greater the number of gas molecules that will dissolve in the liquid.
  • The concentration of the gas in a liquid is also dependent on the solubility of the gas in the liquid.
  • Partial pressure is the force exerted by a gas.

• Studying Ecosystem Dynamics

  • Greenhouses contribute to mesocosm studies because they allow us to control the environment and, thus, the experiment.
  • The mesocosms in this example, tomato plants, have been placed in a greenhouse to control the air, temperature, water, and light distribution in order to observe the effects when exposed to different amounts of each factor.

• Water’s States: Gas, Liquid, and Solid

  • When the heat is raised as water is boiled, the higher kinetic energy of the water molecules causes the hydrogen bonds to break completely and allows water molecules to escape into the air as gas (steam or water vapor).