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Climate change - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Agriculture
        
        Agriculture refers to the practice of cultivating land, growing crops and raising lifestock.
        
        Agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as tractors run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide when burnt; the use of inorganic fertiliser increases the level of nitrous oxide in the soil which gets released when the soil is ploughed or when rainwater flows through the soil; the high levels of moisture in the soil causes rapid decomposition of organic matter like dead leaves and manure, which releases methane.
        
        Cattle farming also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as because cattles produce methane as a waste gas. Millions of tonnes of methane are produced by cows yearly.
        
        For example, a research conducted by scientists in Argentina found that methane produced by cows make up more than 30% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the country, which has 55 million cows grazing its famed Pampas grasslands
      - Urbanisation
        
        urbanisation refers to when an increasing number of people chose to live in urban areas, like cities or towns. fossil fuels have to be burnt to provide energy for household activities such as cooking, lighting, heating and cooling. the high concentration of cars, buses and other forms of transportation also release greenhouse gases. Additionally, constructing infrastructure and producing construction material also lead to emission of greenhouse gases.
      - Industries
        
        Industires refers to the production of goods and services. The secondary industry involves the burning of fossil fuels which releases carbon dioxide.
        
        greenhouse gases are released as byproducts of the goods produced, with some producing more than others
        
        For example, producing a mobile phone produces 60kg of carbon dioxide, while producing a laptop and a monitor produces 275 kg of carbon dioxide
    - - Deforestation refers to the loss of forest due to removal or clearance of forested areas.
      - Trees are felled for wood to make products such as paper and building materials, it is also cleared to make space for mining, activities, construction projects, agriculture and animal grazing. Trees help to remove billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly, and with deforestation, there are lesser trees and plants to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Deforestation also adds to carbon dioxide emissions.
      - The soil is one of the world's largest sources of carbon, as it accumulates due to the decay of organic matter (plants and animals). Deforestation exposes the soil to the sunlight, causing it to heat up and increases the rate of carbon oxidation. Carbon oxidation refers to the process by which carbon in the soil reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce carbon dioxide. Thus, deforestation accelerates the rate of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
      - For example, in 2010, a total of 52000km2 of forested areas were lost, meaning 142.5km2 of forests were lost daily. The largest overall loss of forest cover came from Soth America, SEA, Australia and Africa. The need for development in these places caused forested areas to be cleared for mining, logging, commercial farming of soybeans and agriculture. However, many countries have planted more trees and put in place bans and restrictions on the number of trees that can be felled, hence restoring millions of hectares of forests.
  - - - volcanic eruptions release carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, water vapour, dust and ash into the atmosphere.
      - The sulfur dioxide released reacts with water in the atmosphere to form sulfur-based particles. Together with the ash and dust, they reflect solar radiation back into space, thus causing a cooling effect on regional and global temperatures.
      - For example, the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines released 17 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. It reacted with water to form sulfur-based particles, which spread around the earth for 2 weeks, reflecting solar radiation back into space, causing temperatures in the Northern hemisphere to fall by as much as 0.6 degrees celsius. The cooling effect lasted for 2 years in some regions.
      - There are few long term effects on the climate as the cooling effect will cease once the dust and ash settles. Although volcanic eruptions release large volumes of carbon dioxide, the amount of carbon dioxide released during the mid 1980s was more than 100x the amount emitted by volcanoes.
    - - The sun emits varying amount of solar radiation due to changes in it's magnetic field. This affects the climate on earth which is very sensitive to the amount of solar radiation it receives.
      - Higher sunspot activities is liked to higher solar radiation output, sunspots are cooler regions on the sun's surface that appear as dark spots. During periods of intense solar magnetic activities, the number of sunspots increases which causes solar radiation output to increase as the areas surrounding the sunspots will emit more solar radiation to compensate for the lower temperatures of sunspots. The number of sunspots rise and fall with an approximate 11 year cycle, which is associated with earth's cycle of high and low temperatures.
      - For example, in 2000, there was a peak in the number of sunspots, which coincides with higher temperatures, causing higher global temperatures during that period. In 2010, when the number of sunspots reached a minimum, the global temperatures were also lower