EAPS 11100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Calcite
15 Jun 2018
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1. Oxygen Isotopes
a. Oxygen has isotopes
i. O16 (most), O18 (some), O17 (little)
b. O18 has 2 extra neutrons so its heavier
c. O18 requires more energy to vaporize
d. O18 also condense more easily
e. We can use O18/O16 ratio in ice and calcite to understand past
temperature
f. When water is heated, O16 vaporizes more easily while O18 stays
preferentially in the oceans; any O18 in vapor condenses
preferentially
2. Methane and CO2
a. Methane is more potent than CO2
3. State of Global Climate
a. Solar energy is the biggest driver
b. Solar input variations on scale of 10s to 100s of thousands of years
explains large fraction of climate change
c. CO2 and CH4 explain rest
d. CO2 concentrations are racing upwards now because human activities
and the planet is warming more than it “should” as a result.
4. Factors that affect where life can exist
