Global Warming - Understanding Climate Change and the Carbon Cycle

Explore the critical issue of global warming in this 47-minute lecture from Yale University's course "The Atmosphere, the Ocean and Environmental Change." Delve into the carbon cycle, examining carbon reservoirs and exchanges between the atmosphere, terrestrial biomass, and oceans. Learn about greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide's role in recent climate change. Understand carbon inputs from fossil fuel burning and biomass respiration, as well as carbon removal through photosynthesis and oceanic biological processes. Calculate the residence time of atmospheric carbon dioxide and analyze concentration trends using direct measurements and ice core data. Investigate carbon isotopes and consider the Holocene as a climatic reference period. Gain comprehensive insights into the complexities of global warming and its impact on our environment.