Solar System Warming
Global Warming is apparently not just happening on Earth, but all over the Solar System. Here's a few examples:
Triton
Triton is a moon of Neptune. It is extremely cold and windy, with windspeeds approaching the speed of sound. However since Voyager 2's flyby in 1989 Triton has heated up by about 2 degrees. That may not sound like a lot but on a small icy body like Triton it is enormous. The equivilant on Earth would be if Earth had heated up by 12 degrees since 1989. The temperature change is so great that the frozen nitrogen coating Triton's surface is turning into gas, causing it's thin atmosphere to get denser by the day.
Pluto
The same thing is happening on Pluto. Pluto's atmospheric pressure has tripled over the past 14 years, indicating a sharp rise in temerature causing the icy surface to vapourise. This is happening even though Pluto is moving away from the sun on its highly elliptical orbit. It is suspected that the temperature on Pluto has risen about as much as it has on Triton - by about 2 degrees.
Mars
As of 2005 the icecap at Mars' south pole had been constantly shrinking for about three summers. The Mars Global Surveyor has also discovered numerous new channels and gullies that have recently (between 2002 and 2005) been carved by some sort of flowing liquid (either melting water or sublimating carbon dioxide). It shouldn't, however, be surprising that global warming is occuring on Mars, as its thin atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.
Venus
It is well known that Venus has suffered from a runaway greenhouse effect. Being almost exactly the same size as the Earth, it is a perfect example of what would happen to the Earth, should the same thing happen to us. It's atmosphere is about 100 times denser than our own, and is 96% carbon dioxide. As a result the surface temperature is maintained at a steady 460 degrees celsius. That is hot enough to melt lead! It's so hot that some rocks may even glow slightly red.
There is also scanty evidence that Jupiter and Saturn may be warming also. The problem is that we know very little about what the "normal" climate is on those planets. It may be that the climate change being observed is cyclical. Furthermore, we know stuff all about both Triton and Pluto, except that they are almost indentical bodies. The increase in their atmospheres could be due to volcanism or some unknown cause.
So yeah. That was mildly interesting. (It's funny - I was interested when I started writing the post, now I'm sitting here wondering why I bothered writing all that.)
Triton
Triton is a moon of Neptune. It is extremely cold and windy, with windspeeds approaching the speed of sound. However since Voyager 2's flyby in 1989 Triton has heated up by about 2 degrees. That may not sound like a lot but on a small icy body like Triton it is enormous. The equivilant on Earth would be if Earth had heated up by 12 degrees since 1989. The temperature change is so great that the frozen nitrogen coating Triton's surface is turning into gas, causing it's thin atmosphere to get denser by the day.
Pluto
The same thing is happening on Pluto. Pluto's atmospheric pressure has tripled over the past 14 years, indicating a sharp rise in temerature causing the icy surface to vapourise. This is happening even though Pluto is moving away from the sun on its highly elliptical orbit. It is suspected that the temperature on Pluto has risen about as much as it has on Triton - by about 2 degrees.
Mars
As of 2005 the icecap at Mars' south pole had been constantly shrinking for about three summers. The Mars Global Surveyor has also discovered numerous new channels and gullies that have recently (between 2002 and 2005) been carved by some sort of flowing liquid (either melting water or sublimating carbon dioxide). It shouldn't, however, be surprising that global warming is occuring on Mars, as its thin atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.
Venus
It is well known that Venus has suffered from a runaway greenhouse effect. Being almost exactly the same size as the Earth, it is a perfect example of what would happen to the Earth, should the same thing happen to us. It's atmosphere is about 100 times denser than our own, and is 96% carbon dioxide. As a result the surface temperature is maintained at a steady 460 degrees celsius. That is hot enough to melt lead! It's so hot that some rocks may even glow slightly red.
There is also scanty evidence that Jupiter and Saturn may be warming also. The problem is that we know very little about what the "normal" climate is on those planets. It may be that the climate change being observed is cyclical. Furthermore, we know stuff all about both Triton and Pluto, except that they are almost indentical bodies. The increase in their atmospheres could be due to volcanism or some unknown cause.
So yeah. That was mildly interesting. (It's funny - I was interested when I started writing the post, now I'm sitting here wondering why I bothered writing all that.)
posted by David | 12:40 am
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