Mechanism of Change - Essay Sample

Introduction

The geological history of Earth traces several past events on Earth through geological time scale which involves a chronological measurement system on the study of stratigraphy. Accretion from the solar nebula which happened millions of years ago approximated the shape of Earth, from the mass of dust and gas in the form of a disk which originated from the sun and helped in the formation of the solar system (Hughes et al., 207). However, the mechanism of change differed depending on the scholars who attempted to address the issues and create a concrete rationale for it. This paper examines different categories and tool of change and their influence on the history of the earth.

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Geologic History of Earth

Sam Noble Museum

From the Sam Noble Museum, a total of five mass extinction periods are listed. They are regarded as the most important as any other extinction that has ever been experienced on earth. However, four out of the total extinctions are associated with results which occurred due to climate change from global warming.

End-Triassic Extinction

This period occurred due to global climate change. It happened close to the end of the Triassic Period leading to the extinction of marine invertebrates, although some survived. However, shelled cephalopods, carols, sponges and brachiopods suffered destruction. Similarly, on land animals such as crocodile-like animals and the phytosaurs experienced extinction.

At the end of this period, the Pangaea supercontinent which unites the modern continents into one landmass drifted apart. North America continent separated from Africa continent leading to the formation of the Atlantic Ocean as well as massive scale on volcanic activities that released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Reynolds et al., 2016). Consequently, it led changes in oceans and global warming as the one experience at the end-Permian extinction period.

The End-Cretaceous

The event in this period was the unique and best known of all the Big Five extinction periods due to massive collisions of the environmental factors and remarkable end of the dinosaurs. Most of these mass extinctions occurred as a result of the falling of sea level which led to the loss of habitat among marine animals. Other animals which became extinct include aquatic invertebrates, bivalves such as modern oyster and reef-building rudists as well as groups of cephalopods.

Global Climate Change

Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse effect refers to warming that occurs when atmosphere traps all the heat that is radiating from Earth towards space. However, when gases are blocked heat from transgressing without control, they form a permanent gas layer which is very irresponsive to both physical and chemical changes.

Important Gases for the Greenhouse Effect

Important gases to the greenhouse effect include Nitrous oxide, Methane, Carbon dioxide, Water vapor.

Water Vapor

This is the abundant gas to the greenhouse; it plays a crucial role in acting as a feedback to the changes in the climate. Interesting, the quantity of water vapor depends on the nature of Earth's atmosphere. For instance, when the higher the warmth of the atmosphere, the higher the rate of water vapor as well as the precipitation and the clouds. As a result, clouds and precipitation also contribute to the critical feedback mechanism for the greenhouse effect.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

It regarded as a minor gas to the greenhouse but acts as a very significant atmospheric component. It is usually released in natural form processes like volcanic eruptions, respiration and human activities such as land use changes, deforestation, and burning of fuel. Notably, the atmospheric CO2 concentration has been increased by humans by more a third as early as the onset of the Industrial Revolution began (Reynolds et al., 2016). As a result, the climate has been for a long time been forced to change for better adoption.

Consequently, due to solar irradiance, studies have shown that the average amount of energy that comes from the sun can increase slightly or remain constant due to the variability of global warming.

Methane

Methane is a form of a hydrocarbon gas which is produced both through human activities and natural sources such as agriculture, landfill waste decomposition. It also involves decomposition of manure management and ruminant digestion which are related to the domestic livestock. Notably, on a molecule-for-molecule basis, the gas is very active in the greenhouse as compared to carbon which is regarded as the most abundant.

Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide is the most powerful greenhouse gas which is produced by practices in the soil cultivation, especially the use of fossil fuel combustion, commercial and organic fertilizers, biomass burning, and nitric acid production.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

The gas involves all synthetic compounds of industrial origin and is used in some methods which are limited to the agreements made by the international bodies about the ozone layer destruction. They are also important greenhouse gases.

Impact of Human Activities to Climate Change and Mass Extinction

Human activities on Earth have drastically changed the natural greenhouse. Burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal and has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to massive climatic changes and mass extinction as most plants and animals could not thrive in the turns (Crutzen, Mosier, Smith & Winiwarter, 2016). Although it is difficult to change the natural atmospheric greenhouse are challenging to predict, some effects human contribution to the change are evident:

Human activities led to warmer conditions will eventually lead to more precipitation and evaporation with variations in the individual regions will vary leading to some becoming dyer and others wetter. Similarly, human activities led to a change in the climate. For instance, Earth will be warmer in some regions as well as welcome warmer temperatures, whereas on other it does not.

Additionally, a stronger greenhouse effect partially melts glaciers and ice as well as warms the oceans, increasing the sea level. As a result, ocean water expands due to the warmth leading to a further rise in the sea level (Reynolds et al., 2016). Moreover, some crops and plants which respond favorably to the increase of CO2, in atmosphere grow more vigorously maximize the water available. However, shifting climate patterns and higher temperatures make life hard to crops which depend on mild ones thereby failing to adapt to the possible changes and eventually die off.

Drawing Conclusions

As the geological history of the Earth attempts to follow significant events that took place, several extinction periods have been identified, mass extinction and minor extinction. However, the cause and things which happened in each period differ and represent significant variation. Similarly, different categories of animals were affected although others survived and only became extinct on the last stages. Notably, global warming through green affects based on the activities which are being done by a human, have been identified as the leading cause of mass extinction. Overall, through global warming, many plants and animals have become extinct because they cannot adapt to variations in the climate.

Reference

Crutzen, P. J., Mosier, A. R., Smith, K. A., & Winiwarter, W. (2016). N 2 O release from agro-biofuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels. In Paul J. Crutzen: A pioneer on atmospheric chemistry and climate change in the anthropocene (pp. 227-238). Springer, Cham.

Hughes, T. P., Kerry, J. T., Alvarez-Noriega, M., Alvarez-Romero, J. G., Anderson, K. D., Baird, A. H., ... & Bridge, T. C. (2017). Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature, 543(7645), 373.

Reynolds, S. J., Johnson, J. K., Morin, P. J., & Carter, C. M. (2016). Exploring geology. McGraw-Hill Education.