Publication Abstracts

Rasool and Schneider 1971

Rasool, S.I., and S.H. Schneider, 1971: Atmospheric carbon dioxide and aerosols: Effects of large increases on global climate. Science, 173, 138-141, doi:10.1126/science.173.3992.138.

Effects on the global temperature of large increases in carbon dioxide and aerosol densities in the atmosphere of Earth have been computed. It is found that, although the addition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does increase the surface temperature, the rate of temperature increase diminishes with increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. For aerosols, however, the net effect of increase in density is to reduce the surface temperature of Earth. Because of the exponential dependence of the backscattering, the rate of temperature decrease is augmented with increasing aerosol content. An increase by only a factor of 4 in global aerosol background concentration may be sufficient to reduce the surface temperature by as much as 3.5°K. If sustained over a period of several years, such a temperature decrease over the whole globe is believed to be sufficient to trigger an ice age.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{ra00600k,
  author={Rasool, S. I. and Schneider, S. H.},
  title={Atmospheric carbon dioxide and aerosols: Effects of large increases on global climate},
  year={1971},
  journal={Science},
  volume={173},
  pages={138--141},
  doi={10.1126/science.173.3992.138},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - ra00600k
AU  - Rasool, S. I.
AU  - Schneider, S. H.
PY  - 1971
TI  - Atmospheric carbon dioxide and aerosols: Effects of large increases on global climate
JA  - Science
JO  - Science
VL  - 173
SP  - 138
EP  - 141
DO  - 10.1126/science.173.3992.138
ER  -

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