Some thoughts and views on global warming on Earth/Mars Comparisions.

[Nachiappan]

Dear Viewers,

 

Two questions raised impeled my thoughts on the subject. One about the TSI on Mars and the other Global Warming on Mars in comparision to Earth.

 

I did enjoy the question and had taken passion to answer because it could be available to all people who are very particular to arrive at a resolution and thereby truth could be evolved. Shortly, Iam happy that iam a part or insturmental to bring out truth or some arguments/views through science. Here I have also attempted to project my thoughts in very simple way so that every person could understand.

 

My knowledge with regard to The TSI is quite limited,though I have the understanding of what it is and its significance. And TSI for Mars is half that of what earth receives. One should also bear in mind that Mars is farther away from the Sun than Earth is to Sun.

 

Though half the size of earth Mars has an atmosphere made of co2 which could be expected to "absorbs & trap" more of radiation offered to it than offered to earth.That is the coeffeciency of absorbed solar radiance by the planet Mars could be more than the coeffeciency of absorbed solar radiation by earth given the size and proximity of earth towards Sun. Simply put if you have Mars in the same distance as Earth and size as earth towards Sun, Mars would absorb more of radiance than Earth.

 

Even then global warming of mars cannot be justified using this because,the global warming process if said to happen in Mars it should be very gradual and should show sign of steady changes be it either reversals or progression in a linear or any other fashion.This is not happening in Mars or gives any sign of this type of "process".Even if data is got in support of warming it will surely say that warming is not fast or sudden or rapid as like our earth.

 

Secondly the planet Mars is roughly half the size of Earth. So the influence of warming by Sun is quite meager (even though as for the sake of arugument we say the coefficiency of solar radiation abosorption by Mars COULD BE HIGHER THAN EARTH) though cannot be ruled out completely. That is, though concluded to be present but only to a slight extent.

 

Then next thing raised is about--- Is Mars is experiencing global warming pattern similar to Earth…

 

It could be a faulty assumption because it is an observation based on a regional change around a polar cap in that planet. This observation of a region also comes from a simple modeled Martian terrain where there are no significant domains such as a huge ocean as like we have in Earth.

 

In Earth this oceanic domain is the one greatly influencing the behavior of our Earth. It had acted as a buffer for a very long time and now it is quite unable to do so continuously and so now show its “weakness” or ”Rupture”. This type of buffer is completely absent in Martian terrain. This influence by ocean on Earth is profound and influences the atmosphere and Ice Caps as well.

 

I mean that the planet Mars is having a terrain that is blanketed by a significant cover of an atmosphere dominated by CO2 that does not have any interaction with a domain as like our oceans. Therefore, the planet Mars has only the surface terrain and its Co2 dominated atmosphere. Simply could be told that Earth has two fluid spheres and Mars has only one—the atmosphere. Only the FLUID spheres(hydroshere-liquid/water and atmosphere--air or any gaseous atmosphere) are greatly, quickly and significantly influenced by Solar output Energy on a Global scale or dimmensions.

 

It could also mean that the Martian atmosphere should behave according to the forcing from external factor robustly or some type of a profound response to external forcing but it is not so seem to behave in a significant manner.

 

Even the thaw of ice in Polar Regions of Martian terrain could be attributed to some type of long term change indigenous to that planet which could be related to a phenomenon called Precession like our wobbling. So the mere “appearance” (not observation) of the polar change in Mars cannot be held as a staunch proof for Warming of that planet. So I would conveniently deduce that Mars is not experiencing global warming pattern similar to Earth. Even if it is so found that there is a warming of Mars it would be very very insignificant. And that will take a long time to affect that planet by the charge of rising temperature & global warming, because the irradiance from the Sun is not only weak in that planet but also it is the one major external forcing related to do warming. So other than the inherent weakness if any in the planet Mars there is no other great or big significant way that Mars will be affected by global warming.

 

And so it could be deduced the major Solar radiance forcing factor has "FAILED"to bring about any significant or sudden and rapid change on the planet Mars.

 

But in our Earth that is not the case there are possibilities to say that the anthropogenic causes are the once that triggered warming which paved way to the irradiance from the Sun to gain entry ,accelerate and complicate the global warming in a greater scale. I mean that anthropogenic factors not only triggered warming but also gave berth to a natural phenomenon (solar radiation) and made to catalyze and impact in a negative or to injurious preposition to life which is the Global warming process. So the warming process is now magnified, complicated, globally rampant, significant and profound in our planet which should not be equated or scaled to compare with other planets.

Nachiappan.