Hi Dr. Oppenheimer, I love the sciences--unfortunately, I'm a fairly new student with little educational background in the sciences, except for a meteo class I took last semester--which is why I have so many questions. Of all the aspects about science that I enjoy learning about, Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect is what thouroughly intrigues me.
I don't mean to ask inane questions, or waste your valuable time Dr. Oppenheimer, and I've asked professors at my campus this question, but they have told me they wouldn't even begin to know where to search for answers to the questions I have, except to maybe start with the NASA website, which I have. So I am going to ask you a question about Ice Meteorites, and if you can't answer it, I'll understand, because so far, nobody else has been able to either.
I firmly believe that global warming is anthropogenic, what with all the co2 we're dumping into the atmosphere each day. But could it be possible that there is another factor along with rising co2 levels causing our planets increase in temperature over the last 30 years? From what I understand of greenhouse gases, more water vapor in the atmosphere means a warmer planet, because water vapor traps outgoing Infrared Radiation, or, long-wave radiation. Now, I'm not a scientist, but I was just wondering: Could the ice meteorites bombarding earth have increased in activity over the last 30 years or so, to add to the global warming problem? I've done so much research on-line, and I can't find any exact numbers on exactly how much moisture Ice Meteorites are dumping on our planet each day. I'm sure it differs from day to day, but could our planet be experiencing some sort of freak space ice storm over the last 30-40 years (which is a drop in the bucket, as far as time in space goes)? And if this is possible, how would I go about finding out? I don't think NASA has any precise data on ice meteorites; nor, for that matter, does any other company in the world--have much data on Ice Meteorites and their contribution to our atmosphere and global warming. And so far, I've only been able to find one photo of an ice meteorite entering our atmosphere. I don't know why, but I feel as if this is something that could contribute to our understanding of the atmosphere/environment we exist in. Am I wrong? Is the amount of moisture from ice meteorites entering our atmosphere so minimal, as to not be worth calculating/mentioning in the greenhouse effects/global warming data? Just a gut feeling, but I'm eager to learn all I can about ice meteorites and their impact (or lack of impact) on earth's atmosphere--so where do I look for this information?
Here's what I've learned so far: water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas. Long-wave radiation is absorbed by water vapor as it enters our atmosphere and as it leaves our atmosphere. Percentage wise, though, water vapor is less important than other greenhouse gases. What scientist's concentrate on (when they make greenhouse gas estimates) first, is the troposphere and the stratosphere--then they go higher.
Okay now, could ice meteorites entering our atmosphere burn up long before they even reach our stratosphere or troposphere, and linger for more than 10-15 days (I read that the residence time for water in our atmosphere is about 10 days) as h20 molecules in the thermosphere or mesosphere? And could there be more h20 molecules up at that altitude than previously thought? And if so, shouldn't the greenhouse gas calculations include these other, higher, h20 molecules, because they are also trapping long-wave radiation, thus, keeping the planet warmer? And, if this is the case, and the earth has been experiencing an increase in ice meteorites over the last 30-40 years (and there is a lot more water vapor in the atmosphere, or in the upper atmosphere), then shouldn't these other h20 molecules also be counted as contributing to the greenhouse effect, as well as global warming? The h20 molecules in the troposphere from clouds and other sources trap long wave radiation, and re-emit it in other directions.
But, who's to say that the h20 molecules way higher up aren't also trapping those same long wave radiation rays being re-radiated from h20 molecules way down lower, and then re-emitting them to other molecules next to themselves in the mesosphere or thermosphere?
Also, the thermosphere is the beginning of earth's atmosphere, and it's cooling because of increased c02 levels. But, could it also be cooling because of increased water vapor caused by the ice meteorites in the thermosphere or even in the exosphere, above it?
I'm probably way out in left field here, so tell me if I am. I am trying to learn all I can about our earth's atmosphere, and what global warming will mean to my children (I have 6 kids, ages 1-15) when they grow up. It's such an interesting topic, with so many possibilities, that I can't help myself. When I saw this show about ice meteorites, I couldn't help myself,I wanted to learn more.
Earth has grown about 10% since the end of the heavy bombardment period: is it possible that earth is again being bombarded (on a smaller scale of course) with ice meteorites (hydrometeorites) and other small dirt meteorites (that satellites can't pick up, because of their size) that might be contributing to earth's global warming problem? I know that the orbit of satellites starts at about 100 miles above earth, and continues on out to about 22,300 miles above earth. Where could I get information about which satellite's have a geostationary orbit in the thermosphere that might have atmospheric data I could learn from?
Thanks for your time Dr. Oppenheimer, and if you can't answer my questions, that's fine. I really don't think mankind has the technology to measure the moisture entering earth's atmosphere yet, though I was kind of hoping somebody would have some useful information. Thanks, JMW