The Evolution of Earth's Climate

Written by a group of the most experienced and well-known environmental engineers in the world, from a unique perspective, this volume explores the hot-button issue of climate change, its causes, and the future of the planet.

Climate change is one of the most controversial and argued issues in the world today, and it has been for years. It has been politicized by politicians on all sides, some scientists have used the study of it for their own material gain above true scientific discovery, and some scientific theories surrounding it have been believed even though proven false. But there is not, by any means, complete agreement among all scientists throughout the world on this issue.

Written by two of the world's most well-respected environmental and petroleum engineers, this book is meant to be one voice in the scientific literature on this important subject. Other books, also available from Wiley-Scrivener, take the opposite stance, but it is important, in our scientific journey, to listen to all voices and rely on facts, rather than opinions. We trust the reader to make his or her decisions based on all of the facts, and not just some of them.

John O. Robertson, PhD, is the owner of Earth Engineering, Inc. and an adjunct professor at ITT Tech in National City, CA.  He has over 50 years of experience in petroleum and environmental engineering and geology and is the author of over 12 textbooks and 75 articles.

George V. Chilingar, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor of Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. He is one of the most well-known petroleum geologists in the world and the founder of several prestigious journals in the oil and gas industry. He has published over 70 books and 500 articles and has received over 100 awards over his career.

Oleg G. Sorokhtin is recognized for his work in geophysics, geology and ecology at the institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  He passed away in 2010.

Nikolai Sorokhtin is a geologist and academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and has participated in over 20 major geological expeditions and author of more than 100 scientific publications, including six monographs.

Wennan Long is a reservoir engineer specialist in Synergy Oil and Gas, LLC in Long Beach, California and an active member of the Russian Academy of Nature Sciences   He has published many engineering articles in the areas of climate change and environmental science.

Introduction xv

Acknowledgments xix

Part I: Climatic Paradox 1

1 Climatic Paradox 3

Historic Temperatures of Early Earth 3

Concepts by Some of Global Warming 5

Earth’s Historic Temperature Charts 6

Misuse of Temperature Charts 7

Use of Paleoclimatology to Estimate Prehistoric Temperatures 8

Use of the Oxygen Isotope Ratio to Estimate Historic Temperatures 9

Historic Temperature Charts for the Past 4.6 BY 10

Glacial Periods and Interglacial Periods (4.5 to 0.540 BY AGO) 10

Historic Temperature Record of the Past 540 MY 11

Today’s Temperature Charts 16

The Sun—a Primary Source of Energy 17

Physical Aspects of the Sun 18

Sunspots 18

Solar Irradiation Reaching the Earth 20

The Sun’s Energy 23

Energy Received by the Earth from the Sun 26

The Paradox Reviewed 27

2 Adiabatic Theory 29

Troposphere 29

How is Heat Transferred in the Troposphere? 31

Modeling the Earth’s Troposphere 33

Features of the Earth’s Atmosphere 33

Development of an Adiabatic Equation 35

Development of the Adiabatic Equation 37

Earth’s Troposphere Model 41

Effect of Precession Angle 42

Application of Adiabatic Equation to the Planet Venus 47

3 The Earth’s Synoptic Activities 51

Greenhouse Effect Adiabatic Theory 51

Model of Heat Transfer in the Troposphere 52

Part II: Development of the Hydrosphere 59

4 Development of Earth’s Hydrosphere 61

Hydrosphere of the Primordial Earth 61

Formation of the Hydrosphere 66

Part III: Development of the Earth’s Atmosphere 79

5 Earth’s Historic Atmospheres 81

Earth’s Primordial Atmosphere 81

Earth’s First Atmosphere (Hadean time—4.56 to 4.0 BY ago) 83

Earth’s Second Atmosphere (Archean time, 4.0 to 2.5 BY ago) 85

Earth’s Third Atmosphere (Proterozoic to mid-Phanerozoic time – 2.5 to 0.54 BY ago) 86

Today’s Atmosphere (Phanerozoic time, 0.542 BY ago to today) 89

The Earth’s Future Atmosphere 89

6 Nitrogen in Earth’s Atmosphere 91

Origin of Earth’s Atmospheric Nitrogen 91

Estimate of the Earth’s Volume of Organic-Nitrogen Sediments 95

7 Development of Free Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere 99

Oxygen 99

History of Free Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere 100

8 Development of Methane in Earth’s Atmosphere 111

Methane the Gas 111

Historic Levels of Methane in the Earth’s Atmosphere 114

Monitoring of Methane Gas Emissions 126

9 The Effect of the Greenhouse Gases 129

The Greenhouse Gases 129

The Classic Greenhouse Effect 130

The Greenhouse Gases 131

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect 134

The Greenhouse Effect 135

Effect of the Precession Angle 138

Convective Heat Transsphere in Troposphere 140

Effect of Water Vapor on Heat Transfer 140

Effect of Carbon Dioxide on Temperature Distribution 141

The Effect of Carbon Dioxide Anthropogenic Emissions 143

10 Development of Carbon Dioxide in Earth’s Atmosphere 147

Carbon Dioxide 147

Sources of Carbon Dioxide 148

The Carbon Cycle 148

Mass of Carbon in the Earth’s Crust 151

Mass of Carbon in the Earth’s Mantle 151

Historic Content of Carbon Dioxide in the Earth’s Atmosphere 155

Earth’s Hadean Atmosphere (4.56 to 4.0 BY ago) 155

Earth’s Archaean Atmosphere (4.0 to 2.4 BY ago) 156

Earth’s Proterozoic and Phanerozoic Atmosphere (2.4 BY ago to today) 159

Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 163

Historic Effect of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide 168

11 Ozone in the Earth’s Atmosphere 173

Properties of Ozone 173

Ozone Layer as the “Earth’s Shield” 174

Atmospheric Gases Ability to Absorb Energy 175

The Ozone Hole 184

Ozone – Methane Reaction 188

Concluding Remarks 189

12 Evolution of Atmospheric Composition and Pressure 191

Partial Pressure of Atmospheric Gases 191

Part IV: Various Factors Affecting the Evolution of the Earth’s Climate 197

13 Earth’s Orbital Distance from the Sun 199

Effect of Gravity on Earth’s Orbital Paths 199

Earth’s Orbital Path About the Sun 200

Kepler’s Laws Pertaining to Planetary Orbits 202

Eccentricity of an Object’s Orbit 205

Effect of Other Planets on Earth’s orbit 206

The Effect of the Planet Jupiter on Earth’s Orbital Path 212

14 Climatalogical Effect of Continental Drift 223

Continental Drift’s Effect on the Earth’s Precession Angle 223

Latitudinal Temperature Contrast on Earth’s Surface 228

15 Earth’s Future Climate 235

Conclusions 239

References and Bibliography 241

Author Index 271

Subject Index 275

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