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Lau, N-C., 2007:
Scientific basis of climate change (English version).
Bulletin of the Hong Kong Meteorological Society, 17, 1-27.
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Abstract:
Our awareness of possible human impacts on the earth’s climate system dates
back to the early 19th century. In 1827, the renowned French
mathematician Jean-Baptiste Fourier recognized that the atmosphere acts like
a ‘glass vessel’ by trapping heat energy derived from sunlight. This idea
later evolved into the concept of ‘greenhouse effect’ as the principal cause
for global warming. The marked increase in the burning of fossil fuels
(mainly coal and petroleum) since the Industrial Revolution has led to
emissions of large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. In
1896, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius first noted that the rising level
of this gas could warm our climate. Systematic efforts to monitor the
atmospheric concentration of CO2 and various indicators of the global
environment (such as temperature, precipitation, ice cover, etc.) were
launched in the 20th century. The emerging scientific evidence
has caused sufficient concern that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) sponsored a month-long study in the summer of 1970. More than forty
eminent scientists and professionals contributed their knowledge on the
emission rates, pathways and global impacts of various pollutants.
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