It takes decades for these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to start to break down, though there’s thought that these same gases maybe actually assisting in the temperatures ‘slow’ increase rather than the rapid. That’s a theory proposed two years ago and is termed, ‘Global Dimming’. If that’s the cases, this indeed hints at other factors. The same factors we’ll look at later, “It is possible that we have already irrevocably committed the Greenland ice sheet to melting, which would cause an estimated 7m rise in sea level. There are also indications that the west Antarctic ice sheet may have begun to melt, though scientists caution further research is necessary." (Quote's from BBC Media)

  The planets principle atmosphere is comprised of Nitrogen at 78.1% and Oxygen at 20.9%. We've read a lot about Carbon Dioxide (0.035%) significantly escalating the greenhouse effect, however there's another gas, Methane - which resides within the atmosphere at a level of 0.0002%. Methane is about 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide by weight. Once in the atmosphere, methane absorbs terrestrial infrared radiation that would otherwise escape to space. This gases has a relatively short atmospheric lifetime, approximately 12 years. The concentration of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled over the last 200 years, and in particular, has increased by about 50% in the last 40 years. I'll look at this gas and its impact on Saturn's moon Titan's atmosphere later. There appears to be parallels between the Earth and Titan in regards to methane (although Titan's sidereal orbit is a contributing factor to it's 'anti-greenhouse' environment).

  Discussion about the causes of earth’s (growing percentage of) greenhouse gases and its effects on the planet, as well has the global population could consume literally hundreds of pages of examples, facts and predictions. However this site looks outside our own planet for further examples of other awkward planetary atmospheres (Venus’s runaway greenhouse environment and Titan’s ‘anti-greenhouse atmosphere) their orbits, mass and rotation cycles, looking for possible interrelationships the could possibly be used within a model for our own planets rising sea levels and climate.

  This website has been This website has been designed where possible for easy navigation. Most pages have links back to, or across the various pages. Time is always difficult to do intensive research, although I’d happily sit here for the hundreds of hours needed, however Year 12 studies consume most of my free time.
  I’ve worked on researching, reading, cataloging (comparing information) and saving what appropriate material I believed supports my work. Some suggestions and conclusions are based on theory (arrived at from data), while others are based on known and given facts.