• Introduction
• Background
  • Arctic Ecosystems
  • The Carbon Cycle
  • Phytoplankton
  • Sea Ice
  • A Warming World
• The Arctic Ecosystem Model
  • How to Read the Model Results
    • Concentration versus Time and Depth
    • Results as a Series of Vertical Profiles
  • Model Components
    • Nitrogen and Phytoplankton
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton, Detritus
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton 1, Phytoplankton 2
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, Detritus
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton 1, Phytoplankton 2, Zooplankton, Detritus
  • Sensitivity Experiments
    • Model Settings
    • Ocean Settings
    • Phytoplankton Settings
    • Zooplankton Settings
    • Start Day and Latitude
    • Nitrogen, Phytoplankton1, Phytoplankton2, Zooplankton
  • Detailed Explanation of Terms
    • K for Nitrogen
    • K for Phytoplankton
    • Growth_o
    • K and Growth_o: 2 Phytoplankton Taxa
    • Ek_max
• Model Scenarios
  • Phytoplankton Competition
  • Late versus Early Phytoplankton Blooms
  • A Warming World

Background

Over the past 150 years, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere has dramatically increased due to human activities such as driving cars and burning coal and oil for energy. This increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere is significant to humans and most all living things on Earth because CO₂ acts to keep the Earth warm by absorbing outgoing thermal radiation and re-radiating it back to the surface. This is the so-called Greenhouse Effect. Higher amounts of CO₂ in the atmosphere will lead to warmer temperatures in most places around the world. But scientists are not certain how exactly this change will affect the climate and organisms living on Earth.

Open a review of the Greenhouse Effect in a new window.