User:KnowledgeRequire/Severe weather Influences

This article is about the influences that occur upon severe weather. For information on severe weather phenomena, see Severe weather.

Severe weather influences is the changes in environment and atmospheric conditions that produce altering effects upon factors, or factors relating to severe weather phenomena, such as the frequency, geographic occurrences, and the severity of the damage inflicted by devastating weather phenomena. Alteration of environments and atmospheres can both occur naturally, or artifically by human activities. Enviromental changes can be produced by: habitat destruction, volcanic eruptions, and pollution. The effects of greenhouse gas emissions, release of aerosol, and other chemicals can have damaging alterations to the natural state of the atmosphere.

Atmospheric Alterations

Greenhouse gas emissions

The increasing usage of cars is one of main contributions to the effects of Global Warming.

The increasing usage of fossil fuels as a primary energy sources for powering machinery has lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions for the past years. This emissioning of greenhouse gas is increasing the strength of the greenhouse gas effect upon the Earth's atmosphere, which in turn traps heat from the infrared radiation of the Sun. This has led to an increase in temperatures within the Earth's atmosphere which will then influence the temperature upon the surface. This process of heating is known as Global Warming. The increase in heat will raise the temperature variations between each region, varying upon geological points. With temperatures rising, updrafts are more common within regions, so tornadoes; hurricanes; thunderstorms; or any other weather phenomenon requiring the presence of updrafts may increase in occurrence within certain countries. Blizzards and other winter storms will decrease in occurrence, due to high amount of heat being presented that would otherwise prevent snow or other forms of solid water from developing. Glaciers and icebergs are melting because of the warming, which can increase chances of heavy precipitation, with more bodies of water presented in certain areas. Heatwaves may also become more frequent in all geographic areas.

Possible evidence of this have been shown throughout the world, with many changes and variations within climates. One possible example of this is increasing amount of tornado discoveries. More tornadoes have been spotted throughout the regions of the Tornado Alley and within many other countries located at mid-latitude. While this is evidence of the effects Global Warming could have on climates, meteorologist believe that this increase in the discovery of tornadoes could be just influenced by the more advanced technologies avaliable to discover tornadoes and the more knowledge gained about them, as well as the rise of public awareness.

Enviromental Alterations

Volcano eruptions

Large quantities of ash and gas particles released into the atmosphere by a volcano eruption.

Volcanoes are fissures within the Earth's crust that are connected to the Earth's Mantle layer, capable of erupting high quantities of magma and lava into the Earth's surface. During the duration of such events, volcanoes can often release high amounts of ash particles and sulfur atoms into the atmosphere. Ash particles, containing less mass than the air within the atmosphere, stay afloat for long varying duration before falling down, while the sulfur atoms mix with the oxygen molecules within the atmosphere, forming sulfur dioxide. These ash particles and sulfur dioxide, with their density can block the Sun's radiation and keep them from penetrating and reaching the Earth's crust. With less or no radiation, surface and atmospheric temperatures will decrease dramatically. Without radiation, updrafts of warm air currents are unable to form, thus severe weather phenomena of hurricanes, tornadoes, waterspouts, thunderstorms, or any other weather phenomena requiring the presence of updrafts would be unable to develop. Precipitation in the form of acid rain have a possiblity to develop, as the sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere can form compounds with the water molecules in the air.