
Chapter 1
Scope
The Earth’s climate has changed throughout the history. From glacial periods or
"ice ages" where ice covered significant portions of the Earth to interglacial periods
where ice retreated to the poles or melted entirely - the climate has continuously
changed.
Figure 1.1: Greenhouse Gas Cycle
[http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov/images/greenhouse-sm1.gif, 12.09.08]
There are a lot of factors effecting the climatic behaviour of the Earth. CO
2
is a
critical component of the Earth’s atmosphere. Since the beginning of the industrial
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