What the heck? "Translate" this into English?

Question

"Current state-of-the-art climate models include fully interactive clouds[11]. They show that an increase in atmospheric temperature caused by the greenhouse effect due to anthropogenic gases will in turn lead to an increase in the water vapor content of the troposphere, with approximately constant relative humidity. "

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#The_role_of_water_vapor )

Answer 1

It is BS that Gore's people write to throw you off of the fact that 'REAL' global warming is nothing more than humidity.  See, they would like you to think that CO2 causes heat, not the sun and the evaporation from that heat, causes the temperature to rise in the atmosphere....

Translated means....  We are full of c**p, so we are going to load more c**p onto our previous c**p, so that by the time you realize that we are full of c**p, we will already have millions upon millions of dollars in research money and it won't matter.

In other words....  Before global warming....  CLOUDS DID NOT EXIST???

ROTFLMAO

Now listen to Bob the fear monger, Cult follower; Now humidity is a powerful greenhouse gas, so the next item on the agenda of these freaks from h**l, is to get rid of all exposed water on earth, so that the temperature won't rise due to the humidity and vaporization.....  

They are really, really, really and truly stupid and thrive on you being just as stupid to fall for their pathetic bull ****!

By-the-way, do you know what Anthropogenic means?  It means caused or formed by people.... So now, CO2 is an invention of people....  It didn't exist before we got here.... The BS keeps piling and piling and piling on.....

Answer 2

Any increase in temperature of the air will generally lead to an increase in the amount of water vapour present (the reason is more complex than a simple dependency on the temperature). This is a basic fact of senior high school physics.

So if atmospheric temperature increases due to global warming, and more water vapour can be present, the greenhouse effect is magnified because water vapour is also a greenhouse gas (as well as CO2). This is the answer to your question.

On my next point, if you believe what "crazycon" said, you'll probably fail high school science. And you'll certainly never be a meteorologist. Clouds form when moist air cools below its dewpoint, not when it warms up!

Larry's answer is so stupid as to be completely incomprehensible. Nobody believes CO2 "causes" heat, because it doesn't. It traps heat. Greenhouse gases have this property because they absorb infrared (heat) radiation which has been emitted/reflected from the surface of the earth.

Larry also thinks that people can't produce excessive amounts of CO2. I bet if Larry held his mouth over the exhaust of a Pontiac G6 to give us an objective assessment of what gases are produced by the combustion of fossil fuels (internal combustion engines don't grow naturally, I'm told), then multiplied the effects by around 600 or 700 million (number of cars in the world), he might change his mind - well, if someone can resuscitate him in time.

This doesn't include the CO2 produced by industry. If he can fit his mouth over the smokestack of a coal-fired power station then multiply that by the 6 billion tons per year of coal which is produced, we might get an even better idea. Unfortunately by this stage Larry's blood CO2 levels will be well over a fatal concentration.

Heretic's answer is even funnier still. Yes CO2 is vital, in a sense. But I'll leave it to your imagination if you think that 6 billion tons of coal burning or half a billion cars is anything significant on top of what is produced naturally. Over the last 150 years, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 has risen from 280 ppm (parts per million) to 380 ppm. The numbers are well established and not seriously debated by anyone. You do the math.

He hasn't noticed any "tropical temperatures in any place other than the tropics". Well, blow me down! I've lived in the tropics and a "tropical temperature" can be anything from 20 degrees C to 37 degrees C! We're talking of global average temperature rises in the order of a couple of degrees here, which are hugely significant on the large scale of the planet.

Heretic obviously runs around with his super-sensitive thermometer which can sense such small changes. Perhaps a platinum resistance temperature detector (yes, that's actually a real thing), like we'd all like to have.

Answer 3

Many of the serious answers were good, but I don't know if they made it any easier for you to understand.  They are talking about dewpoint; basically the higher the air temperature the more water it can hold.  Saying that more water = more clouds = more global warming may not be true.  Clouds also block the sun and reflect that energy back into space, so H20 as a greenhouse gas is a wash.

What the article means is that the humidex will be relatively constant, meaning that it will always feel humid and hot (swampy or muggy) as the effects of Global Warming pump more heat and water into the atmosphere.

I hope that helps make a little more sense of the article.

Good question!

Answer 4

Be glad we have CO2 and water.It's all part of a regulatory process that protects the world we live in.The consequences would be far worse if we lacked them. Mankind does produce excess CO2,but it's negligible to what real impact this has. I haven't noticed any year round tropical temperatures in any place other then the tropics.

Don't be fooled by noxious pollutants -vs-CO2 as some people will have you believe.

Answer 5

in a nut shell

current models include fully interactive clouds.

they show the earth is warming.

they show this warming is caused by humans releasing greenhouse gasses.

higher temps mean that there will be more water in the atmosphere although relative humidity will stay the same.

Answer 6

What that fails to say is the warmer air can hold more water vapor , which forms more clouds. And these clouds would reduce global warming. Thus the entire statement is basically a waste of paper as they have no idea what will really happen.

Answer 7

I BELIEVE YOU STRANGE DUDE

Answer 8

When temperature rises, more water evaporates and is incorporated into the atmosphere.  It's the same way that more water would evaporate on a 100 degree day than a 50 degree day.  The warmer the water, the easier it is for it to become water vapor.

Answer 9

We are working on new models that include cloud formations. These models state that water vapor will increase as other greenhouse gasses increase. Therefore, raising the humidity in the lower atmosphere.

Answer 10

The question of the amount of water vapour in the air is complex and I don't pretend to fully understand the predictions people are making.  Other components of the atmosphere: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, oxides of nitrogen, etc are essentially all gases at conditions pertaining throughout the atmosphere and diffuse to give roughly constant percentages.  Water vapour is different, the amount the air can hold decreases as the temperature decreases and fine water droplets will condense out, form clouds and ultimately rain will occur.  As air heats the relative humidity will fall (that is the amount of water vapour in it in comparison to the amount it will hold) and when it passes over the ocean surface (or damp land surfaces) it will take up water.  As air rises due to atmospheric turbulence it cools as the pressure is lowered and will hold less water.  Clearly global warming will allow the air to potentially hold more water but it seems to be thought that there will be some latitudes where less of it will actually precipitate in the form of rain over land masses where it will become relatively somewhat warmer still.

Answer 11

The basic idea is that warmer air can hold more water vapor.  It's why your house gets so dry in the wintertime, the air outside can't hold much water.  If the water molecules are speeding around in higher temperatures, they can stay suspended in the air better.  That's pretty much all your first quote is saying.  

Relative humidity is how much water there is in the air, compared to the maximum it can hold.  If the relative humidity is 50%, the air is holding half the water it can possibly hold.

Your second quote is saying (bottom line) that will make global warming worse, since water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas.