What Is Global Dimming?

Question

Really, what is the difference between global dimming and global warming?

Answer 1

What is global dimming?Fossil fuel use, as well as producing greenhouse gases, creates other by-products. These by-products are also pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, soot, and ash. These pollutants however, also change the properties of clouds.

Clouds are formed when water droplets are seeded by air-borne particles, such as pollen. Polluted air results in clouds with larger number of droplets than unpolluted clouds. This then makes those clouds more reflective. More of the sun’s heat and energy is therefore reflected back into space.

This reduction of heat reaching the earth is known as Global Dimming.

This link should help you. Excerpt taken from this site.

Answer 2

Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, observed since the beginning of systematic measurements in 1950s. The effect varies by location, but worldwide it is of the order of a 4% reduction over the three decades from 1960–1990. This trend may have reversed during the past decade. Global dimming creates a cooling effect that may have partially masked the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.

Answer 3

Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, observed since the beginning of systematic measurements in 1950s. The effect varies by location, but worldwide it is of the order of a 4% reduction over the three decades from 1960–1990. This trend may have reversed during the past decade. Global dimming creates a cooling effect that may have partially masked the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.

Answer 4

Global dimming refers to the reflection of light by pollutants in the atmosphere. There seems to be a whole interconnected web of clues to follow and data to unwind concerning the relationships among global warming, global dimming, air pollution, disasters in the recent past, ...

This is a pretty good site:
http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/globaldimming.asp#Whatisglobaldimming

Answer 5

global warming is the increase in average temperature that is being attributed to accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

global dimming refers to the decrease in sunlight actually reaching the ground - in some places 30% less than early measurements last century - becuase sunlight has been reflected away before coming into the biosphere becuase of the crap in the upper atmosphere.

in the days after 911, when flights were grounded in US, the average temperature rose a whole degree in a couple of days - a massive increase on climatic scales - showing that the global dimming from jet aircraft emissions must be huge.

Answer 6

Global dimming is reduction in solar radiation caused by air pollutants high in the atmosphere. Dimming has a cooling effect, which is opposite effect of greenhouse gases, so dimming offsets greenhouse warming by some small, but unknown amount. This is one of the reasons there is speculation about the amount of change expected from the greenhouse effect.

Answer 7

Global dimming is the process of dumbing down the population similar to what the US religious right is doing. Global warming is the process of heating up the planet due to human activity.

Answer 8

i don't know what you mean by dimming, since there really is no global warming outside of politics, you can't get a good answer

Answer 9

here:

http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/globaldimming.asp#Whatisglobaldimming


http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2004/09/22/keen-dimming/

Answer 10

i thought they were the same. hope it doesn't happen too fast.