as changes in the amount of solar radiation and atmospheric changes
due to volcanoes. In the absence of detailed temperature records over
many centuries, it is difficult to separate this natural variability of global
temperature from the effect due to an increase in greenhouse gases.
However, it is now generally accepted that the temperature has increased
by 0.5 –1.0°C during the past century. Whereas the absolute magnitude
of this change on the global temperature is small, it represents a 2–3%
increase in the contribution of greenhouse gases and is projected to
have a profound influence on the Earth. For example, computer models
of the effect of these temperature increases are predicted to result in a
significant rise in the ocean’s water levels (Meehl et al. 2005). Correlated
with the increase in the increasing sea-surface temperature has been a
increasing hurricane frequency and intensity (Webster et al. 2005). In
particular, a large increase has been seen in the number of hurricanes
reaching categories 4 and 5, such as Hurricane Katrina, which caused so
much damage in 2006 in the USA. A possible causal relationship arising
from the relationship between saturation vapor pressure and sea-surface
temperature is under debate. The trend of increasing and more frequent
hurricanes is consistent with climate models, and the complex nature of
hurricanes continues to be investigated by scientists. Notably, the efforts
of Albert Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were
recognized with the Nobel Prize in Peace in 2007.44 PARTI THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS
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