Re: #78

Nice to finally arrived here at LGF. goddamnedfrank, I am not a denier, I have yet to see an ounce of proof CO2 is driving the global climate, for a myriad of reasons I would be happy to debate. First off, let me explain where your simple reasoning is wrong:

He is also okay with ignoring the increased orbital distances of Mars and Jupiter

Dude, I work for NASA. What makes you think I did not factor that in? OK, some planetary science lessons are in order. Yes, Mars and Jupiter are farther out (duh!). But distance is not the only (or the major) factor here. First off, as shown by HST the Mars polar ice caps disappeared in a matter of months. That is self evident.

But the difference is how solar radiation plays on the Martian and Earth surfaces. First off, Earth’s atmosphere is thicker and contains more water. This tends to minimize the effect of solar irradiance, unlike Mars which has a thin dry atmosphere. We also have ozone which filters out some of the radiation (UV). All in all, there is a massive difference in what reach our planet’s surface compared top Mars. So while the radiation drops by r-squared, what is important is the the radiation reaching the surface and and any resulting atmospheric temperature increases.

2nd, Mars has no liquid core, therefore no magnetic field. The Earth’s magnetic field acts as a huge shield diverting a lot of solar energy. The Martian surface is completely exposed to this additional onslaught of the solar wind. With less energy hitting our atmosphere or surface you get an attenuated increase in temperature.

Finally, we have massive oceans. Water is an excellent heat sink and stabilizer of the global heat balance. Much of the atmosphere’s temperature is cooled by the water and also by the rains which dump the heat back into the oceans (75% of the Earth’s surface). This means we can absorb a lot more energy without seeing very much atmospheric change.

This is why (and I hinted to it in the post) Mars experienced a much more dramatic response than Earth did. It is no surprise at all when you factor in all the parameters. It is actually a stronger indicator this is a solar system wide phenomena, because the Earth and Mars reacted in a manner that reflects their core differences.

If you like we can through Jovian planetary science as well.

As one of the other responder noted - ouch!