nuclear winter

nuclear winter
the general devastation of life, along with worldwide darkness and extreme cold, that some scientists believe would result from a global dust cloud screening out sunlight following large-scale nuclear detonations.
[1980-85]

* * *

Environmental devastation that some scientists contend would result from a nuclear war.

The basic cause, as hypothesized, would be huge fireballs created by exploding nuclear warheads, which would ignite great fires (firestorms). Smoke, soot, and dust would be lifted to high altitudes and driven by winds to form a uniform belt encircling the Northern Hemisphere. The clouds could block out all but a fraction of the Sun's light, and surface temperatures would plunge for as much as several weeks. The semidarkness, killing frosts, and subfreezing temperatures, combined with high doses of radiation, would interrupt plant photosynthesis and could thus destroy much of the Earth's vegetation and animal life. Other scientists dispute the results of the original calculations, and, though such a nuclear war would undoubtedly be devastating, the degree of damage to life on the Earth remains controversial.

* * *

      the environmental devastation that certain scientists contend would probably result from the hundreds of nuclear explosions in a nuclear war. The damaging effects of the light, heat, blast, and radiation caused by nuclear explosions had long been known to scientists, but such explosions' indirect effects on the environment remained largely ignored for decades. In the 1970s, however, several studies posited that the layer of ozone in the stratosphere that shields living things from much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation might be depleted by the large amounts of nitrogen oxides produced by nuclear explosions. Further studies speculated that large amounts of dust kicked up into the atmosphere by nuclear explosions might block sunlight from reaching the Earth's surface, leading to a temporary cooling of the air. Scientists then began to take into account the smoke produced by vast forests set ablaze by nuclear fireballs, and in 1983 an ambitious study, known as the TTAPS study (from the initials of the last names of its authors, R.P. Turco, O.B. Toon, T.P. Ackerman, J.B. Pollack, and Carl Sagan), took into consideration the crucial factor of smoke and soot arising from the burning petroleum fuels and plastics in nuclear-devastated cities. (Smoke from such materials absorbs sunlight much more effectively than smoke from burning wood.) The TTAPS study coined the term “nuclear winter,” and its ominous hypotheses about the environmental effects of a nuclear war came under intensive study by both the American and Soviet scientific communities.

      The basic cause of nuclear winter, as hypothesized by researchers, would be the numerous and immense fireballs caused by exploding nuclear warheads. These fireballs would ignite huge uncontrolled fires (firestorms) over any and all cities and forests that were within range of them. Great plumes of smoke, soot, and dust would be sent aloft from these fires, lifted by their own heating to high altitudes where they could drift for weeks before dropping back or being washed out of the atmosphere onto the ground. Several hundred million tons of this smoke and soot would be shepherded by strong west-to-east winds until they would form a uniform belt of particles encircling the Northern Hemisphere from 30° to 60° latitude. These thick black clouds could block out all but a fraction of the Sun's light for a period as long as several weeks. Surface temperatures would plunge for a few weeks as a consequence, perhaps by as much as 11° to 22° C (20° to 40° F). The conditions of semidarkness, killing frosts, and subfreezing temperatures, combined with high doses of radiation from nuclear fallout, would interrupt plant photosynthesis and could thus destroy much of the Earth's vegetation and animal life. The extreme cold, high radiation levels, and the widespread destruction of industrial, medical, and transportation infrastructures along with food supplies and crops would trigger a massive death toll from starvation, exposure, and disease. A nuclear war could thus reduce the Earth's human population to a fraction of its previous numbers.

      A number of scientists have disputed the results of the original calculations, and, though such a nuclear war would undoubtedly be devastating, the degree of damage to life on Earth remains controversial.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • nuclear winter — uclear winter n. a hypothetical lowering of global temperature postulated as the aftermath of a full nuclear war. The mechanism of such an effect depends primarily on the injection into the atmosphere of small solid particles, as soot from… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nuclear winter — noun count a long period of cold and darkness that could follow a nuclear war, during which the sun s heat and light would be blocked by clouds of dust …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • nuclear winter — ☆ nuclear winter n. a hypothetical condition following nuclear war in which light from the sun is cut off by clouds of smoke and dust resulting in very low temperatures and consequent devastation of the environment and loss of life …   English World dictionary

  • Nuclear winter — For other uses, see Nuclear winter (disambiguation). Nuclear weapons History Warfare Arms race Design Testing …   Wikipedia

  • nuclear winter — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms nuclear winter : singular nuclear winter plural nuclear winters a long period of cold and darkness that could follow a nuclear war, during which the sun s heat and light would be blocked by clouds of dust …   English dictionary

  • nuclear winter — noun a long period of darkness and extreme cold that scientists predict would follow a full scale nuclear war; a layer of dust and smoke in the atmosphere would cover the earth and block the rays of the sun; most living organisms would perish •… …   Useful english dictionary

  • nuclear winter — N UNCOUNT: also a N Nuclear winter refers to the possible effects on the environment of a war in which large numbers of nuclear weapons are used. It is thought that there would be very low temperatures and very little light during a nuclear… …   English dictionary

  • Nuclear winter (disambiguation) — Nuclear winter is a predicted climatic effect of nuclear war. Nuclear Winter may also refer to: Nuclear Winter (The Lonely Forest album) Nuclear Winter Volume 1, a 2009 mixtape album by Sole Nuclear Winter Volume 2: Death Panel, a 2011 mixtape… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear Winter Wonderland — is a 2008 novel by Joshua Corin. It is soon to be a major motion picture.[citation needed] Nuclear Winter Wonderland follows the story of an underachieving college kid, Adam Weiss, whose sister Anna has just been kidnapped by a lunatic nuclear… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear Winter (The Lonely Forest album) — Nuclear Winter Studio album by The Lonely Forest Released August 4, 2007 Recorded In home Studio, Anacortes, Washington Genre …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”