Greenhouse effect

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A representation of the exchanges of energy between the source (the un!, the "arth#s surface, the "arth#s atmosphere, and the ultimate sink outer space$ %he ability of the atmosphere to capture and recycle energy emitted by the "arth surface is the defining characteristic of the greenhouse effect$

Another diagram of the greenhouse effect %he greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re&radiated in all directions$ ince part of this re&radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases$'()'*) olar radiation at the fre+uencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower fre+uencies of infrared thermal radiation$ ,nfrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re&radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere$ %he mechanism is named after the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the structure so that heat is not lost by convection$'*)'-)'.) %he existence of the greenhouse effect was argued for by Joseph Fourier in (/*.$ %he argument and the evidence was further strengthened by 0laude 1ouillet in (/*2 and

(/-/, and reasoned from experimental observations by John %yndall in (/34, and more fully +uantified by vante Arrhenius in (/45$'3)'5) ,f an ideal thermally conductive blackbody was the same distance from the un as the "arth is, it would have a temperature of about 3$- 60$ 7owever, since the "arth reflects about -89'2) '/) of the incoming sunlight, the planet#s effective temperature (the temperature of a blackbody that would emit the same amount of radiation! is about :(/ 60,'4)'(8) about --60 below the actual surface temperature of about (. 60$'(() %he mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect$'(*) "arth;s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible$ 7owever, human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming$'(-)

Contents
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( <asic mechanism * =reenhouse gases - >ole in climate change . >eal greenhouses 3 <odies other than "arth 5 ee also 2 >eferences / Further reading 4 "xternal links

Basic mechanism
%he "arth receives energy from the un in the form ?@, visible, and near ,> radiation, most of which passes through the atmosphere without being absorbed$ Af the total amount of energy available at the top of the atmosphere (%AA!, about 389 is absorbed at the "arth#s surface$ <ecause it is warm, the surface radiates far ,> thermal radiation that consists of wavelengths that are predominantly much longer than the wavelengths that were absorbed (the overlap between the incident solar spectrum and the terrestrial thermal spectrum is small enough to be neglected for most purposes!$ Bost of this thermal radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and re&radiated both upwards and downwardsC that radiated downwards is absorbed by the "arth#s surface$ %his trapping of long&wavelength thermal radiation leads to a higher e+uilibrium temperature than if the atmosphere were absent$ %his highly simplified picture of the basic mechanism needs to be +ualified in a number of ways, none of which affect the fundamental process$

%he solar radiation spectrum for direct light at both the top of the "arth#s atmosphere and at sea level %he incoming radiation from the un is mostly in the form of visible light and nearby wavelengths, largely in the range 8$*D. Em, corresponding to the un#s radiative temperature of 5,888 F$'(.) Almost half the radiation is in the form of GvisibleG light, which our eyes are adapted to use$'(3) About 389 of the un#s energy is absorbed at the "arth#s surface and the rest is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere$ %he reflection of light back into spaceH largely by cloudsHdoes not much affect the basic mechanismC this light, effectively, is lost to the system$ %he absorbed energy warms the surface$ imple presentations of the greenhouse effect, such as the idealiIed greenhouse model, show this heat being lost as thermal radiation$ %he reality is more complex: the atmosphere near the surface is largely opa+ue to thermal radiation (with important exceptions for GwindowG bands!, and most heat loss from the surface is by sensible heat and latent heat transport$ >adiative energy losses become increasingly important higher in the atmosphere largely because of the decreasing concentration of water vapor, an important greenhouse gas$ ,t is more realistic to think of the greenhouse effect as applying to a GsurfaceG in the mid&troposphere, which is effectively coupled to the surface by a lapse rate$ %he simple picture assumes a steady state$ ,n the real world there is the diurnal cycle as well as seasonal cycles and weather$ olar heating only applies during daytime$ Juring the night, the atmosphere cools somewhat, but not greatly, because its emissivity is low, and during the day the atmosphere warms$ Jiurnal temperature changes decrease with height in the atmosphere$ Within the region where radiative effects are important the description given by the idealiIed greenhouse model becomes realistic: %he surface of the "arth, warmed to a temperature around *33 F, radiates long&wavelength, infrared heat in the range .D(88 Em$'(.) At these wavelengths, greenhouse gases that were largely transparent to incoming solar radiation are more absorbent$'(.) "ach layer of atmosphere with greenhouses gases absorbs some of the heat being radiated upwards from lower layers$ ,t re&radiates in all directions, both upwards and downwardsC in e+uilibrium (by definition! the same amount as it has absorbed$ %his results in more warmth below$ ,ncreasing the concentration of the gases increases the amount of absorption and re&radiation, and thereby further warms the layers and ultimately the surface below$'(8)

=reenhouse gasesHincluding most diatomic gases with two different atoms (such as carbon monoxide, 0A! and all gases with three or more atomsHare able to absorb and emit infrared radiation$ %hough more than 449 of the dry atmosphere is ,> transparent (because the main constituentsHK*, A*, and ArHare not able to directly absorb or emit infrared radiation!, intermolecular collisions cause the energy absorbed and emitted by the greenhouse gases to be shared with the other, non&,>&active, gases$

Greenhouse gases
Bain article: =reenhouse gas <y their percentage contribution to the greenhouse effect on "arth the four maLor gases are:'(5)'(2)

water vapor, -5D289 carbon dioxide, 4D*59 methane, .D49 oIone, -D29

%he maLor non&gas contributor to the "arth#s greenhouse effect, clouds, also absorb and emit infrared radiation and thus have an effect on radiative properties of the atmosphere$
'(2)

Role in climate change

Bain article: =lobal warming

%he Feeling 0urve of atmospheric 0A* concentrations measured at Bauna Moa Abservatory$ trengthening of the greenhouse effect through human activities is known as the enhanced (or anthropogenic! greenhouse effect$'(/) %his increase in radiative forcing from human activity is attributable mainly to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels$'(4) According to the latest Assessment >eport from the ,ntergovernmental 1anel on 0limate 0hange, Gmost of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrationsG$'*8)

0A* is produced by fossil fuel burning and other activities such as cement production and tropical deforestation$'*() Beasurements of 0A* from the Bauna Moa observatory show that concentrations have increased from about -(- ppm '**) in (458 to about -/4 ppm in *8(8$ %he current observed amount of 0A* exceeds the geological record maxima (N-88 ppm! from ice core data$'*-) %he effect of combustion&produced carbon dioxide on the global climate, a special case of the greenhouse effect first described in (/45 by vante Arrhenius, has also been called the 0allendar effect$ Aver the past /88,888 years,'*.) ice core data shows that carbon dioxide has varied from values as low as (/8 parts per million (ppm! to the pre&industrial level of *28ppm$'*3) 1aleoclimatologists consider variations in carbon dioxide concentration to be a fundamental factor influencing climate variations over this time scale$'*5)'*2)

Real greenhouses

A modern =reenhouse in >7 Wisley %he Ggreenhouse effectG of the atmosphere is named by analogy to greenhouses which get warmer in sunlight, but the mechanism by which the atmosphere retains heat is different$ '*/) A greenhouse works primarily by preventing absorbed heat from leaving the structure through convection, i$e$ sensible heat transport$ %he greenhouse effect heats the earth because greenhouse gases absorb outgoing radiative energy and re&emit some of it back towards earth$ A greenhouse is built of any material that passes sunlight, usually glass, or plastic$ ,t mainly heats up because the un warms the ground inside, which then warms the air in the greenhouse$ %he air continues to heat because it is confined within the greenhouse, unlike the environment outside the greenhouse where warm air near the surface rises and mixes with cooler air aloft$ %his can be demonstrated by opening a small window near the roof of a greenhouse: the temperature will drop considerably$ ,t has also been demonstrated experimentally (>$ W$ Wood, (484! that a GgreenhouseG with a cover of rock salt (which is transparent to infra red! heats up an enclosure similarly to one with a glass cover$'-) %hus greenhouses work primarily by preventing convective cooling$'.)'*4) ,n the greenhouse effect, rather than retaining (sensible! heat by physically preventing movement of the air, greenhouse gases act to warm the "arth by re&radiating some of the

energy back towards the surface$ %his process may exist in real greenhouses, but is comparatively unimportant there$

Bodies other than Earth

,n our solar system, Bars, @enus, and the moon %itan also exhibit greenhouse effects$'-8) %itan has an anti&greenhouse effect, in that its atmosphere absorbs solar radiation but is relatively transparent to infrared radiation$ 1luto also exhibits behavior superficially similar to the anti&greenhouse effect$'-()'-*) A runaway greenhouse effect occurs if positive feedbacks lead to the evaporation of all greenhouse gases into the atmosphere$'--) A runaway greenhouse effect involving carbon dioxide and water vapor is thought to have occurred on @enus$'-.)

See also
=lobal warming portal "nvironment portal

References
($ ^ GAnnex ,, =lossaryG$ ,ntergovernmental 1anel on 0limate 0hange$ >etrieved (3 Actober *8(8$ *$ O a b A concise description of the greenhouse effect is given in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report GWhat is the =reenhouse "ffectPG FAQ ($- & A>. W=, 0hapter (: 7istorical Averview of 0limate 0hange cience, ,,100 Fourth Assessment >eport, 0hapter (, page ((3: G%o balance the absorbed incoming 'solar) energy, the "arth must, on average, radiate the same amount of energy back to space$ <ecause the "arth is much colder than the un, it radiates at much longer wavelengths, primarily in the infrared part of the spectrum (see Figure (!$ Buch of this thermal radiation emitted by the land and ocean is absorbed by the atmosphere, including clouds, and reradiated back to "arth$ %his is called the greenhouse effect$G tephen 7$ chneider, in !eosphere-biosphere Interactions and Climate Mennart A$ <engtsson and 0laus ?$ 7ammer, eds$, 0ambridge ?niversity 1ress, *88(, , <K 83*(2/*-/., pp$ 48&4($ "$ 0laussen, @$ A$ 0ochran, and J$ 1$ Javis, Climate Change" #cience #trategies $ #olutions ?niversity of Bichigan, *88($ p$ -2-$ A$ Allaby and B$ Allaby, A %ictionary of &arth #ciences Axford ?niversity 1ress, (444, , <K 8(4*/88243, p$ *..$ -$ O a b Wood, >$W$ ((484!$ GKote on the %heory of the =reenhouseG$ Philosophical 'aga(ine 17: -(4D-*8$ GWhen exposed to sunlight the temperature rose gradually to 53 60$, the enclosure covered with the salt plate keeping a little ahead of the other because it transmitted the longer waves from the un, which were stopped by the glass$ ,n order to eliminate this action the sunlight was first

passed through a glass plate$G Git is clear that the rock&salt plate is capable of transmitting practically all of it, while the glass plate stops it entirely$ %his shows us that the loss of temperature of the ground by radiation is very small in comparison to the loss by convection, in other words that we gain very little from the circumstance that the radiation is trapped$G .$ O a b chroeder, Janiel @$ (*888!$ An introduction to thermal physics$ an Francisco, 0alifornia: Addison&Wesley$ pp$ -83D2$ , <K 8&-*(&*2224&($ G$$$ this mechanism is called the greenhouse effect, even though most greenhouses depend primarily on a different mechanism (namely, limiting convective cooling!$G 3$ ^ ,saac B$ 7eld and <rian J$ oden (Kov$ *888!$ GWater @apor Feedback and =lobal WarmingG$ Annual Revie) of &nergy and the &nvironment (Annual >eviews! 25: ..(D.23$ doi:(8$((.5Rannurev$energy$*3$($..($ 5$ ^ John %yndall, *eat considered as a 'ode of 'otion (388 pagesC year (/5-, (/2-!$ 2$ ^ GKA A "arth Fact heetG$ Kssdc$gsfc$nasa$gov$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$ /$ ^ G,ntroduction to Atmospheric 0hemistry, by Janiel J$ Jacob, 1rinceton ?niversity 1ress, (444$ 0hapter 2, G%he =reenhouse "ffectGG$ Acmg$seas$harvard$edu$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$ 4$ ^ G olar >adiation and the "arth#s "nergy <alanceG$ "esc$columbia$edu$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$ (8$ O a b ,ntergovernmental 1anel on 0limate 0hange Fourth Assessment >eport$ 0hapter (: 7istorical overview of climate change science page 42 (($ ^ %he elusive Gabsolute surface air temperature,G see =, discussion (*$ ^ @aclav mil (*88-!$ +he &arth,s -iosphere" &volution %ynamics and Change$ B,% 1ress$ p$ (82$ , <K 42/8*5*54*4/.$ (-$ ^ ,100 A>. W=( (*882!, olomon, $C Qin, J$C Banning, B$C 0hen, S$C Bar+uis, B$C Averyt, F$<$C %ignor, B$C and Biller, 7$M$, ed$, Climate Change 200." +he Physical #cience -asis, 0ontribution of Working =roup , to the Fourth Assessment >eport of the ,ntergovernmental 1anel on 0limate 0hange, 0ambridge ?niversity 1ress, , <K 42/&8&3*(&//884&( (pb: 42/&8&3*(&28345&2! (.$ O a b c Bitchell, John F$ <$ ((4/4!$ G%7" G=>""K7A? "G "FF"0% AKJ 0M,BA%" 07AK="G$ Revie)s of !eophysics (American =eophysical ?nion! 27 ((!: ((3D(-4$ <ibcode (4/4>v=eo$$*2$$((3B$ doi:(8$(8*4R>=8*2i88(p88((3$ >etrieved *88/&8-&*-$ (3$ ^ G olar >adiation and 0limate "xperiment ( A?>0"!G$ KA A$=ov$ >etrieved (3 Actober *8(8$ (5$ ^ GWater vapour: feedback or forcingPG$ >eal0limate$ 5 April *883$ >etrieved *885&83&8($ (2$ O a b Fiehl, J$ %$C Fevin "$ %renberth (February (442!$ G"arth#s Annual =lobal Bean "nergy <udgetG (1JF!$ -ulletin of the American 'eteorological #ociety 78 (*!: (42D*8/$ <ibcode (442<AB $$$2/$$(42F$ doi:(8$((23R(3*8& 8.22((442!82/T8(42:"A=B"<U*$8$0AC*$ , K (3*8&8.22$ Archived from the original on *885&8-&-8$ >etrieved *885&83&8($ (/$ ^ G"nhanced greenhouse effect H =lossaryG$ /ova$ Australian Academy of cihuman impact on the environment$ *885$ (4$ ^ G"nhanced =reenhouse "ffectG$ Ace$mmu$ac$uk$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$

*8$

^ ,100 Fourth Assessment >eport ynthesis >eport: ummary for 1olicymakers (p$ 3! *($ ^ ,100 Fourth Assessment >eport, Working =roup , >eport G%he 1hysical cience <asisG 0hapter 2 **$ ^ GAtmospheric 0arbon Jioxide D Bauna MoaG$ KAAA$ *-$ ^ 7ansen J$ (February *883!$ GA slippery slope: 7ow much global warming constitutes Gdangerous anthropogenic interferenceGPG$ Climatic Change 68 (---!: *54D*24$ doi:(8$(882Rs(83/.&883&.(-3&8$ *.$ ^ GJeep ice tells long climate storyG$ --C /e)s$ *885&84&8.$ >etrieved *8(8&83&8.$ *3$ ^ 7ileman < (*883&((&*/!$ G,ce 0ore >ecord "xtendedG$ Chemical $ &ngineering /e)s 83 (./!: 2$ *5$ ^ <owen, BarkC %hin ,ce: ?nlocking the ecrets of 0limate in the World#s 7ighest BountainsC Awl <ooks, *883$ *2$ ^ %emperature change and carbon dioxide change, ?$ $ Kational Aceanic and Atmospheric Administration */$ ^ <rian hmaefsky (*88.!$ Favorite demonstrations for college science" an /#+A Press 0ournals collection$ K %A 1ress$ p$ 32$ , <K 42/8/2-33*.*.$ *4$ ^ Aort, Abraham 7$C 1eixoto, JosV 1into ((44*!$ Physics of climate$ Kew Work: American ,nstitute of 1hysics$ , <K 8&//-(/&2((&5$ G$$$the name water vapor&greenhouse effect is actually a misnomer since heating in the usual greenhouse is due to the reduction of convectionG -8$ ^ BcFay, 0$C 1ollack, J$C 0ourtin, >$ ((44(!$ G%he greenhouse and antigreenhouse effects on %itanG$ #cience 253: (((/D*($ doi:(8$((*5Rscience$((3-/.4*$ 1B,J ((3-/.4*$ edit -($ ^ G%itan: =reenhouse and Anti&greenhouse :: Astrobiology BagaIine & earth science & evolution distribution Arigin of life universe & life beyond :: Astrobiology is study of earthG$ Astrobio$net$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$ -*$ ^ G1luto 0older %han "xpectedG$ 1A0"$com$ *885&8(&8-$ >etrieved *8(8&(8&(3$ --$ ^ Fasting, James F$ ((44(!$ G>unaway and moist greenhouse atmospheres and the evolution of "arth and @enus$G$ Planetary #ciences" American and #oviet Research1Proceedings from the 23#3-23#3#3R3 4orkshop on Planetary #ciences$ 0ommission on "ngineering and %echnical ystems (0"% !$ pp$ *-.D*.3$ >etrieved *884$ -.$ ^ >asool, ,$C Je <ergh, 0$C Je <ergh, 0$ (Jun (428!$ G%he >unaway =reenhouse and the Accumulation of 0A* in the @enus AtmosphereG$ /ature 226 (3*38!: (8-2D(8-4$ <ibcode (428Katur$**5$(8-2>$ doi:(8$(8-/R**5(8-2a8$ , K 88*/&8/-5$ 1B,J (58325..$ >etrieved 8*R*3R*884$ edit

urther reading

<usinger, Joost AloisC Fleagle, >obert =uthrie ((4/8!$ An introduction to atmospheric physics$ ,nternational geophysics series (*nd ed$!$ an Jiego: Academic$ , <K 8&(*&*58-33&4$

7enderson& ellers, AnnC Bc=uffie, Fendal (*883!$ A climate modelling primer (-rd ed$!$ Kew Work: Wiley$ , <K 8&.28&/3238&($ G=reenhouse effect: the effect of the atmosphere in re&reradiating longwave radiation back to the surface of the "arth$ ,t has nothing to do with glasshouses, which trap warm air at the surface$G ,dso, $<$ ((4/*!$ Carbon dio5ide " friend or foe6 " an in7uiry into the climatic and agricultural conse7uences of the rapidly rising C82 content of &arth,s atmosphere$ %empe, AS: ,<> 1ress$ A0M0 5-*-5.(/$ G$$$the phraseology is somewhat in appropriate, since 0A* does not warm the planet in a manner analogous to the way in which a greenhouse keeps its interior warmG

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