Greenhouse Gases

A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated GHG) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation
within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The
primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, and ozone. Greenhouse gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth's surface
would average about 33 °C colder, which is about 59 °F below the present average of 14 °C (57 °F).

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (taken as the year 1750), the burning of fossil fuels and
extensive clearing of native forests has contributed to a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of
carbon dioxide, from 280 ppm in 1750 to 392.6 ppm in 2012. It has now reached 400 ppm in the northern
hemisphere. This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various
natural "sinks" involved in the carbon cycle. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (i.e., emissions
produced by human activities) come from combustion of carbon-based fuels, principally wood, coal, oil, and
natural gas. Under ongoing greenhouse gas emissions, available Earth System Models project that the Earth's
surface temperature could exceed historical analogy as early as 2047 affecting most ecosystems on Earth and
the livelihoods of over 3 billion people worldwide. Greenhouse gases also trigger ocean bio-geochemical
changes with broad ramifications in marine systems.

In the Solar System, the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse
effect, though Titan's atmosphere has an anti-greenhouse effect that reduces the warming.

Greenhouse gases are those that can absorb and emit infrared radiation, but not radiation in or near the
visible spectrum. In order, the most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are:

 Water vapour (H2O)
 Carbon dioxide (CO2)
 Methane (CH4)
 Nitrous oxide (N2O)
 Ozone (O3)
 CFCs
Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are determined by the balance between sources
(emissions of the gas from human activities and natural systems) and sinks (the removal of the gas from
the atmosphere by conversion to a different chemical compound). The proportion of an emission remaining
in the atmosphere after a specified time is the "airborne fraction" (AF). More precisely, the annual AF is the
ratio of the atmospheric increase in a given year to that year's total emissions. For CO 2 the AF over the last
50 years (1956–2006) has been increasing at 0.25 ± 0.21%/year.

Sources of Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all of
the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse
gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and
transportation.

The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are:

Electricity production (32% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Electricity production generates the largest
share of greenhouse gas emissions. Over 70% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal
and natural gas.

Transportation (28% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation
primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90% of the fuel used
for transportation is petroleum based, which includes gasoline and diesel.

Industry (20% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come
from burning fossil fuels for energy as well as greenhouse gas emissions from certain chemical reactions
necessary to produce goods from raw materials.

Commercial and Residential (10% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Greenhouse gas emissions from
businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain
greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
Agriculture (10% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from
livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production.

Land Use and Forestry (offset of 15% of 2012 greenhouse gas emissions) - Land areas can act as a sink
(absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere) or a source of greenhouse gas emissions.

There are 2 ways that greenhouse gases enter our atmosphere. One of them is through natural processes like
animal and plant respiration. The other is through human activities. The main human sources of greenhouse
gas emissions are: fossil fuel use, deforestation, intensive livestock farming, use of synthetic fertilizers and
industrial processes.

There are four main types of forcing greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated
gases. The main feedback greenhouse gas is water vapor. Let's take a closer look at the sources of each type of
greenhouse gas:

Carbon Dioxide

There are both natural and human sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Natural sources include
decomposition, ocean release, respiration and volcanoes. Human sources come from activities like cement
production, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels.

Almost all human CO2 emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels.

42.8 percent of all naturally produced CO2 emissions come from ocean-atmosphere exchange. Other
important natural CO2 sources include plant and animal respiration (28.56%) as well as soil respiration and
decomposition (28.56%).1 2 A minor amount is also created by volcanic eruptions (0.03%).

87 percent of all human CO2 emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil.
Other sources include deforestation (9%), and industrial processes such as cement manufacturing (4%).

Human sources of CO2 are much smaller than natural emissions but they upset the balance in the carbon cycle
that existed before the Industrial Revolution. The amount of CO2 produced by natural sources is completely
offset by natural carbon sinks and has been for thousands of years.

Before the influence of humans, CO2 levels were quite steady because of this natural balance. Since the
Industrial Revolution, human sources of CO2 emissions have been growing. Activities such as the burning of
fossil fuels as well as deforestation are the primary cause of the increased CO2 concentrations in the
atmosphere.

Methane
While there are both natural and human sources of methane (CH4), humans create the majority of total
emissions. The main natural sources include wetlands, termites and the oceans. Important human sources
come from landfills, livestock farming, as well as the production, transportation and use of fossil fuels.

Human-related sources create the majority of methane emissions, the 3 main sources are: Fossil Fuel
Mining/Distribution, Livestock and Landfills

Human-caused emissions have increased greatly since the Industrial Revolution. Activities such as fossil fuel
production and intensive livestock farming are the primary cause of the increased CH4 concentrations in the
atmosphere. Together these two sources are responsible for 60% of all human CH4 emissions. Other sources
include landfills and waste (16%), biomass burning (11%), rice agriculture (9%) as well as biofuels (4%).6

78% of natural CH4 emissions are produced by wetlands. Other natural CH4 sources include termites (12%)
and the oceans (10%).6

For thousands of years, natural CH4 sources have been closely balanced by natural sinks. But today, human-
related sources create the majority of total CH4 emissions. This has upset the natural balance that existed
before the Industrial Revolution and is increasing atmospheric levels.

Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are also produced by both natural and human sources. The main natural
sources are soils under natural vegetation and the oceans. Important human sources come from agriculture,
fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes.

Almost all human-related emissions come from the following 3 sources: Artificial soil fertilization,
Mobile/Stationary sources of fossil fuel combustion and Livestock manure.

Human activities such as agriculture, fossil fuel use and industrial processes are the primary cause of the
increased N2O concentrations in the atmosphere. Together these sources are responsible for 77% of all human
N2O emissions. Other sources include biomass burning (10%), atmospheric deposition (9%) and human
sewage (3%).

60% of natural N2O emissions are produced by soils under natural vegetation. Other natural sources include
the oceans (35%) and atmospheric chemical reactions (5%).

Human N2O sources are smaller than natural emissions. But increasing emissions from human sources have
upset the balance in the nitrogen cycle that existed before the Industrial Revolution. For thousands of years,
natural N2O sources have been closely balanced by natural sinks. Before the influence of humans, N2O levels
were quite steady because of this natural balance.

Fluorinated Gases
The creation and/or use of refrigerators, air conditioning systems, foams and aerosols are the main source of
fluorinated gas emissions.

Emissions of the three main fluorinated gases (hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs) and
sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)) are almost all created by humans and are used mainly in industrial processes. With
the exception of PFC-14 (CF4), fluorinated gases have no natural sources.

HFCs are the largest source of fluorinated gas emissions, accounting for 91%. HFCs are used inside of products
like refrigerators, air-conditioners, foams and aerosol cans. Emissions from these products are caused by gas
leakage during the manufacturing process as well as throughout the product's life. If disposal is not done
properly, HFCs continue to leak out of the product until they are empty.

PFCs are responsible for 6% of fluorinated gas emissions. These gases are created during the production
processes of aluminium and semiconductors. PFC-14 (CF4) and PFC-116 (C2F6) account for the majority of PFC
emissions. Less than 0.1% of PFC emissions are caused by natural sources. Small amounts of CF4 are found in
fluorite, granite and natural gas deposits. Geochemical reactions in the lithosphere cause these emissions.

SF6 creates 3% of fluorinated gas emissions. This gas is mainly used by the electric power industry as an
insulator and arc interrupter. The other important source of SF6 emissions is from its use as a cover gas in
magnesium production.

The increase in the atmospheric levels of fluorinated gases has been caused exclusively by human emissions.
For a long time now human sources of fluorinated gases have been creating emissions much more rapidly than
the Earth can remove them.

Water Vapor

The atmospheric concentration of water vapor is highly variable and depends largely on temperature.9 Water
vapour is a highly active component of the climate system that responds rapidly to changes in conditions by
either condensing into rain or snow, or evaporating to return to the atmosphere. The water content of the
atmosphere is constantly being depleted by precipitation as well as being replenished by its main source,
evaporation from seas, lakes, rivers, and moist earth.

Human activity does not significantly affect water vapor concentrations except at local scales, such as near
irrigated fields.9 Since its concentration is controlled by the climate itself, water vapor acts as a fast feedback,
reacting to, and amplifying the warming provided by the forcing greenhouse gases.

Effects on the Environment

Green House Effect
The 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. Since 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.

Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the planetary
surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. Infrared radiation
is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower
atmosphere. The 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.

If an ideal thermally conductive blackbody were the same distance from the Sun as the Earth is, it would have
a temperature of about 5.3 °C. However, since the Earth reflects about 30% of the incoming sunlight, this
idealized planet's effective temperature (the temperature of a blackbody that would emit the same amount of
radiation) would be about −18 °C. The surface temperature of this hypothetical planet is 33 °C below Earth's
actual surface temperature of approximately 14 °C. The 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.

Earth’s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible. However, human activities, primarily the
burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global
warming.