The Greenhouse Effect - Causes Impacts - 4209 Words

The Greenhouse Effect: Causes Impacts INTRODUCTION The greenhouse effect refers to circumstances where the short wavelengths of visible light from the sun pass through a transparent medium and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of the infrared re-radiation from the heated objects are unable to pass through that medium. The trapping of the long wavelength radiation leads to more heating and a higher resultant temperature. Besides the heating of an automobile by sunlight through the windshield and the namesake example of heating the greenhouse by sunlight passing through sealed, transparent windows, the greenhouse effect has been widely used to describe the trapping of excess heat by the rising concentration of carbon dioxide†¦show more content†¦Almost half the radiation is in the form of visible light, which our eyes are adapted to use. ï‚ § About 50% of the Sun s energy is absorbed at the Earth s surface and the rest is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere. The reflection of light back into space—largely by clouds—does not much affect the basic mechanism; this light, effectively, is lost to the system. ï‚ § The absorbed energy warms the surface. Simple presentations of the greenhouse effect, such as the idealized greenhouse model, show this heat being lost as thermal radiation. The reality is more complex: the atmosphere near the surface is largely opaque to thermal radiation (with important exceptions for window bands), and most heat loss from the surface is by sensible heat and latent heat transport. Radiative energy losses become increasingly important higher in the atmosphere largely because of the decreasing concentration of water vapour, an important greenhouse gas. It is more realistic to think of the greenhouse effect as applying to a surface in the mid-troposphere, which is effectively coupled to the surface by a lapse rate. ï‚ § The simple picture assumes a steady state. In the real world there is the diurnal cycle as well as seasonal cycles and weather. Solar heating only applies during daytime. During the night, the atmosphere cools somewhat, but not greatly, because its emissivity is low, and during the day the atmosphere warms. Diurnal temperature changes decrease with height in theShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Global Warming On Our Planet s Ecosystem1173 Words   |  5 PagesHeat is absorbed by carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. A greenhouse gas absorbs thermal radiation emitted by the Earth s surface. As the sun s energy reaches the Earth’s surface, some of it is released into space, some is absorbed by the atmosphere, and the rest is emitted by the earth and warms the Earth. This is what we call the greenhouse effect which is the main reason we have global warming. 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