The greenhouse effect | greenhouse effect diagram
OnthispageThenaturalgreenhouseeffectThegreenhouseeffectisawarmingoftheearthssurfaceandloweratmospherecausedbysubstancessuchascarbondioxideandwatervapourwhichletthesun’senergythroughtothegroundbutimpedethepassageofenergyfromtheearthbackintospace.Energyemittedfromthesun("solarradiation")isconcentratedinaregionofshortwavelengthsincludingvisiblelight.MuchoftheshortwavesolarradiationtravelsdownthroughtheEarth’satmospheretothesurfacevirtuallyunimpeded.Someofthesolarradiationisreflectedstraightback...
On this page The natural greenhouse effectThe greenhouse effect is a warming of the earths surface and lower atmosphere caused by substances such as carbon dioxide and water vapour which let the sun’s energy through to the ground but impede the passage of energy from the earth back into space.
Energy emitted from the sun ("solar radiation") is concentrated in a region of short wavelengths including visible light. Much of the short wave solar radiation travels down through the Earth’s atmosphere to the surface virtually unimpeded. Some of the solar radiation is reflected straight back into space by clouds and by the earth’s surface. Much of the solar radiation is absorbed at the earth’s surface, causing the surface and the lower parts of the atmosphere to warm.
The warmed Earth emits radiation upwards, just as a hot stove or bar heater radiates energy. In the absence of any atmosphere, the upward radiation from the Earth would balance the incoming energy absorbed from...