Define greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gases are gases—like carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane, and nitrous oxide—that keep the Earth warmer than it would be without them. The reason they warm the Earth has to do with The greenhouse effect is not a bad thing. Without it, our planet would be too cold for life as we know it. But if the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere changes, the strength of the greenhouse effect changes too. This is the cause of human-made climate change: by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, we are trapping more heat, and the entire planet gets warmer. The focus on “carbon” For climate change, the most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which is why you hear so many references to “carbon” when people talk about climate change. There are three main reasons CO 2 is so central to the global warming happening today. First, there is just so much of it: we now add over 35 billion tons of CO 2 to the atmosphere every year, mostly by burning carbon-rich fuel like coal and oil that had previously been trapped in the ground. Second, it lasts a long time in the atmosphere. The CO 2 we emit today will stay above us reflecting heat for hundreds of years. This means that, even if we stop all new CO 2 emissions tomorrow, it will take many lifetimes before the warming effect of our past emissions fades away. Finally, many different industries rely on carbon-rich fuels or other processes that give off CO 2. That includes burning fossil fuels for electricity and 2, but the sa...

/ˈgrinhaʊs ɪˈfɛkt/ The greenhouse effect is the process that's making the Earth gradually warmer due to the release of gasses such as carbon dioxide. The greenhouse effect is great for hothouse tomatoes, but not so great for the planet. In a greenhouse, sunlight enters and the heat is trapped inside. That’s a good thing if you’re trying to grow tomatoes in the winter but not so good on the planet as a whole. The greenhouse effect happens when gasses prevent surface radiation from escaping and raise the temperature of the planet slowly. The greenhouse effect is normal, but the vast amounts of fossil fuels we burn are believed to be increasing the greenhouse effect, causing global warming. Review these human geography terms and learn all about the human forces that shape and are shaped by the natural world.You'll explore immigration and emigration, colonialism, development and urbanization, demography, globalization, and much more. Expand the boundaries of your vocabulary with this list! IXL Comprehensive K-12 personalized learning Rosetta Stone Immersive learning for 25 languages Wyzant Trusted tutors for 300 subjects Education.com 35,000 worksheets, games, and lesson plans TPT Marketplace for millions of educator-created resources ABCya Fun educational games for kids SpanishDict Spanish-English dictionary, translator, and learning Emmersion Fast and accurate language certification Copyright © 2023 Vocabulary.com, Inc., a division of IXL Learning • All Rights Reserved. • Lo...

Essentials • The sun emits shortwave radiation, which passes through Earth's atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth's surface • Some energy is re-emitted back into the atmosphere, as longwave radiation • 'Greenhouse' gases: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, water vapour effectively prevent some of this longwave radiation from leaving the atmosphere • This warms Earth's atmosphere, making our planet habitable • Human activities have led to a build up of extra greenhouse gases in the atmsophere • As a result, average surface temperatures are rising • Temperatures will continue to rise if greenhouse gases keep building up in the atmosphere The natural greenhouse effect The natural greenhouse effect is a phenomenon caused by gases naturally present in the atmosphere that affect the behaviour of the heat energy radiated by the sun. In simple terms, sunlight (shortwave radiation) passes through the atmosphere, and is absorbed by Earth’s surface. This warms Earth’s surface, and then Earth radiates some of this energy (as infrared, or longwave radiation) back towards space. As it passes through the atmosphere, gases such as (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide absorb most of the energy. The energy is then re-emitted in all directions, so some energy escapes into space, but less than would have escaped if the atmosphere and its greenhouse gases weren’t there. The result is that some of the sun's energy becomes ‘trapped’ —making the lower part of the atmospher...

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The greenhouse effect happens when certain gases, which are known as greenhouse gases, accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2O), ozone (O 3), and fluorinated gases. Greenhousegases allow the sun’s light to shine onto Earth’s surface, and then the gases, such as ozone, trap the heat that reflects back from the surface inside Earth’s atmosphere. The gases act like the glass walls of a greenhouse—thus the name, greenhousegas. According to scientists, the average temperature of Earth would drop from 14˚C (57˚F) to as low as –18˚C (–0.4˚F), without the greenhouse effect. Some greenhousegases come from natural sources, for example, evaporation adds water vapor to the atmosphere. Animals and plants release carbon dioxide when they respire, or breathe. Methane is released naturally from decomposition. There is evidence that suggests methane is released in low-oxygen environments, such as swamps or landfills. Volcanoes—both on land and under the ocean—release greenhousegases, so periods of high volcanic activity tend to be warmer. Since the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s, people have been releasing larger quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That amount has skyrocketed in the past century. Greenhouse gas emissions increased 70 percent between 1970 and 2004. Emissions of CO 2, rose by about 80 percent during that time. The amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere far exceeds...