Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

greenhouse effect

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

greenhouse effect

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
greenhouse effect
(Click to enlarge)
greenhouse effect

Energy radiated by the sun converts to heat when it reaches earth. Some heat is reflected back through the atmosphere, while some is absorbed by atmospheric gases and radiated back to earth.
(Precision Graphics)

n.
  1. The phenomenon whereby the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface.
  2. A similar retention of solar radiation, as by another planet or in a solar panel.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Fowler's Modern English Usage:

greenhouse effect

Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > English Usage

This important but often misunderstood term is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006) as 'the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface'. Despite the broadening of this definition since earlier editions, the almost exclusive focus of attention of this term is the Earth. A greenhouse gas is a gas, primarily carbon dioxide, that contributes to the greenhouse effect. See also global warming, under global.

Previous:greasy, gray, gratuity
Next:greenness, grey, grid, griddle, gridiron
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

greenhouse effect

Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Some incoming sunlight is reflected by the Earth's atmosphere and surface, but most is absorbed by …
(click to enlarge)
Some incoming sunlight is reflected by the Earth's atmosphere and surface, but most is absorbed by … (credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)
Warming of the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere caused by water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in the atmosphere. Visible light from the Sun heats the Earth's surface. Part of this energy is radiated back into the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation, much of which is absorbed by molecules of carbon dioxide and water vapour in the atmosphere and reradiated toward the surface as more heat. (Despite the name, the greenhouse effect is different from the warming in a greenhouse, where panes of glass allow the passage of visible light but hold heat inside the building by trapping warmed air.) The absorption of infrared radiation causes the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere to warm more than they otherwise would, making the Earth's surface habitable. An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by widespread combustion of fossil fuels may intensify the greenhouse effect and cause long-term climatic changes. Likewise, an increase in atmospheric concentrations of other trace greenhouse gases such as chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and methane resulting from human activities may also intensify the greenhouse effect. From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution through the end of the 20th century, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased 30% and the amount of methane more than doubled. It is also estimated that the U.S. is responsible for about one-fifth of all human-produced greenhouse-gas emissions. See also global warming.

For more information on greenhouse effect, visit Britannica.com.

McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia:

Greenhouse effect

Top
Home > Library > Science > Sci-Tech Encyclopedia

The ability of a planetary atmosphere to inhibit heat loss from the planet's surface, thereby enhancing the surface warming that is produced by the absorption of solar radiation. For the greenhouse effect to work efficiently, the planet's atmosphere must be relatively transparent to sunlight at visible wavelengths so that significant amounts of solar radiation can penetrate to the ground. Also, the atmosphere must be opaque at thermal wavelengths to prevent thermal radiation emitted by the ground from escaping directly to space. The principle is similar to a thermal blanket, which also limits heat loss by conduction and convection. In recent decades the term has also become associated with the issues of global warming and climate change induced by human activity. See also Atmosphere; Solar radiation.

Basic understanding of the greenhouse effect dates back to the 1820s, when the French mathematician and physicist Joseph Fourier performed experiments on atmospheric heat flow and pondered the question of how the Earth stays warm enough for plant and animal life to thrive; and to the 1860s, when the Irish physicist John Tyndall demonstrated by means of quantitative spectroscopy that common atmospheric trace gases, such as water vapor, ozone, and carbon dioxide, are strong absorbers and emitters of thermal radiant energy but are transparent to visible sunlight. It was clear to Tyndall that water vapor was the strongest absorber of thermal radiation and, therefore, the most influential atmospheric gas controlling the Earth's surface temperature. The principal components of air, nitrogen and oxygen, were found to be radiatively inactive, serving instead as the atmospheric framework where water vapor and carbon dioxide can exert their influence.

The impact of water vapor behavior was noted by the American geologist Thomas Chamberlin who, in 1905, described the greenhouse contribution by water vapor as a positive feedback mechanism. Surface heating due to another agent, such as carbon dioxide or solar radiation, raises the surface temperature and evaporates more water vapor which, in turn, produces additional heating and further evaporation. When the heat source is taken away, excess water vapor precipitates from the atmosphere, reducing its contribution to the greenhouse effect to produce further cooling. This feedback interaction converges and, in the process, achieves a significantly larger temperature change than would be the case if the amount of atmospheric water vapor had remained constant. The net result is that carbon dioxide becomes the controlling factor of long-term change in the terrestrial greenhouse effect, but the resulting change in temperature is magnified by the positive feedback action of water vapor.

Besides water vapor, many other feedback mechanisms operate in the Earth's climate system and impact the sensitivity of the climate response to an applied radiative forcing. Determining the relative strengths of feedback interactions between clouds, aerosols, snow, ice, and vegetation, including the effects of energy exchange between the atmosphere and ocean, is an actively pursued research topic in current climate modeling. See also Climate modification.

Oxford Dictionary of Geography:

greenhouse effect

Top
Home > Library > Science > Geographical Dictionary

The warming of the atmosphere as some of its gases absorb the heat given out by the earth. Short-wave radiation from the sun warms the earth during daylight hours, but this heat is balanced by outgoing long-wave radiation over the entire 24-hour period. Much of this radiation is absorbed by atmospheric gases, most notably water vapour, carbon dioxide, and ozone, but also by methane and chloro-fluorocarbons. All of these may be called greenhouse gases. Without this absorption, which is also known as counter-radiation, the temperature of the atmosphere would fall by 30-40 °C.

Through human agency, such as the clearance of rain forest, or the increased rearing of livestock, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is increasing; measurements taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, show that the concentration of atmospheric CO2, for example, increased by 8% between 1959 and 1983, mostly because of the increased use of fossil fuels. It would follow, therefore, that increased concentrations of such greenhouse gases would lead to a rise in global temperatures, and, indeed, global mean temperatures have increased by 0.3 to 0.7 °K over the last century, but the cause of this temperature rise has not been unequivocally put down to the increase in greenhouse gases. It may be that the uptake of CO2 by the oceans actually increases with higher temperatures. Others argue that increased concentrations of CO2 foster improved rates of photosynthesis in plants, so that faster-growing trees, for example, might partially offset increased concentrations of carbon dioxide. Thus, general models of the effect of growing greenhouse gas levels do not give unequivocal predictions of future trends in climates.

The analogy with a greenhouse is not perfect, since a greenhouse retains heat through lack of movement in the air as well as by absorbing counter-radiation.

Science Q&A:

What is the greenhouse effect?

Top
Home > Library > Science > Science Q&A

The greenhouse effect is a warming near the Earth's surface that results when the Earth's atmosphere traps the sun's heat. The atmosphere acts much like the glass walls and roof of a greenhouse. The effect was described by John Tyndall (1820-1893) in 1861. It was given the greenhouse analogy much later in 1896 by the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927). The greenhouse effect is what makes the Earth habitable. Without the presence of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the atmosphere, too much heat would escape and the Earth would be too cold to sustain life. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation rising from the Earth and hold this heat in the atmosphere instead of reflecting it back into space.

In the 20th century, the increased build-up of carbon dioxide, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, has been a matter of concern. There is some controversy concerning whether the increase noted in the Earth's average temperature is due to the increased amount of carbon dioxide and other gases, or is due to other causes. Volcanic activity, destruction of the rainforests, use of aerosols, and increased agricultural activity may also be contributing factors.

Previous question: How does ozone benefit life on Earth?
Next question: What compounds cause ozone depletion in the stratosphere?

Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science:

greenhouse effect

Top
Home > Library > Science > Science Dictionary

A term used to describe the heating of the atmosphere owing to the presence of carbon dioxide and other gases. Without the presence of these gases, heat from the sun would return to space in the form of infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide and other gases absorb some of this radiation and prevent its release, thereby warming the Earth. This is an effect analogous to what happens in a greenhouse, where glass traps the infrared radiation and warms the air.

  • The burning of fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and therefore places the Earth at risk from an increase of this effect.

    • Random House Word Menu:

    categories related to 'greenhouse effect'

    Top
    Home > Library > Literature & Language > Word Menu Categories
    Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
    For a list of words related to greenhouse effect, see:
    • Environment, Ecology, and Animal Behavior - greenhouse effect: increase of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere that prevents radiated heat from dissipating, thereby raising its temperature
    • Disasters and Phenomena - greenhouse effect: warming of Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere when solar radiation is converted to heat and trapped in atmosphere by cloud layers and gases

    Wikipedia on Answers.com:

    Greenhouse effect

    Top
    Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
    A representation of the exchanges of energy between the source (the Sun), the Earth's surface, the Earth's atmosphere, and the ultimate sink outer space. The ability of the atmosphere to capture and recycle energy emitted by the Earth surface is the defining characteristic of the greenhouse effect.
    Another diagram of the greenhouse 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, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower atmosphere. As a result, the average surface temperature is higher than it would be if direct heating by solar radiation were the only warming mechanism.[1][2]

    Solar radiation at the high frequencies of visible light 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.[2][3][4]

    The existence of the greenhouse effect was argued for by Joseph Fourier in 1824. The argument and the evidence was further strengthened by Claude Pouillet in 1827 and 1838, and definitively proved experimentally by John Tyndall in 1859, and more fully quantified by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[5][6]

    If an ideal thermally conductive blackbody was 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%[7] (or 28%[8]) of the incoming sunlight, the planet's effective temperature (the temperature of a blackbody that would emit the same amount of radiation) is about −18 or −19 °C,[9][10] about 33°C below the actual surface temperature of about 14 °C or 15 °C.[11] 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.[12]

    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 greatly intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming.[13]

    Contents

    Basic mechanism

    The Earth receives energy from the Sun in the form UV, visible, and near IR radiation, most of which passes through the atmosphere without being absorbed. Of the total amount of energy available at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), about 50% is absorbed at the Earth's surface. Because it is warm, the surface radiates far IR thermal radiation that consists of wavelengths that are predominantly much longer than the wavelengths that were absorbed. Most of this thermal radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and re-radiated both upwards and downwards; that radiated downwards is absorbed by the Earth's surface. This trapping of long-wavelength thermal radiation leads to a higher equilibrium temperature than if the atmosphere were absent.

    This highly simplified picture of the basic mechanism needs to be qualified in a number of ways, none of which affect the fundamental process.

    The solar radiation spectrum for direct light at both the top of the Earth's atmosphere and at sea level
    • The incoming radiation from the Sun is mostly in the form of visible light and nearby wavelengths, largely in the range 0.2–4 μm, corresponding to the Sun's radiative temperature of 6,000 K.[14] Almost half the radiation is in the form of "visible" light, which our eyes are adapted to use.[15]
    • 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.
    • 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 vapor, 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.
    • Within the region where radiative effects are important the description given by the idealized greenhouse model becomes realistic: The surface of the Earth, warmed to a temperature around 255 K, radiates long-wavelength, infrared heat in the range 4–100 μm.[14] At these wavelengths, greenhouse gases that were largely transparent to incoming solar radiation are more absorbent.[14] Each layer of atmosphere with greenhouses gases absorbs some of the heat being radiated upwards from lower layers. To maintain its own equilibrium, it re-radiates the absorbed heat in all directions, both upwards and downwards. This results in more warmth below, while still radiating enough heat back out into deep space from the upper layers to maintain overall thermal equilibrium. Increasing the concentration of the gases increases the amount of absorption and re-radiation, and thereby further warms the layers and ultimately the surface below.[10]
    • Greenhouse gases—including most diatomic gases with two different atoms (such as carbon monoxide, CO) and all gases with three or more atoms—are able to absorb and emit infrared radiation. Though more than 99% of the dry atmosphere is IR transparent (because the main constituents—N2, O2, and Ar—are 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-IR-active, gases.
    • The simple picture assumes equilibrium. 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 the atmosphere.

    Greenhouse gases

    Main article: Greenhouse gas

    By their percentage contribution to the greenhouse effect on Earth the four major gases are:[16][17]

    The major non-gas contributor to the Earth's greenhouse effect, clouds, also absorb and emit infrared radiation and thus have an effect on radiative properties of the atmosphere.[17]

    Role in climate change

    Main article: Global warming
    The Keeling Curve of atmospheric CO2 concentrations measured at Mauna Loa Observatory.

    Strengthening of the greenhouse effect through human activities is known as the enhanced (or anthropogenic) greenhouse effect.[18] This increase in radiative forcing from human activity is attributable mainly to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.[19]

    CO2 is produced by fossil fuel burning and other activities such as cement production and tropical deforestation.[20] Measurements of CO2 from the Mauna Loa observatory show that concentrations have increased from about 313 ppm [21] in 1960 to about 389 ppm in 2010. The current observed amount of CO2 exceeds the geological record maxima (~300 ppm) from ice core data.[22] The effect of combustion-produced carbon dioxide on the global climate, a special case of the greenhouse effect first described in 1896 by Svante Arrhenius, has also been called the Callendar effect.

    Because it is a greenhouse gas, elevated CO2 levels contribute to additional absorption and emission of thermal infrared in the atmosphere, which produce net warming. According to the latest Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations".[23]

    Over the past 800,000 years,[24] ice core data shows that carbon dioxide has varied from values as low as 180 parts per million (ppm) to the pre-industrial level of 270ppm.[25] Paleoclimatologists consider variations in carbon dioxide concentration to be a fundamental factor influencing climate variations over this time scale.[26][27]

    Real greenhouses

    A modern Greenhouse in RHS Wisley

    The "greenhouse effect" is named by analogy to greenhouses. The greenhouse effect and a real greenhouse are similar in that they both limit the rate of thermal energy flowing out of the system, but the mechanisms by which heat is retained are different.[28] A greenhouse works primarily by preventing absorbed heat from leaving the structure through convection, i.e. sensible heat transport. The 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. It mainly heats up because the Sun warms the ground inside, which then warms the air in the greenhouse. The 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. This can be demonstrated by opening a small window near the roof of a greenhouse: the temperature will drop considerably. It has also been demonstrated experimentally (R. W. Wood, 1909) that a "greenhouse" with a cover of rock salt (which is transparent to infra red) heats up an enclosure similarly to one with a glass cover.[3] Thus greenhouses work primarily by preventing convective cooling.[4][29]

    In the greenhouse effect, rather than retaining (sensible) heat by physically preventing movement of the air, greenhouse gases act to warm the Earth by re-radiating some of the energy back towards the surface. This process may exist in real greenhouses, but is comparatively unimportant there.

    Bodies other than Earth

    In our solar system, Mars, Venus, and the moon Titan also exhibit greenhouse effects.[30] Titan has an anti-greenhouse effect, in that its atmosphere absorbs solar radiation but is relatively transparent to infrared radiation. Pluto also exhibits behavior superficially similar to the anti-greenhouse effect.[31][32]

    A runaway greenhouse effect occurs if positive feedbacks lead to the evaporation of all greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.[33] A runaway greenhouse effect involving carbon dioxide and water vapor is thought to have occurred on Venus.[34]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ "Annex II Glossary". Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/annexessglossary-e-i.html. Retrieved 15 October 2010. 
    2. ^ a b A concise description of the greenhouse effect is given in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, "What is the Greenhouse Effect?" FAQ 1.3 - AR4 WGI Chapter 1: Historical Overview of Climate Change Science, IIPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Chapter 1, page 115: "To balance the absorbed incoming [solar] energy, the Earth must, on average, radiate the same amount of energy back to space. Because the Earth is much colder than the Sun, it radiates at much longer wavelengths, primarily in the infrared part of the spectrum (see Figure 1). Much of this thermal radiation emitted by the land and ocean is absorbed by the atmosphere, including clouds, and reradiated back to Earth. This is called the greenhouse effect."
      Stephen H. Schneider, in Geosphere-biosphere Interactions and Climate, Lennart O. Bengtsson and Claus U. Hammer, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0521782384, pp. 90-91.
      E. Claussen, V. A. Cochran, and D. P. Davis, Climate Change: Science, Strategies, & Solutions, University of Michigan, 2001. p. 373.
      A. Allaby and M. Allaby, A Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0192800795, p. 244.
    3. ^ a b Wood, R.W. (1909). "Note on the Theory of the Greenhouse". Philosophical Magazine 17: 319–320. http://www.wmconnolley.org.uk/sci/wood_rw.1909.html. "When exposed to sunlight the temperature rose gradually to 65 °C., the enclosure covered with the salt plate keeping a little ahead of the other because it transmitted the longer waves from the Sun, which were stopped by the glass. In order to eliminate this action the sunlight was first passed through a glass plate." "it is clear that the rock-salt plate is capable of transmitting practically all of it, while the glass plate stops it entirely. This 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." 
    4. ^ a b Schroeder, Daniel V. (2000). An introduction to thermal physics. San Francisco, California: Addison-Wesley. pp. 305–7. ISBN 0-321-27779-1. "... this mechanism is called the greenhouse effect, even though most greenhouses depend primarily on a different mechanism (namely, limiting convective cooling)." 
    5. ^ Isaac M. Held and Brian J. Soden (Nov. 2000). "Water Vapor Feedback and Global Warming". Annual Review of Energy and the Environment (Annual Reviews) 25: 441–475. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.25.1.441. http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.energy.25.1.441. 
    6. ^ John Tyndall, Heat considered as a Mode of Motion (500 pages; year 1863, 1873).
    7. ^ "NASA Earth Fact Sheet". Nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    8. ^ "Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry, by Daniel J. Jacob, Princeton University Press, 1999. Chapter 7, "The Greenhouse Effect"". Acmg.seas.harvard.edu. http://acmg.seas.harvard.edu/people/faculty/djj/book/bookchap7.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    9. ^ "Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Balance". Eesc.columbia.edu. http://eesc.columbia.edu/courses/ees/climate/lectures/radiation/. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    10. ^ a b Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Chapter 1: Historical overview of climate change science page 97
    11. ^ The elusive "absolute surface air temperature," see GISS discussion
    12. ^ Vaclav Smil (2003). The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change. MIT Press. p. 107. ISBN 9780262692984. http://books.google.com/books?id=8ntHWPMUgpMC&pg=PA107. 
    13. ^ IPCC AR4 WG1 (2007), Solomon, S.; Qin, D.; Manning, M.; Chen, Z.; Marquis, M.; Averyt, K.B.; Tignor, M.; and Miller, H.L., ed., Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-88009-1, http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-1-3.html  (pb: 978-0-521-70596-7)
    14. ^ a b c Mitchell, John F. B. (1989). "THE "GREENHOUSE" EFFECT AND CLIMATE CHANGE". Reviews of Geophysics (American Geophysical Union) 27 (1): 115–139. Bibcode 1989RvGeo..27..115M. doi:10.1029/RG027i001p00115. http://astrosun2.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro202/Mitchell_GRL89.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-23. 
    15. ^ "Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SOURCE)". NASA.Gov. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/SORCE/sorce_02.php. Retrieved 15 October 2010. 
    16. ^ "Water vapour: feedback or forcing?". RealClimate. 6 April 2005. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=142. Retrieved 2006-05-01. 
    17. ^ a b Kiehl, J. T.; Kevin E. Trenberth (February 1997). "Earth's Annual Global Mean Energy Budget" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 78 (2): 197–208. Bibcode 1997BAMS...78..197K. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<0197:EAGMEB>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1520-0477. Archived from the original on 2006-03-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20060330013311/http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/spring04/atmo451b/pdf/RadiationBudget.pdf. Retrieved 2006-05-01. 
    18. ^ "Enhanced greenhouse effect — Glossary". Nova. Australian Academy of Scihuman impact on the environment. 2006. http://www.science.org.au/nova/016/016glo.htm. 
    19. ^ "Enhanced Greenhouse Effect". Ace.mmu.ac.uk. http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Global_Warming/Older/Enhanced_Greenhouse_Effect.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    20. ^ IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis" Chapter 7
    21. ^ "Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide – Mauna Loa". NOAA. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/co2_data_mlo.html. 
    22. ^ Hansen J. (February 2005). "A slippery slope: How much global warming constitutes "dangerous anthropogenic interference"?". Climatic Change 68 (333): 269–279. doi:10.1007/s10584-005-4135-0. http://www.springerlink.com/content/x283l27781675v51/?p=799ebc88193f4ecfa8ca76f6e28f45d7. 
    23. ^ IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Synthesis Report: Summary for Policymakers (p. 5)
    24. ^ "Deep ice tells long climate story". BBC News. 2006-09-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5314592.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04. 
    25. ^ Hileman B (2005-11-28). "Ice Core Record Extended". Chemical & Engineering News 83 (48): 7. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i48/8348notw1.html. 
    26. ^ Bowen, Mark; Thin Ice: Unlocking the Secrets of Climate in the World's Highest Mountains; Owl Books, 2005.
    27. ^ Temperature change and carbon dioxide change, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    28. ^ Brian Shmaefsky (2004). Favorite demonstrations for college science: an NSTA Press journals collection. NSTA Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780873552424. http://books.google.com/books?id=L4jtv2mX0iQC&pg=PA57. 
    29. ^ Oort, Abraham H.; Peixoto, José Pinto (1992). Physics of climate. New York: American Institute of Physics. ISBN 0-88318-711-6. "...the name water vapor-greenhouse effect is actually a misnomer since heating in the usual greenhouse is due to the reduction of convection" 
    30. ^ McKay, C.; Pollack, J.; Courtin, R. (1991). "The greenhouse and antigreenhouse effects on Titan". Science 253: 1118–21. doi:10.1126/science.11538492. PMID 11538492.  edit
    31. ^ "Titan: Greenhouse and Anti-greenhouse :: Astrobiology Magazine - earth science - evolution distribution Origin of life universe - life beyond :: Astrobiology is study of earth". Astrobio.net. http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1762&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    32. ^ "Pluto Colder Than Expected". SPACE.com. 2006-01-03. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060103_pluto_cold.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
    33. ^ Kasting, James F. (1991). "Runaway and moist greenhouse atmospheres and the evolution of Earth and Venus.". Planetary Sciences: American and Soviet Research/Proceedings from the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Workshop on Planetary Sciences. Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems (CETS). pp. 234–245. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1790&page=234. Retrieved 2009. 
    34. ^ Rasool, I.; De Bergh, C.; De Bergh, C. (Jun 1970). "The Runaway Greenhouse and the Accumulation of CO2 in the Venus Atmosphere". Nature 226 (5250): 1037–1039. Bibcode 1970Natur.226.1037R. doi:10.1038/2261037a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16057644. http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1970/1970_Rasool_DeBergh.pdf. Retrieved 02/25/2009.  hello edit

    Further reading

    • Businger, Joost Alois; Fleagle, Robert Guthrie (1980). An introduction to atmospheric physics. International geophysics series (2nd ed.). San Diego: Academic. ISBN 0-12-260355-9. 
    • Henderson-Sellers, Ann; McGuffie, Kendal (2005). A climate modelling primer (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-470-85750-1. "Greenhouse effect: the effect of the atmosphere in re-reradiating longwave radiation back to the surface of the Earth. It has nothing to do with glasshouses, which trap warm air at the surface." 
    • Idso, S.B. (1982). Carbon dioxide : friend or foe? : an inquiry into the climatic and agricultural consequences of the rapidly rising CO2 content of Earth's atmosphere. Tempe, AZ: IBR Press. OCLC 63236418. "...the phraseology is somewhat in appropriate, since CO2 does not warm the planet in a manner analogous to the way in which a greenhouse keeps its interior warm" 

    External links

    Wikiversity has learning materials about Topic:Climate change

    Climate Change at Wikibooks Media related to Greenhouse effect at Wikimedia Commons The Wiktionary entry for greenhouse effect
     
    Causes
    Anthropogenic
    Natural
    Models


    This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

     
     

     

    Copyrights:

    American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
     Fowler's Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. © 1999, 2004 All rights reserved.  Read more
    Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
    McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Oxford Dictionary of Geography. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Science Q&A. The Handy Science Answer Book. 2003 ©Visible Ink Press (handyanswers.com). All rights reserved.  Read more
    Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Science. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Greenhouse effect.  Read more

    Related answers
    » More
    Answer these
    » More
    Follow us
    Facebook Twitter
    YouTube

    Mentioned in

    » More» More