What are the limitations in comparing the earth's atmosphere to a greenhouse?

Answer 1

The scale is the most limiting factor in comparing the Earth's atmosphere to that of a greenhouse. The type of surface that sunlight first encounters is an important factor. Forests, grasslands, ocean surfaces, ice caps, deserts, and cities all absorb, reflect, and radiate radiation differently. Sunlight falling on a white glacier surface strongly reflects back into space, resulting in minimal heating of the surface and lower atmosphere. Sunlight falling on a dark desert soil is strongly absorbed, on the other hand, and contributes to significant heating of the surface and lower atmosphere. Cloud cover also affects greenhouse warming by both reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface and by reducing the amount of radiation energy emitted into space.

Answer 2

One limitation is that the analogy oversimplifies the complexity of Earth's atmosphere, which is influenced by various factors beyond the greenhouse effect. Additionally, the analogy may lead to misunderstanding the role of human activities in causing climate change, as it only focuses on the trapping of heat and not on other contributing factors like emissions of greenhouse gases. Lastly, it might suggest that the greenhouse effect is entirely negative, whereas in reality, it is essential for keeping the planet warm enough to support life.