2. What is it?
Energy from the sun radiates down to
Earth & majority is absorbed by land +
water
Earth heats up and changes energy to
infrared radiation. This goes back up into
space, but some is trapped by the
greenhouse gases
The light trapped by the greenhouse
gases heats up Earth even further
4. Who are the Key Players?
The Greenhouse Gases
WATER VAPOR
Carbon Dioxide(CO2)
Methane(CH4)
Nitrous Oxide(N2O)
Ozone (O3)
5. Climate Change
Greenhouse Effect is changing our
environment through global warming
Higher temperature = more droughts
Melting ice caps
Rising sea level
Clouds
Clouds reflect and absorb infrared light and
therefore warm and cool Earth
A change in clouds changes how clouds cool
or warm Earth
6. Humans Role in Greenhouse
Effect/Global Warming
CO2 levels increased 40% since late 1700’s
CO2 levels are increasing in atmosphere by
Burning fossil fuels
Clearing forests
Etc.
Human-Made chemicals in atmosphere
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs)
perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Energy from the sun radiates down to Earth warming it up. The majority of the light is absorbed by land and bodies of water but some light is reflected back up into space. This energy is then converted to infrared radiation and goes back up into the atmosphere, but before it all can escape, some is trapped by greenhouse gases.
Here is an image explaining it further.
Who are the key players? The most prevalent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is water vapor. Trailing just behind water vapor is carbon dioxide, then methane, nitrous oxide, and finally ozone. There are also many other gases involved in the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect is contributing to global warming. Clouds, believe it or not, can relate to climate change. Clouds reflect and absorb infrared light and therefore warm and cool the Earth. A change in clouds, like their size or location would affect how they cool or warm the Earth.
The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have gone up 40% since the beginning od the industrial revolution or the late 1700’s. The CO2 levels are increasing because of humans activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforesting. As a result, many man-made chemicals have been released into the atmosphere and are contributing to global warming. These include, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).