Human Interference Of The Atmosphere - 1156 Words

Greenhouse effect is the process where heat is trapped by greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere to keep the Earth warm. The planet’s atmosphere contains these radiatively active gases, that radiate energy in all direction. Greenhouse gases are already present in the atmosphere; without them the Earth would be significantly cold enough to freeze the oceans. To understand how important and harmful the greenhouse gases can be for the planet, we need to answer these questions. Do extra greenhouse gases upset the Earth’s natural balance and make it even warmer? Is there any extra insertion of the gases in the atmosphere by humans? If so, how significant are the effects? This essay will discuss in detail, the mechanism that†¦show more content†¦How is radiative equilibrium achieved? The global surface temperature averaged over daily and seasonal series, remains constant. Earth surface receives 340 watts/m2 of radiant energy, if the global surface temperature ave raged daily remains constant, therefore Earth’s surface must be radiating out energy precisely 340 watts/m2 into space to keep the surface cool. There are many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the two most abundant are water vapour and carbon dioxide. Visible light (short wave radiation) passes through the green house gases to reach the Earth’s surface, The Earth surface absorbs short wave radiation, the radiation is then released by the surface in the form of infrared radiation. Only 10% of the infrared radiation released passes through the gases and the atmosphere and escapes. The rest of the infrared radiation is trapped by the greenhouse gases and clouds. What really causes the greenhouse effect? The remaining infrared radiation is trapped by the green house gases. The greenhouse gases in turn reradiates the infrared radiation in all direction. Some of the radiation go into the outer space and some go back to the Earth surface. The continuous cycle of exchange of infrared radiation between the Earth’s surface and the greenhouse gases is called the greenhouse effect. The presence of an atmosphere containing greenhouse gases keeps the Earth surface warm, without an atmosphere like