The Greenhouse Effect

• The Greenhouse Effect:

  • When shortwave radiation from the sun strikes the Earth’s surface it is absorbed and re-emitted from the surface of the Earth as infrared radiation
  • Much of the radiation, however, is trapped inside the Earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gases which can absorb and store the energy
  • Carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour are gases that have this effect
  • Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and methane, although present in only small amounts, are causing significant upset to the Earth’s natural conditions by trapping extra heat energy
• The Greenhouse Effect:

  • This process is called the enhanced greenhouse effect
• Greenhouse gases trap some of the Sun's radiation causing the Earth to warm up:

  
• Greenhouse gases trap some of the Sun's radiation causing the Earth to warm up:

  
• Carbon dioxide:

  • Sources: Combustion of wood and fossil fuels, respiration of plants and animals, thermal decomposition of carbonate rocks and the effect of acids on carbonates

  Methane:

  • Sources: Digestive processes of animals, decomposition of vegetation, bacterial action in swamps and in rice paddy fields