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Greenhouse Effect
An effect occurring in
greenhouses in which radiant heat from the sun passes through the glass and, trapped
inside by the glass, warms the contents. The term came to apply to an analogous effect on
the Earth's atmosphere in which carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere absorb
the infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface through being exposed to solar
ultraviolet radiation. As a result, the Earth's mean temperature rises.
The total amount of carbon dioxide
present in the Earth's atmosphere remained nearly constant until the 20th century, when
the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, fuel oil, gasoline, and natural gas began to
release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Variations in the amounts
of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the air can therefore have a significant effect on
how much heat is retained by the atmosphere. Some scientists believe that, as the
greenhouse effect is intensified, long-term climatic changes on the Earth will result,
such as new patterns and extremes of drought and rainfall, which would seriously disrupt
food production. Temperature increases in the polar regions could be as much as three
times greater than the global estimate, which would cause the polar ice caps to melt at a
rapid rate and result in appreciably higher coastal waters.
Other factors may reduce the effect of
an increase in carbon dioxide and thus prevent a rise in temperature. One of these factors
is the rise in the amount of dust in the atmosphere, as the result of a volcanic eruption,
for example. This could lead to greater reflection of the sun's light by the atmosphere,
which would tend to lower the temperature on Earth. Another factor helping to minimize the
effect of increased amounts of carbon dioxide is the greater absorption of the gas by the
oceans. Some scientists believe that water vapor plays a much more significant role than
does carbon dioxide in the Earth's greenhouse effect and that fluctuations in it are
therefore much more important.
Related videos:
Greenhouse Effect.
Related books:
Global Warming
and the Greenhouse Effect.
Greenhouse: The
200-Year Story of Global Warming.
The Greenhouse
Effect (Closer Look At).
Click
here for more related
books.
Further info:
Greenhouse Effect, The.
Greenhouse Effect Visualizer.
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