Carbon Dioxide

Solution Preview

What is the greenhouse gas effect?
The green house effect is the retention of solar energy in our atmosphere. The earth's atmosphere, specifically the gases that it contains (such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and methane), is able to absorb outgoing longwave and shortwave radiation and reflect it back to earth (EPA, 2012). This warms up the earth considerably. In fact, it is believed that without the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, the world would be 30 degrees Celsius cooler on average (Ramanathan et al., 1985). For example, about 31% of the incoming radiation from the sun is reflected directly back to space by the earth's atmosphere and surface (particularly by snow and ice), and another 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere. The rest of the incoming radiation is absorbed by the earth's oceans and land, where it is converted into heat and subsequently warms the surface of the earth and the air above it (EPA, 2012). There are two components of the greenhouse gas effect. There is the natural greenhouse gas effect that keeps climate warm and habitable - this is caused by natural processes without anthropogenic interference, such as chemical weathering of rocks, photosynthesis, and respiration. The man made greenhouse effect is the enhancement of the earth's natural greenhouse effect by the addition of green house gases, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels and the alteration of feedback loops.

Main Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds in the earth's atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation and trap it as heat (Rodhe, 1990). This considerably warms our atmosphere. The three major greenhouse gases that ...