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GREENHOUSE EFFECT The Greenhouse effect is the heating of the lower atmosphere and surface of a planet by a complex process involving sunlight, gases, and particles in the atmosphere. The amounts of heat-trapping atmospheric gases, called greenhouse gases, have increased since the mid1800's, when industry became popular everywhere. Since the late 1800's, the temperature of the earth's surface has also become warmer. The greenhouse effect is so named because the atmosphere acts much like the glass roof and walls of a greenhouse, trapping heat from the sun. The natural greenhouse effect. The atmosphere reflects toward space about 30% of the energy from the incoming sunlight. The atmosphere gets another 30%, and the other 40% reaches the earth's surface. The earth's surface reflects about 15% of the solar energy that goes back towards space. The left over energy heats the lands and seas. The warmed lands and seas then send most of the heat back into the atmosphere, as infrared rays and in evaporated water. (Infrared rays are much like light waves but are invisible to the us humans.) When the rays from the lands and seas hit certain things in the atmosphere, such as greenhouse gases and particles, those substances absorb the rays. As a result, the gases and particles are heated. They then are cooled by sending out infrared rays of there own. Some of the rays go into space. The remainder radiate back toward the earth's surface, adding to the warming of the surface layer. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the average temperature of the earth's surface would be about 33°C colder than it is now. The main greenhouse gases are made up of atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). These gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone.
Approximate Word count = 1165
Approximate Pages = 4.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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