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Concept
Greenhouse effect
Summary
The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere cause some of the heat radiated from the planet's surface to build up at the planet's surface. This process happens because stars emit shortwave radiation that passes through greenhouse gases, but planets emit longwave radiation that is partly absorbed by greenhouse gases. That difference reduces the rate at which a planet can cool off in response to being warmed by its host star. Adding to greenhouse gases further reduces the rate a planet emits radiation to space, raising its average surface temperature.
The Earth's average surface temperature would be about without the greenhouse effect, compared to Earth's 20th century average of about , or a more recent average of about . In addition to naturally present greenhouse gases,
burning of fossil fuels has increased amounts of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. As a result, global warming of about has occurred since the industrial revolution, with the global average surface temperature increasing at a rate of per decade since 1981.
The wavelengths of radiation emitted by the Sun and Earth differ because their surface temperatures are different. The Sun has a surface temperature of , so it emits most of its energy as shortwave radiation in near-infrared and visible wavelengths (as sunlight). In contrast, Earth's surface has a much lower temperature, so it emits longwave radiation at mid- and far-infrared wavelengths (sometimes called thermal radiation or radiated heat). A gas is a greenhouse gas if it absorbs longwave radiation. Earth's atmosphere absorbs only 23% of incoming shortwave radiation, but absorbs 90% of the longwave radiation emitted by the surface, thus accumulating energy and warming the Earth's surface.
The term greenhouse effect comes from an analogy to greenhouses. Both greenhouses and the greenhouse effect work by retaining heat from sunlight, but the way they retain heat differs. Greenhouses retain heat mainly by blocking convection (the movement of air).
Official source
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