Essay Archive - The Greenhouse Effect
The Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect, in environmental science, is a popular term for
the effect that certain variable constituents of the Earth's lower atmosphere
have on surface temperatures. These gases--water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide
(CO2), and methane (CH4)--keep ground temperatures at a global average of about
15 degrees C (60 degrees F). Without them the average would be below the
freezing point of H20. The gases have this effect because as incoming solar
radiation strikes the surface, the surface gives off infrared radiation, or hea....
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