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On Earth, carbon dioxide is the most relevant, direct greenhouse gas that is influenced by human activities. Water is responsible for most (about 36–70%) of the total greenhouse effect, and the role of water vapor as a greenhouse gas depends on temperature. Carbon dioxide is often mentioned in the context of its increased influence as a ...
Earth constantly absorbs energy from sunlight and emits thermal radiation as infrared light. In the long run, Earth radiates the same amount of energy per second as it absorbs, because the amount of thermal radiation emitted depends upon temperature: If Earth absorbs more energy per second than it radiates, Earth heats up and the thermal radiation will increase, until balance is restored; if ...
The second most important greenhouse gas, and the most important trace gas affected by man-made sources, is carbon dioxide. [12] It contributes about 20% of Earth's total greenhouse effect. [13] The reason that greenhouse gases can absorb infrared radiation is their molecular structure.
Carbon dioxide equilibrates between the atmosphere and the ocean's surface layers. As autotrophs add or subtract carbon dioxide from the water through photosynthesis or respiration, they modify this balance, allowing the water to absorb more carbon dioxide or causing it to emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. [2]
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations from 1958 to 2023. The Keeling Curve is a graph of the annual variation and overall accumulation of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii from 1958 to the present day.
Earth's atmosphere absorbs only 23% of incoming shortwave radiation, but absorbs 90% of the longwave radiation emitted by the surface, [9] thus accumulating energy and warming the Earth's surface. The existence of the greenhouse effect (while not named as such) was proposed as early as 1824 by Joseph Fourier . [ 10 ]
How much oxygen does one tree produce each year? Answer: Around 260 pounds. What is the tallest mountain in the U.S.? Answer: Denali, at 20,310 feet tall
While methane only lasts in the atmosphere for an average of 12 years, [120] CO 2 lasts much longer. The Earth's surface absorbs CO 2 as part of the carbon cycle. While plants on land and in the ocean absorb most excess emissions of CO 2 every year, that CO 2 is returned to the atmosphere when biological matter is digested, burns, or decays. [121]