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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 ...
[26] The airborne fraction has been around 60% since the 1950s, indicating that about 60% of the new carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year originated from human sources. [10] For clarity, this is not meant to suggest that 60% of the uptake of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere comes from human activity.
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 ]
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.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 24 January 2025. Gas in an atmosphere with certain absorption characteristics This article is about the physical properties of greenhouse gases. For how human activities are adding to greenhouse gases, see Greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases trap some of the heat that results when sunlight heats ...
Within current models of the runaway greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide (especially anthropogenic carbon dioxide) does not seem capable of providing the necessary insulation for Earth to reach the Simpson–Nakajima limit. [13] [4] [5] [7] Debate remains, however, on whether carbon dioxide can push surface temperatures towards the moist ...
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.