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During this time, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has varied between 180 and 210 ppm during ice ages, increasing to 280–300 ppm during warmer interglacials. [115] [116] CO 2 mole fractions in the atmosphere have gone up by around 35 percent since the 1900s, rising from 280 parts per million by volume to 387 parts per million in 2009.
The planet Venus experienced a runaway greenhouse effect, resulting in an atmosphere which is 96% carbon dioxide, and a surface atmospheric pressure roughly the same as found 900 m (3,000 ft) underwater on Earth. Venus may have had water oceans, but they would have boiled off as the mean surface temperature rose to the current 735 K (462 °C ...
Through this effect, a runaway feedback process may have removed much carbon dioxide and water vapor from the atmosphere and cooled the planet. Water condenses on the surface, leading to carbon dioxide dissolving and chemically binding to minerals. This reduced the greenhouse effect, lowering the temperature and causing more water to condense.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 28 February 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 ...
Absorption cross sections for CO2 (green) and water vapour (purple). The wavelengths most relevant to climate change are those where the green plot crosses the upper horizontal line, representing a CO2 level somewhat larger than the current concentration. CO 2 absorbs the ground's thermal radiation mainly at wavelengths between 13 and 17 micron ...
The South Pole Telescope was constructed in Antarctica in part because the elevation and low temperatures there mean there is very little water vapor in the atmosphere. [26] Similarly, carbon dioxide absorption bands occur around 1400, 1600 and 2000 nm, [27] but its presence in the Earth's atmosphere accounts for just 26% of the greenhouse ...
Carbon dioxide also dissolves directly from the atmosphere into bodies of water (ocean, lakes, etc.), as well as dissolving in precipitation as raindrops fall through the atmosphere. When dissolved in water, carbon dioxide reacts with water molecules and forms carbonic acid, which contributes to ocean acidity. It can then be absorbed by rocks ...
According to the American National Center for Atmospheric Research, "The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480 × 10 18 kg with an annual range due to water vapor of 1.2 or 1.5 × 10 15 kg, depending on whether surface pressure or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than the previous estimate.