Greenhouse Effect

Goldilocks Principle

• Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold but Earth is just right
• Earth’s average temperature sits between the boiling and freezing temperatures of water.
• This makes it ideal for life

Insulating gas blanket

• Earth’s “perfect” surface temperature for life is often thought to be because of it’s orbit distance from the Sun. This is only part of the story.
• All of the different components of Earth’s climate system (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and living things) absorb energy from the sun.
• None of them absorb 100% of the available energy.  A lot of the energy is reflected instead of being absorbed
• Albedo is the term that we use to describe how much of the suns energy is reflected from any surface of the earth

If we were 100% dependent on the Sun to keep us warm half of our planet would freeze every night when it is facing away from the Sun

• These 2 problems require us to have another way to keep Earth’s surface temperature from fluctuating
• The solution is that Earth’s atmosphere acts as a warming blanket helping to regulate our surface temperature

Blanket makes up and function

• The gasses that cause this blanket effect are called “greenhouse gases”
• They are mainly water vapour (H₂O) Carbon dioxide (CO₂) Methane (CH₄) and Nitrogen Dioxides (N₂O)
• These gasses have the ability to trap radiated energy from the Earth’s surface and then release it back
• This prevents the Earth’s energy from being lost in space

How do these gasses do this?

• All of the gasses are made up of 2 or more elements tightly bonded together
• When they absorb energy from the Earth’s surface it causes each of the elements in the gas to vibrate
• Once the element settles back down the energy is released to be absorbed by another gas molecule or surface

Greenhouse Effect

• Scientists have been using the term “greenhouse effect” to describe the regulation of earth’s temperature since the 1800s
• In the 1950s the term was used to describe the effects of climate change
• Now we use the term anthropogenic greenhouse to describe the effects of climate change
• It is important to remember that without the Earth’s natural greenhouse effect, life would not be possible

William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2024 | Creative Commons 4.0

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