The Natural Greenhouse Effect

Atmosphere Our atmosphere is made up of several gases These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. These gases help to trap in heat from the Sun and keep the Earth warm.

Gases Water vapor occurs naturally as part of the water cycle. Carbon dioxide occurs naturally when plants and animals undergo cellular respiration.

Gases Methane occurs naturally when cattle digest their food and from certain plants like rice. Nitrous oxide occurs naturally when plants decompose and rot. Ozone occurs naturally and helps protect us from harmful UV radiation from the sun.

How does it work? Energy radiates from the sun and reaches Earth. Some of that energy is reflected back into space. The rest is trapped inside by the Earth’s atmosphere and creates heat. This heat helps to regulate the temperature of Earth.

How does it work?

How does it work? This atmosphere helps to keep the Earth warm even at night when we are not receiving sunlight. The difference in temperature on Earth between day and night is usually only about 10 degrees. By comparison, the moon (which is about the same distance from the sun that we are) has great difference between its temperature during the day and night. This difference can be up to 100 degrees.

Where did the name come from? We call this the greenhouse effect because it acts similar to the way human-built greenhouses work. The glass of the greenhouse is designed to help trap in heat from the sun in order to grow plants out of season. The glass of a greenhouse acts similarly to the way the atmosphere works.

Greenhouse

Climate Change If the balance of gases in our atmosphere is changed, this can result in climate change. Burning fossil fuels puts extra carbon dioxide into the air which throws off the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This traps in too much heat inside our atmosphere and is a major contributor to climate change

Climate Change