GREENHOUSE EFFECT

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT The Earth has an atmosphere with a thickness of 1000 kilometres. The atmosphere contains large quantities of air and this air stops and stores warm air derived from the sun in the form of radiation. Due to the fact that the atmosphere contains greenhouse gases which stop solar energy, the temperature on the surface of Earth increases. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect?

How is the greenhouse effect created? First the sunlight reaches the surface of the Earth heating it. The warming of the Earth results in the emission of radiation, which then results in part of the rays being reflected to space but the greenhouse gases stop them and send them back toward the surface of Earth in the form of the so-called radiation feedback. This radiation warms the surface of the Earth once again and this is what causes the greenhouse effect. As the atmosphere of the Earth is being protected from cooling down, the average air temperature is +15 degrees Celsius. If the atmosphere didnt contain greenhouse gases, the Earth would radiate its energy into space and the average air temperature would be -17 degrees Celsius. Before man started contaminating the environment to the extent he does now, vapour would play the main role in absorbing the heat reflected from the surface of the Earth.

Greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases are volatile chemical substances occurring in the atmosphere. Their chemical and physical structure allows for the detention and storage of the thermal energy derived from Sun. They transfer thermal energy back to the surface of the Earth. The role of greenhouse gases in the greenhouse effect.

The consequences of global warming of the Earth We have been observing gradual results of the warming of the climate of the Earth for the last fifty years. In many places on the Earth we have seen the air temperature go up. Warmed waters in the sea and the ocean cause the glaciers on the poles to thaw and to increase in capacity and this causes the sea level to go up. As a consequence, many countries of low altitude with access to the sea or the ocean will be flooded. In fifty years many countries which are located at low altitude may be flooded. It is predicted that as a result of the thawing of glaciers in Greenland and on the Antarctic, countries like Holland, Denmark, Belgium and Bangladesh may find themselves under water. In Poland an area of up to 100 km from the Baltic Sea may be flooded. But in theory there is also a chance that the glaciers will increase in size. As a result of the warming climate the water in seas and oceans will start evaporating, which may result in increased precipitation on the Earth. In the pole area of our planet snowfall may result in fast creation of glaciers.

THANK YOU Directed by Jakub Miller I D