Solar Radiation And Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet s atmosphere warms the planet s surface to a temperature above what it would be without this atmosphere.

Solar radiation and greenhouse effect.

Climate climate solar radiation and temperature. Air temperatures have their origin in the absorption of radiant energy from the sun. Greenhouse effect a warming of earth s surface and troposphere the lowest layer of the atmosphere caused by the presence of water vapor carbon dioxide methane and certain other gases in the air. Solar radiation is often called shortwave radiation.

Without the greenhouse effect earth s temperature would be below freezing. Adding more greenhouse gases decreases the amount of infrared radiation energy leaving the atmosphere. As variation of solar radiation is the single most important factor affecting climate it is considered here first. They are subject to many influences including those of the atmosphere ocean and land and are modified by them.

To get the energy back in balance the surface of the earth has to warm up so that it will emit more infrared energy some of which will leave the atmosphere and compensate for the effect of the added greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is the process by which the atmosphere of a planet lets solar radiation from the sun pass but instead prevents or hinders the exit of thermal energy from the planet. It is called the greenhouse effect because of the similarity with the operation of the greenhouses. Radiatively active gases i e greenhouse gases in a planet s atmosphere radiate energy in all directions part of this radiation is directed towards the surface warming it.

However earth s greenhouse effect is getting stronger as we add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect causes some of this energy to be waylaid in the atmosphere absorbed and released by greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect occurs when earth s atmosphere traps solar radiation because of the presence of certain gases which causes temperatures to rise. For more than 40 years satellites have observed the sun s energy output which has gone up or down by less than 0 1 percent during that period.

Solar radiation management does not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and thus does not reduce other effects from these gases such as ocean acidification. Warming from increased levels of human produced greenhouse gases is actually many times stronger than any effects due to recent variations in solar activity. While not an argument against solar radiation management per se this is an argument against reliance on climate engineering to the exclusion of greenhouse gas reduction. Solar radiation is essential for their photosynthesis process for crop growing however high levels of solar radiation may adversely affect the crop quality.