What Is Greenhouse Effect?
The way gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide trap heat near Earth's surface, keeping the planet about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would be otherwise. In technical terms: The warming of a planetary surface by atmospheric absorption and re-emission of longwave infrared radiation by gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Greenhouse Effect In Plain English
The way gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide trap heat near Earth's surface, keeping the planet about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would be otherwise.
The Technical Definition
The warming of a planetary surface by atmospheric absorption and re-emission of longwave infrared radiation by gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide; raises Earth's mean surface temperature from an effective radiating temperature of about minus 18 degrees C to about 15 degrees C.
Lessons That Use Greenhouse Effect
- The Greenhouse Effect And Uneven Heating Unit 2: Energy And The Sun
