GREENHOUSE

EFFECT
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a structure with a glass (or plastic) roof and
glass (or plastic) walls.
 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

Natural Greenhouse Effect

• Natural greenhouse effect is

made from the heat energy
radiated from the Sun.

• Greenhouse gases are naturally

present in the atmosphere.

• Sunlight goes through the

atmosphere. Some are absorbed
and some are reflected
back to the space.
 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

Natural Greenhouse Effect

• Incoming Energy
First, the Sun emits energy that is transmitted to Earth.

• Absorption
About 30% of the Sun's energy is reflected directly back into
space by the atmosphere, clouds, and surface of the Earth.

• Emission
The Earth emits energy into the atmosphere.
• Incoming Energy
First, the Sun emits energy that is transmitted to Earth.
• Absorption
About 30% of the Sun's energy is reflected directly back into
space by the atmosphere, clouds, and surface of the Earth.
• Emission
The Earth emits energy into the atmosphere.
 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

 The greenhouse effect was

• discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1827
• experimentally verified by John Tyndall in 1861
• quantified by Svante Arrhenius in 1896

 The greenhouse effect is a natural process that is millions of years old.

It plays a critical role in regulating the overall temperature of the
Earth. 

 The greenhouse effect increases the temperature of the Earth by trapping

heat in our atmosphere. 
 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

List of Greenhouse Gases

 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

List of Greenhouse Gases

The main feedback gas of the greenhouse is water vapor

 The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere exists in direct relation to the

temperature.

greenhouse temperature water vapor

gas

 How much does water vapor amplify CO2 warming?

water vapor roughly doubles the amount of warming caused
by CO2
 What is ‘greenhouse effect’?

Causes of Greenhouse Effect

1. Burning of Fossil Fuels:

When fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gus) are burnt, the carbon stored inside them is
released which combines with oxygen in the air to create carbon dioxide.

2. Deforestation:

Large scale development has resulted in cutting down of trees and forests. When the
wood is burnt, the stored carbon in converted back into carbon dioxide.
 Greenhouse Effect & Global Warming
• The “greenhouse effect” & global warming are not the same thing
– Global warming refers to a rise in the temperature of the surface of
the earth

• An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases leads to an

increase in the the magnitude of the greenhouse effect
– This results in global warming
 Greenhouse Effect & Global Warming

Effects of Global Warming

 Melting of polar ice caps

 Ecological imbalance