What Are Greenhouse Gases?You may wish to comment – at the bottom of each page; no email needed to do that. Comments will be moderated before being published. The email address for this web site is in the profile. Your back links and recommendations are appreciated.
Generally, they are gases that cause the Earth to heat up, in action similar to glass in a greenhouse. They are those gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, nitrous oxide, and methane, that are transparent to solar radiation but opaque to long wave radiation. Energy Information Administration - Official Energy Statistics from the US Government
| Water vapor – H20 | 36-70% | |
| The balance | 100% of the balance (30-64%) consists of: | |
| Carbon Dioxide – CO2 | 76% | |
| Methane – CH4 (1 molecule traps 21 times more heat than CO2) | 13% | |
| Nitrous Oxide – N20 (1 molecule traps 270 times more heat than CO2) | 6% | |
| Fluorocarbons | 5% |
Some greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases:
Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.
Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock. More information on methane.
Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.
Very powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring include fluorocabons such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety of industrial processes.
Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere. HFCs and PFCs are the most heat-absorbent. Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. Often, estimates of greenhouse gas emissions are presented in units of millions of metric tons of carbon equivalents (MMTCE), which weights each gas by its GWP value, or Global Warming Potential.”
“Greenhouse effect: A popular term used to describe the roles of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in keeping the Earth's surface warmer than it would otherwise be. These radioactively active gases are relatively transparent to incoming shortwave radiation, but are relatively opaque to outgoing long wave radiation. The latter radiation, which would otherwise escape to space, is trapped by greenhouse gases within the lower levels of the atmosphere. The subsequent reradiation of some of the energy back to the Earth maintains higher surface temperatures than would occur if the gases were absent. There is concern that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons, may enhance the greenhouse effect and cause global warming.
The reverse effect is cause by “Sinks”
“What Are Sinks?
A sink is a reservoir that uptakes a chemical element or compound from another part of its cycle. For example, soil and trees tend to act as natural sinks for carbon – each year hundreds of billions of tons of carbon in the form of CO2 are absorbed by oceans, soils, and trees.
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