Heating the Atmosphere

Honors Earth Science

Of the sun’s rays that enter our atmosphere, …

20% are absorbed (gamma, x-rays, UV)

30% are reflected

50% of the sun’s rays are not used to heat the

earth!

Only 50% of the sun’s rays heat the earth!

How is the atmosphere heated?

1. The sun heats the ground.

2. The ground heats the atmosphere.

3. The greenhouse effect helps to trap the heat in the atmosphere along with the clouds.

The sun heats the ground, the GROUND heats the ATMOSPHERE!

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The Greenhouse Effect

The Greenhouse Effect is…

• the trapping of heat in the troposphere by certain gases in the atmosphere.

• The Greenhouse Effect is a natural process that is vital to the earth!

Greenhouse effect gives +32°C warming and allows for liquid H2O to exist on the planet.

Without the Greenhouse Effect, average earth temperature would be a cool, -17°C!

What are greenhouse gases?

1. methane = cattle and other animals, …………… human waste, etc.

Methane … the gas we pass.

2. water vapor = plants (transpiration), evaporating water,

erupting volcanoes

Water VaporIf a desert and a rain forest are the

same temperature

during the day, would they be the

same temperature at night? Why or

why not?

Water Vapor

• Water vapor traps heat in the atmosphere. The more water vapor in the air, the more heat that is trapped.

So…• The desert is cooler at night than the

rainforest because it has less water vapor in the air.

3. carbon dioxide = animals breathing, factories, burning fossil fuels, forest

fires, erupting volcanoes, etc.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide

that is in our atmosphere, the warmer the atmosphere could become.

The Carbon Cycle

If the Greenhouse Effect is natural and necessary, what’s the worry?

CO2, CH4, N2O, CFC’s, O3, H2O vapor

Atmospheric CO2 Data

Ice Core Data

Direct Measurements, Hawaii

Recent Global Warming

Resources• http://www.uk2planets.org.uk/images/gallery/venus_greenhouse%20effect_esa.jpg

• http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/animation/atmosphere/greenhouse_effect.gif

• http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/prep/heat.jpg

• http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/~tbw/wc.notes/2.heating.earth.surface/images/earth.atm.heat.budget.jpg

• http://nesen.unl.edu/lessons/weather/fig19.GIF

• http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/atmosphere/greenhouse.jpg

• http://meted.ucar.edu/mesoprim/mpradfog/media/graphics/5cpix1.gif

• http://coastalartsleague.com/2006JuriedCompetition/Images/htm/ACatagory/images/Sun%20Rays,%20Lassen%20Natl.%20Forest,%202005%20-%20Michael%20Rubin.jpg

• http://www.worldofmolecules.com/fuels/methane.gif• http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/GlobalClimate/Gallery/treec2.gif• http://vit.pp.ru/uploads/pics/no_farting.jpg• http://www.hi.is/~mmh/gos/images/photo1.jpg• http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/images/causes10b.jpg• http://www.esa.int/images/itesa1_887811_forest_fire_L.jpg