52: The Greenhouse Effect Flashcards
What is the problem in the Maldives?
the sea level is rising and it is being swallowed by the sea
What is an archipelago?
set of islands located southwest of India
What is climate?
an area’s long term atmospheric conditions
What are examples of climate?
temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind, etc.
What is weather?
the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time
What is climate influenced by?
the amount of solar radiation
What happens to about 70% of solar radiation?
it is absorbed by the troposphere and the Earth’s surface
What happens to the remaining percentage of solar radiation?
is scattered and bounces off
How does visible light turn into infrared radiation?
as a body absorbs visible light (from sun), its temperature changes and it radiates heat (or infrared radiation)
What is the greenhouse effect?
- when visible light from the sun is absorbed by Earth’s surface, it is reradiated in the form of heat
- the heat is trapped in the lower atmosphere by several gases (greenhouse gases) and then reradiated back to earth
- prevent heat from escaping into space, keeping it trapped in the lower atmosphere close to Earths surface
Is the greenhouse effect natural or human caused?
natural, existed on Earth from way before humans existed
How long have we known about the greenhouse effect?
since the mid 1800s
Is the greenhouse effect good?
very good, without the greenhouse effect, the average Earth temperature would be about –20 C (0F), instead of 15 C (60F)
