Essay on 8.3 the Sun Powers Earth`S Climate System

10. What happens when infrared radiation hits the greenhouse gas molecules? How does the temperature change as a result?

When the atmosphere is warmed it emits IR radiation, with a portion of the energy acting to warm the surface and the Earth?s atmosphere. As a result the average surface temperature of the Earth is higher than it would normally be without the atmospheric absorption and re-radiation of IR energy. This is known as the ?Greenhouse effect?. The predictions of the future of these greenhouse gasses being in our atmosphere is based on how much we put into the atmosphere and how much is consumed. One thing is for certain, there are still large controversies on how much of these gasses that are let into the atmosphere are by natural or man made processes. (2-453-454)

The natural gases that are trapped in the atmosphere that warms the earth and keeps earth climate livable is commonly known as the Greenhouse effect.

a) The Milky Way is an island of hundreds of billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity to form a disk

The sun power and warm’s are earth, as two thirds of solar-energy enter our atmosphere as visible-light, the greenhouse effect absorbs the solar-energy to keeping the earth warm and later releases one third back into outer space. Without the “natural greenhouse effect” the earth's temperature would be below 32 degrees fahrenheit (The freezing point of water). The burning of fossil fuels as an energy source releases a variety of gasses such as Methane, nitrous oxide, and CO2 adding to the greenhouse effect. Because of this heat is kept longer, warming our atmosphere and causing what we know as global warming. One of the issues with global warming, is the destruction of ice polar caps that contributes to the rise of the ocean level, and causes

But many climate scientists will tell you that this change in climate is due to humans and their activities. It is said that humans release greenhouse gases and “if emissions continue unchecked, they say the global warming could ultimately exceed 8 degrees Fahrenheit, which would transform the planet and undermine its capacity to support a large human population” (Gillis, 2015). To make it easier to understand, as sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface there are two things that can be done, one; it can either be reflected back into space or two, it can be absorbed by the Earth. Once the Earth absorbs the sunlight, it then releases some energy back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation, also known as heat. Then these greenhouse gases tend to act like a “blanket,” therefore making the Earth warmer than it would be otherwise. This process is what we call the “greenhouse effect.” The reason scientists say that climate change is caused by humans is that it’s simple, humans drive, cook food, and even heat or cool their homes, which release gases such as, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4 ), and water vapor (H2O).

The Earth absorbs solar energy and most of this energy is later released as heat, or IR radiation.

The radiation is usually visible light that includes infrared rays and ultraviolet rays. About 30 percent of the radiation that makes it to the Earth’s atmosphere is automatically reflected back into space by clouds. The rest of the radiation, about 70 percent, is absorbed and heats the atmosphere and the earth’s surface. Latitudes between 23-½ degrees north and 23-½ south the sun is directly overhead twice a year. Therefore, the radiation reaching the atmosphere is the most intense, in these cases. In tropical latitudes, there is not much difference in the amount of solar heating between summer and winter but on average, monthly temperatures do not usually change during the year. However, from the Tropic of Cancer to the artic circle and from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle, solar heating is greater in summer rather than in winter, making summers warmer than winters.

Earth’s temperature depends on the balance between heat entering and leaving the planet system. Sun emits energy to earth. When gases accumulate in the atmosphere they absorb or slow the amount of energy that goes

From there the gases in the atmosphere reabsorbs it and lengthens the waves even more and redirects them to go in every direction, both leaving the earth and towards the earth. The radius of the earth is about 6378 kilometers, making the total surface area 510 million kilometers. Out of all of this area to hit, the sun sends out around 12.2 trillion watt-hours per square mile per year. The location of where the light hits the earth and its albedo is another major factor on how much energy will reflect and absorb. Near the poles of the earth snow covers most of the land, snow reflecting the most light causes very little of the energy to be absorbed by the surface. On the other hand, the equator being directly hit by light and having a lot of light absorbing water, causes more energy to be absorbed and heat the surface. The most accepted estimate on how much energy is being absorbed at the equator is around 70% being absorbed while the other 30% is being reflected back into the atmosphere and beyond. With the average albedo being around .35 we can estimate the amount of energy being absorbed by the earth is around 4.27 trillion watt-hours per square mile per year and 7.93 trillion watt-hours per square mile per year being sent back

One hypothesis is that changes in the sun’s energy output would cause the climate to change since the sun is the fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system (NASA, nd.). Since the sun goes through the same life and death cycle as any star, as it uses its hydrogen fuel the sun will grow hotter and hotter each year. This gradual heating will melt all the ice and turn Earth into a scorching planet such as Venus (NASA, nd.)

After examining the figures in the illustration, discuss the difference the greenhouse effect plays in the atmosphere of the Moon, Earth, and Venus.

Electricity production, the source of most modern technologies is mainly produced by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal. The constant burning of these fuels produce greenhouse gas emissions which integrate into the atmosphere blocking heat from escaping the earth. The sun rays that penetrate the earth’s atmosphere heat the earth’s lithosphere and then radiate back towards space. With the increase of greenhouse gasses, a higher percentage of rebound from the sun rays is absorbed and trapped by the gases, causing additional heating on the earth’s surface.

As we know, the sun provides two obvious things; heat and light. We can see well during the day, and during the summer months of the year,

As shortwave radiation from the sun reaches the Earth, about eighteen percent of this radiation is absorbed into the atmosphere. The remaining energy is reflected back or absorbed by the Earth. This reflection is known as albedo. Objects with a higher reflectivity have a higher albedo and vice versa. Similar to the sun, the Earth and its atmosphere also emit radiation. Because the Earth is much cooler than the sun, this radiation is in the form of longwave radiation (Nature of Radiation Lecture). Although, not all of this radiation exits the Earth’s atmosphere, some of this radiation is absorbed back into the Earth. This is known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gasses absorb radiation. This radiation is emitted by greenhouse gasses and absorbed into the Earth, which in turn, heats up the surface of the Earth. By increasing the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the temperature will continue to rise. In the polar regions of