Who proposed the existence of heat-trapping gases in 1824?
Joseph Fourier proposed the existence of heat-trapping gases in 1824. He argued that Earth's atmosphere retains solar energy to keep the planet warmer than it would be otherwise.
Joseph Fourier proposed the existence of heat-trapping gases in 1824. He argued that Earth's atmosphere retains solar energy to keep the planet warmer than it would be otherwise.
Eunice Newton Foote demonstrated specific warming effects in 1856. Her experiments revealed that air containing water vapour warms more than dry air and that carbon dioxide produces an even greater heating effect.
Greenhouse gases absorb approximately 90% of this outgoing longwave radiation. Only 239 watts per square meter reaches space from a surface emitting 398 watts per square meter.
The global average surface temperature increases at a rate of 0.18 degrees Celsius per decade since 1981. Global warming of about 1 degree Celsius has occurred since the Industrial Revolution.
Venus exhibits a particularly large greenhouse effect because its dense atmosphere consists of about 97 percent carbon dioxide. Without a greenhouse effect, Venus would have an expected temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius despite being closer to the Sun.