What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
The enhanced greenhouse effect is an increase in the greenhouse effect. It results from atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. What is the enhanced greenhouse effect caused by? Most scientists think that the causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect are the concentrations in the atmosphere. Here are some examples of the enhanced greenhouse effect carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, per fluorocarbons, hydro fluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride. Also, some more things are deforestation, human activities, burning of fossil fuels, and manufacturing processes. These activities contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect. Finally, you probably want to know something about the greenhouse gases I named. Carbon dioxide is what humans exhale during the breathing process. It is also a by-product of combustion engines and many manufacturing plants.
We humans have been raising the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of agriculture around 200 years ago. Since that time, many other greenhouse gases have increased on our account. Increased levels of greenhouse gases will continue a pattern of increasing the trappings of infrared radiation. This means that the atmosphere is likely to warm, changing climate and weather patterns. This enhanced greenhouse effect is what we are focusing on when we refer to greenhouse warming and the warming of the planet by the additional effects of human activity which change the Earth’s atmospheric composition.
• What are the greenhouse gases? • Where do greenhouse gases come from? • What is wrong with global warming? • What can be done to stop global warming? What is the atmosphere? This section introduces the structure and importance of the atmosphere. It includes a diagram of the structure of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a 500 km thick layer, composed of a mixture of gases, which protects the planet from the Sun’s harmful radiation, allows us to breathe and helps maintain the temperature of the planet. The atmosphere has several different layers. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, and extends to an altitude of between 10 – 20 km from the Earth’s surface. It is within the troposphere that clouds and weather systems occur. Approximately 80 – 90% of the mass of the atmosphere is in the troposphere.
The atmosphere surrounding the earth maintains a habitable temperature and can sustain life. It is comprised of naturally occurring greenhouse gases that trap the heat from the sun and warm the surface of the Earth – otherwise called the Greenhouse Effect. Although many natural factors influence the Earth’s climate, human activities such as burning fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas, agriculture, urbanisation and land clearing are generating additional greenhouse gases. Scientists are convinced this is resulting in higher temperatures as more heat is trapped within the atmosphere; an effect described as the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect. Should the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect create climatic changes of the magnitude predicted by CSIRO scientists, it would have practical implications for water resources, urban infrastructure, agriculture and biodiversity.
Since the industrial revolution and expansion of agriculture around 200 years ago, we have been raising the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the global atmosphere. Levels of other greenhouse gases have also increased because of human activities. Higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere will lead to increased trapping of infrared radiation. The lower atmosphere is likely to warm, changing weather and climate. Thus, the enhanced greenhouse effect is additional to the natural greenhouse effect and is due to human activity changing the make-up of the atmosphere. (The enhanced greenhouse effect is often referred to as global warming.
