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The greenhouse effect is illustrated here. Arrow pointing from the sun through the clear atmosphere to the earth - solar radiation passes through the clear atmosphere and most radiation is absorbed by the earth’s surface and warms it. Reflecting arrows pointing from the sun to the earth and then back to the clear atmosphere - some solar radiation is reflected by the earth and the atmosphere. Arrows pointing from earth through greenhouse gas molecules to all directions – infrared radiation is emitted from the earth’s surface, and some of the infrared radiation passes through the atmosphere, and some is absorbed and re-emitted in all directions by greenhouse gas molecules. The effect of this is to warm the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere. Too much carbon dioxide in the air is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural warming process on earth. Carbon dioxide along with other similar gases trap excess heat energy given off from the earth, holding the heat in close to the earth. The carbon dioxide acts like rolling up the windows of your car on a hot day.


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