Related topics: climate change , carbon dioxide , global warming , greenhouse gas emissions , fossil fuels
Greenhouse gas
hideGreenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. Common greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In our solar system, the atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects. Greenhouse gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth's surface would be on average about 33°C (59°F) colder than at present.
Human activities since the start of the industrial era around 1750 have increased the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The 2007 assessment report compiled by the IPCC observed that "changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, land cover and solar radiation alter the energy balance of the climate system", and concluded that "increases in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations is very likely to have caused most of the increases in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century".
For more information about Greenhouse gas, read the full article at
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News tagged with greenhouse gas
Global warming likely to be amplified by slow changes to Earth systems
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 20, 2009 |
2.6 / 5 (38) |
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Researchers studying a period of high carbon dioxide levels and warm climate several million years ago have concluded that slow changes such as melting ice sheets amplified the initial warming caused by greenhouse ...
Computer simulation strengthens link between climate change and release of subsea methane
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (22) |
35
(PhysOrg.com) -- A first-of-its-kind computer simulation that mirrors real-world observations of methane bubbling up from a seabed in the Arctic Ocean provides further evidence that warming oceans may unleash ...
Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 16, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (45) |
38
A new analysis of the geological record of the Earth's sea level, carried out by scientists at Princeton and Harvard universities and published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, employs a novel statistical approa ...
Acid oceans: the 'evil twin' of climate change
Dec 18, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (19) |
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(AP) -- Far from Copenhagen's turbulent climate talks, the sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters reposing along the shoreline and kelp forests of this protected marine area stand to gain from any global ...
NASA Calculates a Carbon Budget for California
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While world organizations struggle to find a benchmark and tracking standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, NASA has been supporting California’s new carbon emissions inventory report, using its satellite ...
Cornellians build computer climate-change model
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 21, 2009 |
2.7 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are contributing to a new model of climate change that may give more accurate predictions of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth's future.
Clinton: US would help raise billions on climate
Dec 17, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (7) |
4
(AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to put new life into flagging U.N. climate talks Thursday by announcing the U.S. would join others in raising $100 billion a year by 2020 to help ...
Oceans becoming noisier thanks to pollution -- report
Dec 20, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
3
The world's oceans are becoming noisier thanks to pollution, with potentially harmful effects for whales, dolphins and other marine life, US scientists said in a study published Sunday.
Diplomatic frenzy at final day of UN climate talks
Dec 18, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
2
(AP) -- A diplomatic frenzy enveloped the final day of the U.N. climate conference Friday, with President Barack Obama twice meeting privately with China's premier as world leaders pressed to salvage a global ...
Researchers engineer bacteria to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel
Dec 10, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (43) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The genetically modified cyanobacterium consumes carbon dioxide and produces the liquid fuel isobutanol by using energy from sunlight.
From greenhouse to icehouse -- reconstructing the environment of the Voring Plateau
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
1
The analysis of microfossils found in ocean sediment cores is illuminating the environmental conditions that prevailed at high latitudes during a critical period of Earth history.
Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops
Dec 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
Biologists have identified plant enzymes that may help to engineer plants that take advantage of elevated carbon dioxide to use water more efficiently. The finding could help to engineer crops that take advantage of rising ...
NASA, Google offer more precise emissions tracking
Dec 17, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- The question is a potential deal-killer: If nations ever agree to slash greenhouse gas emissions, how will the world know if they live up to their pledges?
NASA Outlines Recent Breakthroughs in Greenhouse Gas Research (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (6) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers studying carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas and a key driver of global climate change, now have a new tool at their disposal: daily global measurements of carbon dioxide ...
New Study Turns Up the Heat on Soot's Role in Himalayan Warming (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Soot from fire in an unventilated fireplace wafts into a home and settles on the surfaces of floors and furniture. But with a quick fix to the chimney flue and some dusting, it bears no impact ...
