Related topics: carbon dioxide
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
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with greenhouse gas
Study: Earth's polar ice sheets vulnerable to even moderate global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
7 hours ago |
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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 ...
NASA Calculates a Carbon Budget for California
6 hours ago |
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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 ...
Science not faked, but not pretty
Dec 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- E-mails stolen from climate scientists show they stonewalled skeptics and discussed hiding data - but the messages don't support claims that the science of global warming was faked, according to an ...
Stolen e-mails embolden climate change skeptics
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- At a critical time, the uproar over stolen e-mails suggesting scientists suppressed contrary views about climate change has emboldened skeptics - including congressional Republicans looking to scuttle President Barack ...
Researchers engineer bacteria to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The genetically modified cyanobacterium consumes carbon dioxide and produces the liquid fuel isobutanol by using energy from sunlight.
UN talks: Rich nations must make big emission cuts
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Wealthy nations would commit to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, and the world should strive to nearly eliminate them - or at least cut them in half - by 2050 under ...
Developing countries end boycott at climate talks
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Poor countries ended a boycott of U.N. climate talks Monday after getting assurances that rich nations were not conspiring to soften their commitments to cutting greenhouse gases, European officials ...
From greenhouse to icehouse -- reconstructing the environment of the Voring Plateau
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
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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.
NASA Outlines Recent Breakthroughs in Greenhouse Gas Research (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops
Dec 13, 2009 |
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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 ...
New Study Turns Up the Heat on Soot's Role in Himalayan Warming (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(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 ...
US-China showdown still looms over climate talks
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- In a showdown between the world's two largest polluters, China accused the United States and other rich nations Tuesday of backsliding on fighting global warming and the top U.S. envoy said Chinese ...
World's mayors tackle climate change on their own
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- It isn't easy getting Italy's city dwellers out of their Fiats, off their Vespa scooters and onto bicycles to ride to work, "like here in Copenhagen," says an Italian environmental official.
Breakthrough in monitoring tropical deforestation announced in Copenhagen
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Tropical forest destruction accounts for some 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But quantifying these emissions has not been easy, particularly for tropical nations. New technology, developed by a team ...
Old hay and Alpine ibex horns reveal how grasslands respond to climate change
Dec 10, 2009 |
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How do plant ecosystems react to rising concentrations of the greenhouse gas CO2 in the atmosphere over the long term? This fundamental question is becoming increasingly pressing in light of global climate ...
