Which Greenhouse Gas Is Most Effective At Absorbing Longwave Radiation That Is Released Into Space?

The absorption of infrared radiation from Earth back to space is crucial to the global energy balance. The atmosphere stores more energy near the Earth’s surface, with only 78Wm−2 being absorbed by it. Greenhouse gases absorb both long-wave and short-wave radiation, with nitrogen oxide (N2O) absorbing in narrow wavelength ranges and carbon dioxide having a more complex absorption spectrum.

The spectral long-wave feedback parameter represents how Earth’s outgoing long-wave radiation adjusts to temperature changes and directly impacts the atmosphere. Water vapor 1) (H₂O) absorbs the most outgoing longwave radiation per pound of gas due to its broad absorption spectrum that extends across the infrared region, where most of Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation falls.

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, absorb most of the Earth’s emitted longwave infrared radiation, which heats the Earth. Human activities worldwide release greenhouse gases in the troposphere, which emit more thermal radiation. Carbon dioxide strongly absorbs energy with a wavelength of 15 μm (micrometers), making it a good absorber of wavelengths falling in the troposphere.

Greenhouse gases in dense air near the surface absorb most of the longwave radiation emitted by the warm surface. Water vapor is considered more important than carbon dioxide because it absorbs more of the longwave radiation. The absorption of longwave radiation by carbon dioxide plays a crucial role in the Earth’s energy balance.

What greenhouse gas absorbs the most heat?

Methane Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that absorbs more heat than carbon dioxide. It is found in small quantities in the atmosphere but significantly impacts global warming. The greenhouse effect is a natural process where solar energy absorbed at Earth’s surface is radiated back into the atmosphere as heat. As the heat moves through the atmosphere and back out to space, greenhouse gases absorb much of it. These gases are more complex than other gas molecules in the atmosphere, with a structure that can absorb heat.

They radiate the heat back to Earth’s surface, another greenhouse gas molecule, or out to space. As greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, causing the planet’s climate to warm.

Where is outgoing longwave radiation highest?

The Stefan-Boltzmann law states that the longwave radiation emitted by Earth is influenced by the temperature of the emitting surface. A difference of about 50°C between the equator and the poles corresponds to a variation in the emitted thermal radiation of about 50 W m-2. The presence of clouds and water vapor also has a significant influence, as water vapor absorbs part of the infra-red radiation emitted by the surface before re-emitting radiation, generally at a lower temperature.

This results in less outgoing longwave radiation, with maximum outgoing longwave radiation found above warm, dry areas like subtropical deserts. Wet equatorial areas generally emit less radiation than dry tropical areas.

Outgoing longwave radiation shows less latitudinal variation than the net incoming solar radiation absorbed by the Earth. Absorbed solar radiation outbalances outgoing radiation in regions between 40°S and 40°N, while a net deficit in the net radiative flux at the top of the atmosphere (RF TOA) is observed poleward of 40°N and 40°S. RF TOA also displays some longitudinal variations, with the most spectacular being the net negative flux over the Sahara due to dry conditions and high albedo of its sand.

What greenhouse gases absorb longwave radiation?

Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the most abundant greenhouse gases, absorbing long wave radiation from the Sun and re-emitting it in all directions. About half of the re-emitted long wave radiation escapes into space, contributing to the planet’s radiative equilibrium. The other half is directed back toward the Earth’s surface, causing a continuous exchange of long wave radiation between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere above it. This causes the greenhouse effect, which traps the energy beneath the atmosphere, resulting in a warmer climate on Earth than would be possible without an atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is a result of the atmosphere trapping the energy beneath it, allowing solar energy to penetrate Earth’s atmosphere but preventing much of the long wave radiation from escaping to space.

Which two gases are good absorbers of longwave radiation emitted from Earth?

Greenhouse gases absorb most of Earth’s emitted longwave infrared radiation, which heats the lower atmosphere and emits longwave radiation, some of which radiates toward the Earth’s surface. As concentrations of greenhouse gases increase, the lower atmosphere’s temperature is restricted, leading to global warming or climate change. To understand climate change, scientists must determine the drivers of changes within the Earth’s radiation budget.

NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument accurately measures shortwave and longwave radiation, while other NASA instruments monitor changes in other aspects of the Earth’s climate system, such as clouds, aerosol particles, and surface reflectivity.

What are the most absorbing greenhouse gases?

Greenhouse gases, such as CH4 and N2O, are crucial for maintaining Earth’s temperature for life. They absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation from the Sun, causing the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere to warm. CH4 is 23 times more effective than N2O, while CO2 is 296 times more effective than CO2. The natural greenhouse effect, which occurs when most of the infrared radiation from the Sun passes through the atmosphere, is absorbed and re-emitted by greenhouse gas molecules and clouds.

This results in the Earth’s average temperature of about -20°C. Greenhouse gases also increase the rate at which the atmosphere can absorb short-wave radiation from the Sun, but this has a weaker effect on global temperatures.

Which two gases are good absorbers of longwave radiation?

Greenhouse gases absorb most of Earth’s emitted longwave infrared radiation, which heats the lower atmosphere and emits longwave radiation, some of which radiates toward the Earth’s surface. As concentrations of greenhouse gases increase, the lower atmosphere’s temperature is restricted, leading to global warming or climate change. To understand climate change, scientists must determine the drivers of changes within the Earth’s radiation budget.

NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument accurately measures shortwave and longwave radiation, while other NASA instruments monitor changes in other aspects of the Earth’s climate system, such as clouds, aerosol particles, and surface reflectivity.

Which two gases are the most effective at absorbing longwave radiation?

Greenhouse gases absorb most of Earth’s emitted longwave infrared radiation, which heats the lower atmosphere and emits longwave radiation, some of which radiates toward the Earth’s surface. As concentrations of greenhouse gases increase, the lower atmosphere’s temperature is restricted, leading to global warming or climate change. To understand climate change, scientists must determine the drivers of changes within the Earth’s radiation budget.

NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument accurately measures shortwave and longwave radiation, while other NASA instruments monitor changes in other aspects of the Earth’s climate system, such as clouds, aerosol particles, and surface reflectivity.

What greenhouse gas absorbs the most longwave radiation?

The expert-verified answer is that water vapor (H₂O) exhibits the greatest absorption of outgoing longwave radiation per unit mass of gas.

What gases strongly absorb outgoing longwave radiation and re emit it again as heat?

The global greenhouse effect refers to the process by which longwave radiation emitted at Earth’s surface is trapped within the atmosphere. This process is influenced by various factors such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and liquid water droplets. The greenhouse effect causes the atmosphere to warm, with clear nights with dry air being colder than humid nights with thick cloud cover. This is because more longwave energy escapes to space on clear nights, while overcast nights absorb energy within the atmosphere, which is reradiated back to the surface.

The two nearest planets in our solar system have different greenhouse conditions. Venus, closer to the sun and with more greenhouse gases, has a hot atmosphere and surface, while Mars has a thin atmosphere with low greenhouse gases, allowing solar insolation to escape and travel back into space.

What is the most important greenhouse gas for retaining a variety of outgoing longwave radiation?

The natural greenhouse effect is a process where gases like nitrogen oxide, water vapor, and methane control the amount of heat retained by the Earth’s atmosphere. The sun provides the energy that drives Earth’s climate and weather by influencing atmospheric and surface processes. The sun’s radiation energy, primarily in the form of visible, short wave, and long wave radiation, travels through space and impacts the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of the sun’s energy is reflected back to space by the outer atmosphere, while the remainder passes through the space-atmosphere boundary.

The atmosphere absorbs different types of radiation to varying degrees. Oxygen, in the form of diatomic oxygen (O2) and triatomic oxygen (O3), is the most important absorber of incoming radiation in the atmosphere. High in the atmosphere, diatomic oxygen (O2) absorbs radiation with wavelengths less than 240 nanometers, while at lower altitudes, ozone (O3) absorbs radiation within the globally encircling stratospheric ozone layer with wavelengths mainly between 200 to 300 nanometers. This incoming solar radiation is strong enough to break bonds holding diatomic oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3) molecules together, causing them to split.

What are the absorbers of longwave radiation?

Greenhouse gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone, absorb longwave radiation in the atmosphere. The absorption of these gases depends on their specific absorption bands, determined by their molecular structure and energy levels. Each type of greenhouse gas has a unique group of absorption bands that correspond to specific wavelengths of radiation it can absorb. The OLR balance is affected by clouds, dust, and aerosols in the atmosphere. Clouds block upwelling longwave radiation penetration, reducing the flux to higher altitudes. They also absorb and scatter longwave radiation, reducing outgoing radiation.