An alarmist scientist will equate 400ppm of CO2 (that's 4 molecules of CO2 per 10,000 atmospheric molecules for pegminer) as the most significant and influential greenhouse gas since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Although water vapor has 3 to 8 times the "effect" than that of CO2 as a greenhouse gas according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_... , science has yet to change the scientific make-up and influence of each greenhouse gas in our atmosphere. But that's just another battle that climate science is soon to wage against scientific intelligence.
From my link : " ... It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes an exact percentage of the greenhouse effect. This is because some of the gases absorb and emit radiation at the same frequencies as others, so that the total greenhouse effect is not simply the sum of the influence of each gas. The higher ends of the ranges quoted are for each gas alone; the lower ends account for overlaps with the other gases.[17][18] In addition, some gases such as methane are known to have large indirect effects that are still being quantified.[25] ... "
I don't know what you mean by "structure of the atmosphere".
The greenhouse effect is caused by reaction of greenhouse molecules to infrared radiation. Sunlight come through the atmosphere as light, hot shortwave radiation. It passes through largely uninterrupted by the atmosphere, hits the earth's surface, is converted to heat and heads back out to space as long-wave radiation (or infrared). The long-wave radiation causes the greenhouse molecules to vibrate, which redirects the energy in all directions: up, down and to other molecules. This causes the energy to stay longer in the atmosphere, to take longer to escape to space. Thus, heat builds in the atmosphere and the atmosphere is warmed.
The greenhouse effect is a result of the atmosphere and it's strength is dictated by the composition of the atmosphere.
I wish you were more clear about your question regarding the "structure" of the atmosphere.
if the oceans get hot enough all the methane will boil to the surface and dissolve the stratosphere.
The simplest way to understand it is to imagine that you could see the infrared photons that CO2 molecules absorb and re-emit in a random direction. As CO2 levels rise, the air would look foggier. Since those wavelengths carry a big part of the heat energy that radiates out into space, after sunlight heats the surface, that fog slows the release of heat into space.
But, in the long run, the heat arriving has to equal the heat leaving, or the surface temperature will change to force this to be the case. A warmer surface temperature will emit lots more infrared photons to run the gauntlet of green house gas absorption and re-emission, until the photons escaping this plinko mechanism, catch up to the energy arriving, from the sun. This is the principle of the greenhouse.
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Regards,
John Popelish
Please explain in the simplest way possible. I would really appreciate it!
