So how does
this create a greenhouse effect? The greenhouse effect occurs because
the atmosphere is relatively transparent to the wavelengths of solar radiation, while it absorbs infrared
radiation. So a large chunk of the sunÕs
radiation makes it to the earthÕs surface. At the
same time, the atmosphere containing greenhouse gases absorbs the radiation emitted by the earthÕs
surface, and re-emits it back to the surface, increasing the total energy the
surface receives. This forces the
earthÕs surface to
become warmer than it would be otherwise.
