GEL 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Electromagnetic Spectrum, Radiant Flux, Positive Feedback
Document Summary
What makes a greenhouse gas a greenhouse gas". The role of clouds in earth"s energy budget: composition of the atmosphere. Water vapor: <<0. 05% cold air --- 4% by volume warm air. Methane (ch4) is 24 times more powerful than co2. Ozone (o3) is the only gas that absorbs uv radiation from sun. Without the natural greenhouse effect, earth would be 33c cooler: greenhouse effect: the earth"s energy budget. Greenhouse effect: atmospheric processes that temporarily absorb, store and cycle heat energy (radiation) = radiative forcing of climate: heat energy as electromagnetic radiation. What comes in does not match what goes out. Transfer of heat energy as a stream of particles (photons) moving in a wave like motion. Electromagnetic radiation can be considered as a combination of electric and magnetic waves that moves at the speed of light. Long wave lengths travel slower, shorter travels faster. Full range of electromagnetic radiation = electromagnetic spectrum: what makes a gas a greenhouse gas.
