Greenhouse effect

This article is a stub and is being actively worked on.

The Greenhouse Effect (or "atmospheric effect") is a general attribute of planets and moons with atmospheres. It is an imbalance between surface radiation and top-of-atmosphere radiation due to the presence of greenhouse gases. For example, in the case of the Earth, the surface emits 390 W/m² (averaged over a year and the whole surface), but the emission at the top of the atmosphere is 235 W/m², giving a global-average greenhouse effect of 155 W/m². The top-of-atmosphere outgoing radiation balances the incoming 235 W/m² of solar radiation (342 W/m² incident minus 107 W/m² reflected). The term "greenhouse effect" is something of a misnomer, since actual greenhouses operate by a different mechanism.

External Links

• [1]Astrobiology article on Titan's very unusual greenhouse.

Additional Bibliography

• Houghton, JT, 19977. The Physics of Atmospheres, 3rd Ed, Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Thomas, GE, and K Stamnes, 1999. Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere and Ocean, Cambridge Univ. Press.