Question

In DETAIL explain how the greenhouse effect works and why this is important to life as we know it on earth.

Answer 1

Green house effect:

It is a naturally occurring phenomenon,which is responsible for heating of the earth's surface and atmosphere.Out of the sun's radiation reaching the outermost layer of atmosphere 1/4th is reflected by clouds and gases and some of it is absorbed.

Half of solar radiation falls on earth's surface and heats it up.The earth's surface reflects back the heat in the form of infrared radiation.A part of this is absorbed by atmospheric gases like methane etc.The molecules of these gases radiate heat energy that again comes back to the earth's surface and heats it up again.

The above gases are called Green house gases and the effect is called Green house effect.

Without green house effect the average temperature of the earth's surface would have been 18° C rather than the present average of around 14-15°C.

Green house effect leads to global warming which leads to rise in temperature of earth which causes environmental changes making the survival difficult.Global warming also causes EL NINO effect responsible for melting of polar ice caps causing the sea levels to increase leading to submerging of many coastal areas of the world.

Green house effect leads to natural calamities, environment changes, etc. all of which become a threat to survival of living organisms.