B.2 Greenhouse effect - Key terms

the natural effect that a planet’s atmosphere has on reducing the amount of radiation emitted into space, resulting in a planet warmer than it would be without an atmosphere

the reduction in radiation emitted into space from Earth due to an increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (especially carbon dioxide) caused by human activities; believed by most scientists to be the cause of global warming

changes in the climate due to human activities, also called global warming

the Sun and all the other objects that orbit around it

simplified visualization (imitation) of a real physical system and how it changes with time, usually part of a computer modelling process

intensity of the Sun’s radiation arriving perpendicularly on an area above the Earth’s atmosphere

the total scattered or reflected power/total incident power (on part of a planet’s surface), albedo depends on the nature of the surface and inclination of the radiation to the surface

wave (or ray) arriving at an object or a boundary

irregular reflections of waves or particles from their original path by interactions with matter

the power radiated by an object divided by the power radiated from a black body of the same surface area and temperature

structure made mostly from a transparent material (usually glass) used for controlling plant growth

gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, thereby affecting the temperature of the Earth, the principal greenhouse gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, atmospheric concentrations of the last three of these have been increasing significantly in recent years

increasing average temperatures of the Earth’s surface, atmosphere and oceans

burning, release of thermal energy from a chemical reaction between the fuel and oxygen in the air

naturally occurring fossil fuel: mixture of gases (mainly methane)

a fuel is a store of chemical or nuclear energy that can be used to do useful work, naturally occurring fuels that have been produced by the effects of high pressure and temperature on dead organisms (in the absence of oxygen) over a period of millions of years, coal, oil and natural gas are all fossil fuels

energy sources that take a very long time to form and which are being rapidly used up (depleted), oil, natural gas and coal

two or more scientists sharing information or working together on the same project

a complex computerized model that attempts to predict the future climate of the planet, especially how it will be affected by global warming

there is a correlation between two sets of varying data if they show similarities that would not be expected to occur because of chance alone

energy from sources that will continue to be available for our use for a very long time, they cannot be used up (depleted), except in billions of years, when the Sun reaches the end of its lifetime