I wish the person who shared this with me had put their name to the presentation - if it was you, please let me know if you would prefer not to have it on Slideshare. Alternatively, contact me and I will credit your name to this presentation.

1. Unit 3 Environmental Science: The greenhouse effect

6. Atmospheric processes Figure 2.1: Radiation emitted by the sun Energy from the sun - solar radiation – is a form of electromagnetic energy and contains radiation in various wavelengths of the spectrum. The yellow line in the graph in Figure 2.1 shows the amount of energy in solar radiation contained in the different wavelengths, with the greatest energy in visible light (43%), less in long wave infrared (IR) and less again as shortwave ultraviolet (UV). Wavelengths shorter than visible light account for only 7 - 8% of the total, but are extremely important because of their high energy per photon.

8. The greenhouse effect Figure 2.3: The destiny of incoming solar radiation. The remaining energy (51%) is absorbed by the Earth’s land, oceans and vegetation. It heats the Earth’s surface and provides energy to melt ice and snow, evaporate water, create wind and air and ocean currents, and provide energy for photosynthesis. As incoming solar radiation passes through the atmosphere, a proportion of the energy (26%) is reflected back to space by clouds and other atmospheric particles, while some of the energy (19%), mostly in the form of infrared radiation, is absorbed by clouds, gases and particles in the atmosphere. Of the remaining 55% of the solar energy passing through the Earth's atmosphere, 4% is reflected from the Earth’s surface back to space.