They say that the Sun heats up the Earth, and the pollutants reflect the heat back down into Earth, causing it to gradually get warmer. If these pollutants really are reflecting the heat back to Earth, why aren't they reflecting the heat away as well? Shouldn't the pollutants reflect the same amount of heat away as they reflects back in?
2006-12-14 13:58:58 · 9 answers · asked by CHAD K 2 in Environment
You are correct. Aerosolized pollutants have indeed reduced the amount of radiant sunlight from reaching the earth. This is the only thing that saved us from the full effect of global warming thus far.
2006-12-14 14:30:51 · answer #1 · answered by hyperhealer3 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a bit more complicated. For example, ice reflects back 90% of the heat while water absorbs 90% of the heat. As the ice melts, there is water that heats up instead of reflecting the heat back. So, not as much is getting reflected back up speeding up the process. When heat energy is reflected back up into space, not as much leaves as it used to leave when it was clear. Think of dropping a thousand balls at once on a floor through a grid. Almost all would all get through even if their angle of descent changed. When they bounced back though, the grid would be enough to stop those that didn't make it through a clear hole from leaving. Gore's movie and book, "An Inconvenient Truth" has a good cartoon explaining this. A further problem is this is also creating a colder layer higher in the atmosphere that could invert with the warmer layer (where the pollutants are) causing some serious storms.
2006-12-14 22:22:46 · answer #2 · answered by Rusty W 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When the light comes from the sun some frequencies are reflected back to space by ozone, and some reach the ground.
once the radiant energy is absorbed by the earth, the earth warms. the heated substances on the earth release the absorbed light in infrared frequency, that is absorbed by greenhouse gasses trapping the heat in our atmosphere.
normally some of these infrared rays would be trapped in our atmosphere by naturally occuring greenhouse gases as a normal process of keeping our planet warm enough to sustain most organisms, however; many of the processes we use in our normal lives as humans create more greehouse gasses than occur normally, traping more infrared waves as heat energy in our atmosphere.
2006-12-14 22:12:47 · answer #3 · answered by qncyguy21 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Others have said this, but I think it could be clearer.
Visible light from the sun passes through the atmosphere and strikes the earth. The greenhouse gases are transparent to visible light.
Striking the Earth converts the visible light to infrared light, also known as heat. The greenhouse gases block the infrared light (heat), holding it in.
2006-12-15 01:34:47 · answer #4 · answered by Bob 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What are reflected back to Earth are the lower light frequencies towards the infrared = heath.
Clouds also do that. You must consider days and nights.
When we have clear skies the nights are colder. It is because the heath of the day without any obstacles such as the clouds is irradiated quickly into space.
2006-12-14 22:09:11 · answer #5 · answered by PragmaticAlien 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Greenhouse gases do not "reflect" heat. They absorb heat, keeping it in the atmosphere and preventing it from getting back out into space.
2006-12-15 00:57:50 · answer #6 · answered by Keith P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is like a mirror, light only can reflect on the side of the mirror where you have the light source. Nice question though.
2006-12-14 22:02:20 · answer #7 · answered by Alex 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because the heat from the sun is in a different frequency so it easily gets through polutants, as soon as it bounces off the ground, its frequency changes, and it can no longer get through the clouds
2006-12-14 22:02:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, but when the heat comes in it stays in better because the polluntants act as a insulator so they stay in longer and better.
2006-12-14 22:02:26 · answer #9 · answered by Never Sell Low 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋