ABSTRACT
The natural greenhouse effect is one of the reasons that we can thrive on this earth. Greenhouse gases such as CO2, CH4 and N2O are transparent for the short-wave radiation from the sun, but they absorb part of the long-wave radiation (heat) emitted from the earth back into space. Without the natural blanket of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (i.e. if the atmosphere contained only oxygen and nitrogen) the average temperature on earth would be –18°C instead of the more comfortable +15°C of today. The enhanced greenhouse effect is caused by increased emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activities, and this causes an increase in global mean surface and tropospheric temperature.
