Types of Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide (CO 2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2016, CO 2 accounted for about 81.6% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
© Sergiy Serdyuk/Fotolia. Of the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO 2) is the most prominent. Sources of atmospheric CO 2 include volcanoes, the combustion and decay of organic matter, respiration by aerobic (oxygen-using) organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels, clearing of land, and production of cement by humans.
Greenhouse gases absorb this energy, thereby allowing less heat to escape back to space, and 'trapping' it in the lower atmosphere. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide, while others are synthetic. Those that are man-made include the
Greenhouse gases — Gases that contribute to the warming of Earth ’ s atmosphere. Examples include carbon dioxide, HCFCs, CFCs, and HFCs. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — Chemical compounds that contain hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms.
Methane is the primary component of natural gas – a common fuel source. Why are we concerned about it? If methane is allowed to leak into the air before being used—from a leaky pipe, for instance—it absorbs the sun's heat, warming the atmosphere. For this reason, it's considered a greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide.
greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is the world's leading non-profit oceanographic research organization. Our mission is to explore and understand the ocean and to educate scientists, students, decision-makers, and the public.
Nitrous oxide (N 2 O): Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste. Fluorinated gases: Hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes.
Greenhouse gases absorb this energy, thereby allowing less heat to escape back to space, and 'trapping' it in the lower atmosphere. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide, while others are synthetic.
Ozone is a pale blue gas, soluble in water (H2O), albeit extremely soluble in solvents that are non-polar, like fluorocarbons or carbon tetrachloride, while Greenhouse Gases are composed of water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and Ozone.
In that case, the effect of adding more water vapor would be cooling rather than warming. But cloud cover does mean more condensed water in the atmosphere, making for a stronger greenhouse effect than non-condensed water vapor alone – it is warmer on a cloudy winter day than on a clear one.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is caused by the atmospheric accumulation of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which contain some of the heat emitted from Earth's surface.