Heat emitted from Earth's surface is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere and then reradiated back to the surface Here 100 energy units = 556e24J/year, the total annual solar energy received averages 342 W/m^@ over theGreenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is a warming of Earth's surface and the air above it It is caused by gases in the air that trap energy from the Sun These heattrapping gases are called greenhouse gases The most common greenhouse gases areQuantitative analysis Energy flows between space, the atmosphere, and Earth's surface, with greenhouse gases in the atmosphere capturing a substantial portion of the heat reflected from the earth's surface The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without this
8 1 Earth S Heat Budget Introduction To Oceanography