A reading to learn about the energy balance of planet Earth and to understand atmospheric warming by using a single-layer atmosphere model.
Students will learn about emissivity and absorptivity. Further, they will learn about the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere by calculating the temperature of a bare blackbody earth and the temperature of a blackbody earth with a 1-layer atmosphere.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
Define emissivity.
Explain the difference between a blackbody and a greybody.
“An atmosphere that absorbs and re-emits some of the radiation from a planet’s surface results in a surface that is warmer than if there were no atmosphere.” Discuss and explain with the help of a single-layer atmosphere model.
About the Tool
Tool Name
ACS Climate Science Toolkit | How Atmospheric Warming Works
Discipline
Earth Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline
Greenhouse Effect; Planetary Energy Balance; Blackbody Radiation; Stefan-Boltzman Law
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