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Article: Global Warming
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Global Warming
The term "global warming" refers to an increase in Earth's mean global temperature because a part of Earth's outgoing infrared radiation is retained by several trace gases in the atmosphere whose concentrations have been increasing because of human industrial, commercial, and agricultural activities. These gases have the ability to absorb radiation, leading to the tendency of the atmosphere to create warmer climates than would otherwise be the case. The most important naturally occurring trace gases that have the ability to absorb infrared radiation are water vapor (H
2
O), carbon dioxide (CO
2
), methane (CH
4
), nitrous oxide (N
2
O), and ozone (O
3
). In addition, there are ...