Page 39: Research news on greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases are atmospheric constituents that absorb and emit infrared radiation, thereby contributing to the greenhouse effect and Earth’s radiative energy balance. Major greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and various halogenated compounds, along with water vapour (H₂O) as a feedback agent. Their radiative forcing depends on concentration, spectral absorption properties, atmospheric lifetime, and overlap with other absorbers. In climate research, greenhouse gases are quantified via metrics such as global warming potential and effective radiative forcing to assess their contribution to anthropogenic climate change and to inform emissions mitigation strategies.

Do forest carbon credits work and actually help the environment?

It takes a lot of fuel to get an airplane up in the sky and keep it there—which means a lot of emissions. In fact, the airline industry produces more greenhouse gases than many major countries. Most airlines know this isn't ...

Methane: Where it comes from and why we're running out of time

Emissions and atmospheric concentrations of methane continue to increase, making it the second most important human-influenced greenhouse gas in terms of climate forcing after carbon dioxide. In fact, methane concentrations ...

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