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Environmental Management AS CIE

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  1. 1-1-continents-and-oceans as
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  2. 1-2-country-classification-by-income-level as
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  3. 1-3-sustainability as
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  4. 1-4-the-water-cycle as
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  5. 1-5-the-structure-and-composition-of-the-atmosphere as
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  6. 1-6-ecosystems as
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  7. 2-1-the-scientific-method as
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  8. 2-2-environmental-research-in-the-context-of-climate-change as
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  9. 2-3-collection-of-environmental-data as
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  10. 2-4-data-collection-techniques-and-data-analysis as
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  11. 2-5-the-use-of-technology-in-data-collection-and-analysis as
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  12. 3-1-human-population-dynamics-and-structure as
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  13. 3-2-impacts-of-human-population-change as
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  14. 3-3-managing-human-population-change as
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  15. 4-1-ecosystems as
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  16. 4-2-managing-the-conservation-of-biodiversity as
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  17. 4-3-impacts-of-human-activity-on-ecosystems as
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  18. 5-1-food-security as
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  19. 5-2-energy-resources as
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  20. 5-3-waste-management as
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  21. 6-1-global-water-distribution as
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  22. 7-1-acid-deposition as
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  23. 7-2-photochemical-smog as
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  24. 7-3-managing-air-pollution as
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  25. 7-4-ozone-depletion as
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  26. 8-1-climate-change as
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  27. 8-2-the-impacts-of-climate-change as
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  28. 8-3-managing-climate-change as
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Exam code:8291

The Natural Greenhouse Effect

  • The Sun emits energy in the form of solar radiation (including visible light and ultraviolet rays) that enters the Earth’s atmosphere

    • This is known as insolation

  • Some thermal energy is reflected from the Earth’s surface

    • Most thermal energy is absorbed and re-emitted back from the Earth’s surface in the form of longwave radiation (infrared radiation)

  • This energy passes through the atmosphere where some thermal energy passes straight through and is emitted into space

  • But some thermal energy is absorbed by greenhouse gases and is re-emitted in all directions

    • Greenhouse gases include water vapour (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxides (NOₓ), ozone (O₃), and some artificial gaseous compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

    • These gases act like a blanket, allowing sunlight to pass through but preventing a significant amount of the infrared radiation from escaping back into space

  • This reduces the thermal energy lost into space and traps it within the Earth’s atmosphere, keeping the Earth warm

  • This process is known as the greenhouse effect

    • The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon

    • The greenhouse effect is important to ensure that Earth is warm enough for life

    • If it were not for the insulating effect of greenhouse gases, Earth would experience dramatic temperature fluctuations, similar to its neighbouring planets

    • Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature would be much colder, making the planet uninhabitable for living organisms

Diagram showing how the greenhouse effect occurs
Greenhouse gases absorb the radiation that is re-emitted from the Earth’s surface, trapping it in the atmosphere

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure you don’t confuse the natural greenhouse effect (an important, life-sustaining natural phenomenon) with the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is being driven by human activity and has caused global average temperatures to rise dramatically over the last few decades.

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