Nature 342, 758 - 761 (14 December 1989); doi:10.1038/342758a0

Observational determination of the greenhouse effect

A. Raval & V. Ramanathan

Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

Satellite measurements are used to quantify the atmospheric greenhouse effect, defined here as the infrared radiation energy trapped by atmospheric gases and clouds. The greenhouse effect is found to increase significantly with sea surface temperature. The rate of increase gives compelling evidence for the positive feedback between surface temperature, water vapour and the green-house effect; the magnitude of the feedback is consistent with that predicted by climate models. This study demonstrates an effective method for directly monitoring, from space, future changes in the greenhouse effect.

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