The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface. The name comes from the incorrect analogy with the warming of air inside a greenhouse compared to the air outside the greenhouse (see "Real Greenhouses" below). The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[1]
In the absence of the greenhouse effect, the Earth's average surface temperature of 14 °C (57 °F) would be about -18 °C (–2.2 °F) .[2] Global warming, a recent warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere, is believed to be the result of an enhanced greenhouse effect due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In addition to the Earth, Mars and Venus have greenhouse effects.
A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earth's atmosphere, and the Earth surface. The ability of the atmosphere to capture and recycle energy emitted by the Earth surface is the defining characteristic of the greenhouse effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_house_effect
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