Image: CO2 H2O absorption atmospheric gases unique pattern energy wavelengths of energy transparent to others

Description: All atmospheric gases have a unique pattern of energy absorption: they absorb some wavelengths of energy but are transparent to others. The absorption patterns of water vapor (blue peaks) and carbon dioxide (pink peaks) overlap in some wavelengths. Carbon dioxide is not as strong a greenhouse gas as water vapor, but it absorbs energy in wavelengths (12-15 micrometers) that water vapor does not, partially closing the “window” through which heat radiated by the surface would normally escape to space. (Illustration adapted from Robert Rohde.)
Title: CO2 H2O absorption atmospheric gases unique pattern energy wavelengths of energy transparent to others
Credit: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/EnergyBalance/page7.php NASA Earth Observatory
Author: NASA, Robert Rohde
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No