Observations of the clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation and sea surface temperature are combined to examine the evolution of the tropical greenhouse effect from colder La Niña conditions in early 1985 to warmer El Niño conditions in late 1987. Although comparison of individual months can suggest a decrease in greenhouse trapping from cold to warm conditions, when the entire 4-yr record is con...

We offer some remarks on the greenhouse effect due to high clouds which reflect thermal infrared radiation, but do not absorb or emit it. Such clouds are an idealization of the CO2-ice clouds which are thought to have existed early in the history of Mars. Clouds of this type enter also in the ability of the Earth to recover from a globally glaciated "cold start," and in the determination of hab...

Human activity since the industrial revolution has had the effect of increasing atmospheric concentrations of gases with a greenhouse effect, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), leading to climate warming and weather changes (Bryant, 1997; Jepma and Munasinghe, 1998). Because of its relative abundance compared with the other greenhouse gases, CO2 is by far the most important, being ...

There seems to be a roughly linear increase of the temperature from about 1800, or even much earlier, to the present. This warming trend is likely to be a natural change; a rapid increase of CO2 began in about 1940. This trend should be subtracted from the temperature data during the last 100 years. Thus, there is a possibility that only a fraction of the present warming trend may be attributed...

The rational thermal management of buildings is major importance for the reduction overall primary energy consumption. Smart windows are promising systems which could save a significant part this energy. Here we introduce double glazing system made with thermochromic metal-insulator transition material and glass layer separated by an air gap able to switch from its insulating conducting phase t...