ARRHENIUS 1896 MODEL OF THE GREENHOUSE-EFFECT IN CONTEXT

Arrhenius' 1896 model of the influence of carbonic acid (CO2) in the a ir on the temperature on the ground arose from debates concerning the causes of the Ice Ages in the Stockholm Physics Society. The calculati on of the absorption-coefficients of H2O and CO2, which were the key t o the construction of the model, was made possible through Arrhenius's use of Samuel P. Langley's measurements of heat emission in the lunar spectrum. The model enabled Arrhenius to show variations in mean temp erature in sectors from 70 degrees N to 60 degrees S during four diffe rent seasons given five different levels of CO2. The immediate reactio ns to the model concerned the question which Arrhenius had attempted t o answer, i.e., the causes of the Ice Ages. Since the 1970s Arrhenius' s work has received much wider attention due to the concern with globa l warming resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.