Global warming describes both the gradual warming of the Earth surface and the scientific theory that the warming is due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The theory traces its roots to the early 19th century when amateur scientist Jean-Pierre Perraudin described how large boulders on valley floors may have been caused by large glaciers during a previous ice age. Shortly thereafter, Joseph Fourier discovered that the surface of the Earth was warmer because of the layer of gases that surrounds it because it transmits visible light but is opaque to infrared light. This has now been dubbed the
greenhouse effect. The work was expanded by John Tyndall and Svante Arrhenius in the mid to late 19th century before it was mostly abandoned until the 1950s. Through the burning of fossil fuels, humans are increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has led to an enhanced greenhouse effect which causes the surface of the Earth to be warmer than immediately before the Industrial Revolution. Surface thermometers and satellite measurements confirm that the lowest layer of the atmosphere as well as the top layer of the ocean is warming. Global warming will cause sea levels to rise which has many sociological and economic implications. (
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