Ok, I didnt want to do this, but here goes...

Posted on: April 7, 2017 at 12:12:13 CT

The sun emits solar radiation. It enters earth's atmosphere where it is absorbed by land and water. Land absorbs far more solar radiation than water. As solar radiation warms the land and water, that warmth is then radiated back into the atmosphere.

More heat is radiated by land than water because water a) absorbs less solar radiation and b) has convection currents, specific heat capacity, evaporation, etc which allow water to absorb more radiation without warming, thereby radiating less heat (which is why sea air is cooler).

When the heat is radiated back into the atmosphere, some of it escapes. Some of that heat is absorbed by molecules that have a molecular structure capable of absorbing that heat, such as CO2. As we have dumped more CO2 into the atmosphere, more heat is captured in our atmosphere that would otherwise have escaped. And thus, the greenhouse effect.

Is there anything unclear about this? When I said you were incorrect (http://tigerboard.com/boards/view.php?message=14715837), you were. And the fact that sea surface temps are increasing is a product of rising global temps (since air obviously has convection currents as well).