Editing Greenhouse effect (section)

==== Radiative effects ====
''Effect on air:'' Air is warmed by [[latent heat]] ([[virtual temperature|buoyant water vapor]] condensing into water droplets and releasing heat), [[thermal]]s (warm air rising from below), and by sunlight being absorbed in the atmosphere.<ref name="budget" /> Air is cooled radiatively, by greenhouse gases and clouds emitting longwave thermal radiation. Within the [[troposphere]], greenhouse gases typically have a net cooling effect on air, emitting more thermal radiation than they absorb. Warming and cooling of air are well balanced, on average, so that the atmosphere maintains a roughly stable average temperature.<ref name="Wallace2006">{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=J. M. |last2=Hobbs |first2=P. V. |title=Atmospheric Science |date=2006 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-732951-2 |edition=2}}</ref>{{rp|139}}<ref name="Manabe1964">{{cite journal |last1=Manabe |first1=S. |last2=Strickler |first2=R. F. |title=Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Convective Adjustment |journal=J. Atmos. Sci. |date=1964 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=361–385 |doi=10.1175/1520-0469(1964)021<0361:TEOTAW>2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free |bibcode=1964JAtS...21..361M }}</ref>

''Effect on surface cooling:'' Longwave radiation flows both upward and downward due to absorption and emission in the atmosphere. These canceling energy flows reduce radiative surface cooling (net upward radiative energy flow). Latent heat transport and thermals provide non-radiative surface cooling which partially compensates for this reduction, but there is still a net reduction in surface cooling, for a given surface temperature.<ref name="Wallace2006" />{{rp|139}}<ref name="Manabe1964" />

''Effect on TOA energy balance:'' Greenhouse gases impact the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) energy budget by reducing the flux of longwave radiation emitted to space, for a given surface temperature. Thus, greenhouse gases alter the energy balance at TOA. This means that the surface temperature needs to be higher (than the planet's ''effective temperature'', i.e., the temperature associated with emissions to space), in order for the outgoing energy emitted to space to balance the incoming energy from sunlight.<ref name="Wallace2006" />{{rp|139}}<ref name="Manabe1964" /> It is important to focus on the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) energy budget (rather than the surface energy budget) when reasoning about the warming effect of greenhouse gases.<ref name="PierrehumbertTextbook" />{{rp|414}}
[[File:Atmospheric heat flow profile.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|Flow of heat in Earth's atmosphere, showing (a) upward radiation heat flow and up/down radiation fluxes, (b) upward non-radiative heat flow ([[latent heat]] and [[thermals]]), (c) the balance between atmospheric heating and cooling at each altitude, and (d) the atmosphere's temperature profile.]]