subject: Scientific Contributions of Svante Arrhenius [print this page] In his later years, Arrhenius applied the concepts of physical chemistry and physics to many other branches of science, including biochemistry, geo and cosmic physics, and meteorology. In retrospect, his most remarkable contribution was perhaps his model of the greenhouse effect, according to which the temperature of Earth's lower atmosphere is determined by the concentration of carbon dioxide. Earth's surface, after being warmed by sunlight, emits energy in the form of infrared radiation, which is absorbed by molecules in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide; the absorption of infrared radiation leads to heat. At that time, the greenhouse effect model was used to explain the glacial periods, rather than any climatic changes induced by the human production of carbon dioxide, as is the case today.
