The Atmosphere and Climate Modeling - Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration - page 55

Table 2.3.1 Contribution of different gasses to the
greenhouse effect and their lifetime in the
atmosphere

Gas Contribution Lifetime

Water vapor 36-72% 100 years

Carbon dioxide 9-26% 100-1,000 years

Methane 4-9% 10 years

Ozone 3-7% hours to months

Table 2.3.2 Composition of the atmosphere

Gas Volume (ppm) Volume (%)

Nitrogen 781,000 78

Oxygen 209,500 21

Argon 9,340 0.934

Carbon dioxide 394 0.039

Neon 18 0.0018

Helium 5.24 0.0005

Methane 1.79 0.00018

Krypton 1.14 0.00011

Hydrogen 0.55 0.000055

Nitrous oxide 0.33 0.000033

Carbon monoxide 0.1 0.00001

Xenon 0.09 0.000009

Ozone 0-0.07 0-0.000007

These numbers are for a dry atmosphere; the water content of
the atmosphere is on average 0.4% (1-4% at the surface).

between the intensity I of light through a substance and the product of
the density of the gas, ρ , the absorption coeffi cient of the substance, σ ,
and the distance the light travels through the material (i.e., the path
length), l :

I

−ρσ l

= e

I

0

If at a particular wavelength the atmosphere is already fully or mostly
absorbing, then adding more of a substance with a similar absorption