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Introduction

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Abstract

Earth, our planet, would be a rather cold place if the solar energy absorbed by the surface could be radiated back to space without any obstruction. The equilibrium global average surface temperature would be about −19°C instead of the current much higher temperature of approximately +14°C (Le Treut et al. 2007). Already Fourier, the famous French mathematician-physicist guessed that the atmosphere somehow “slows down” the departure of energy from the Earth (Fourier 1827).

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Correspondence to László Haszpra .

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Haszpra, L. (2011). Introduction. In: Haszpra, L. (eds) Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases: The Hungarian Perspective. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9950-1_1

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