Figure 5-8 The Greenhouse Effect Sunlight warms Earth’s surface, which due to its temperature emits infrared radiation. Much of this radiation is absorbed by atmospheric water vapor and carbon dioxide, helping to raise the average temperature of the surface. Some infrared radiation does penetrate the atmosphere and leaks into space. In a state of equilibrium, the rate at which Earth loses energy to space in this way is equal to the rate at which it absorbs energy from the Sun.