How we know global warming is because of CO2: Part 2
After Joseph Fourier deduced the existence of the greenhouse effect in the 1820s, it took until 1861 before John Tyndall identified the first components of the greenhouse effect as water vapor and CO 2 ( Tyndall 1861 ). One hundred fifty-two years of research later, we know far more about the absorptive properties of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases , including water vapor, including how they affect Earth's infrared spectrum.