Google Doodle celebrates American climate scientist Eunice Newton Foote’s 204th birthday

Google celebrates Eunice Newton Foote's 204th birthday with a Doodle. Foote was the first to discover the greenhouse effect and its role in Earth's climate. She also campaigned for women's rights and published two U.S. physics studies, the first by a woman. Her findings led to further experiments uncovering the greenhouse effect, laying the foundation for modern climate science.

Google on July 17th paid tribute to the American scientist and women’s rights activist Eunice Newton Foote, who was the first person to discover the greenhouse effect and its role in the warming of Earth’s climate.

While science became a lifelong passion for Foote, she also dedicated time to campaigning for women’s rights. Google has depicted a Doodle dedicated to Foote celebrating her 204th birthday.

In an interactive graphic with 11 slides, Google explained the concept of greenhouse effect through Foote’s achievements.

The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet’s atmosphere cause some of the heat radiated from the planet’s surface to build up at the planet’s surface.

When the earth absorbs radiation from the sun, some gets re-emitted as infrared radiation. Gases like carbon dioxide absorb and reflect heat back to Earth creating what we know today as the greenhouse effect. Over time, the higher levels of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere raise the temperature of Earth, thus contributing to issues like global warming and heating.

Observing outdoor air temperatures versus various gases when heated, Foote found out carbon dioxide and water vapour heated up more than outdoor air.

Foote was born on this day in 1819 in Connecticut. In 1848, Foote attended the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. She was the fifth signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments— a document that demanded equality for women in social and legal status.