Gilbert Plass was a very smart scientist who studied how the Earth's atmosphere works. The atmosphere is like a big blanket that covers the Earth and helps keep us warm. It also helps protect us from dangerous things like the sun's rays.
Plass was interested in studying how greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) can affect the atmosphere. When we humans burn things like gasoline, we release CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the air, which can make the atmosphere thicker and trap more heat. This is called the greenhouse effect.
Plass studied how much heat could be trapped by different levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. He made a special kind of computer model to help him figure this out. His model showed that as we put more CO2 into the air, the atmosphere will get thicker and trap more heat, which could cause the Earth's temperatures to go up.
Plass's work helped people understand more about how human activities like burning fossil fuels can affect the Earth's climate. It also helped scientists make predictions about what might happen to the climate in the future.