Also discussed here:(NCAR, Apr. 14, 2010)
And here: Surface Energy Budget of Central Canada(194 pages, William Pugsley. Publication in Meteorology #96, Arctic Meteorology Research Group. Dept of Meteorology, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Sep. 1970)
Today we review a topic close to my heart and the subject of my MSc thesis 40 years ago- the flows of energy and radiation in the atmosphere and with the earth’s and ocean surface. Dr Trenberth suggests that the balance that existed between outgoing and incoming radiation has changed recently with an unexplained or missing amount of energy that may be stored or accumulating in the deep ocean. He calls for better global atmospheric-oceanic modeling to account for this and to better anticipate the net impact that carbon fuel use has on atmospheric warming and climate change – which, as we have seen from previous posts, mainly affect people and their health in cities.
Key Quotes:
“Climate change is very much involved with energy, most commonly in the form of heat but other forms of energy are also important. Radiation comes in from the sun (solar radiation at short wavelengths), and every body radiates according to its temperature”
“Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have led to a post-2000 imbalance at the TOA [Top of the Atmosphere]of 0.9±0.5 W m-2 that produces “global warming”, or more correctly, an energy imbalance”
“Over the past 50 years, the oceans have absorbed about 90% of the total heat added to the climate system while the rest goes to melting sea and land ice, and warming the land surface and atmosphere”
“New estimates of ocean heat content show a growing large discrepancy between ocean heat content integrated for the upper 300 vs 700 vs total depth. The latter continues a fairly steady upward trend while the surface temperatures and upper ocean heat content undergo a hiatus in warming after about 2004”
“The role of the ocean in taking up energy well below the surface is emerging as a major issue in observations and modeling. Improved monitoring of TOA energy imbalance such as from a suite of small radiometers in space would prove exceedingly useful.”
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