Name _________________________ Section:______

Prelab EAS 1600, Summer 2020

LAB 02: EARTH TEMPERATURE

Objectives
Now that we have looked at relationships for feedback systems using Daisyworld (Lab 2), we
will investigate the Earth-sun system with respect to surface temperature. We will explore
concepts of blackbody radiation and calculate the effects of distance and albedo on effective
surface temperatures. We will also measure and evaluate the impact of the greenhouse gas CO2
when it undergoes heating, experimentally and theoretically.
At the end of this lab, you should be able to:
• Define a perfect blackbody and link the concept to temperature;
• Write and explain the equation for solar flux
• Describe Earth’s energy balance in terms of Ein and Eout;
• Relate radiative/solar flux and albedo to the Earth’s effective temperature ;
• Calculate Earth’s effective surface temperature under ideal and experimental conditions;
• Explain how greenhouse gases influence earth’s temperature and compare this value with
effective temperature

Theoretical Background: Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation. One way to transfer energy from one body to another is through
radiation or, more precisely, electromagnetic radiation. No direct contact or medium is required
to transmit this energy from one body to another, and the properties of this radiation can be
described by a wave with alternating electric and magnetic components in perpendicular
directions, thus electro-magnetic radiation. Like all waves, an electromagnetic wave can be
described by its wavelength or frequency. The variety of the electromagnetic waves that exist in
nature is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The classification and corresponding wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation - the

electromagnetic spectrum. Image edited from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu
 Blackbodies. All objects generate electromagnetic radiation, but they so at different
wavelengths and intensities – think of the sun vs humans (which emit primarily in the infrared
wavelengths, as can be seen in heat sensors or IR filters). Some materials are very efficient in
both radiating and absorbing radiation and some are not. An ideal body that is a 100% - efficient
emitter and absorber is called a blackbody. Blackbodies do not radiate at a single wavelength, but
rather over a wide range of frequencies (wavelengths), as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Blackbody radiation curves. Image from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu

The Stefan-Boltzmann law states that a blackbody that has temperature T radiates
electromagnetic energy, and the flux of this energy (amount of power passing through a unit
area) is equal to:
S = σ T4 ,

where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann Constant, σ = 5.67x10-8 W m-2 K-4, and S is solar flux in
Watts per square meter, W/m2. The wavelength at which this radiation has a maximum flux is
determined by Wien’s law:
2898 μm ∙ K
𝜆𝜆𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = (Eq. 1)
𝑇𝑇

where λmax is the wavelength corresponding to peak output (top of the blackbody curve) in
micrometers and T is the temperature of the body in Kelvins. Wien’s and Stefan-Boltzmann laws
tell us that the warmer the body is, the more it radiates, and its peak wavelength shifts decreases.

The Inverse-Square Law. Consider the point source radiating total power P at distance R
from the point of observation. We can assume that the energy from the source is evenly
distributed over the sphere with radius R. The area of this sphere is 4πR2 , and therefore, the
energy flux (solar flux or solar irradiance) S passing through the point of observation at a
distance R will be equal to the amount of power passing through a unit area (1m2) of this sphere:

𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑃𝑃 (Eq. 2)

𝑆𝑆 = =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 4𝜋𝜋𝑅𝑅2
 Now consider a different sphere, with the same center point but new radius R0. The total power
P has not changed, while the area this energy is distributed over is equal to 4πR02. Comparison of
the expressions for S and S0 for the same radiative source (such as our Sun at different distances)
yields the following:
𝑅𝑅0 2
𝑆𝑆 = 𝑆𝑆0 � �
𝑅𝑅

This relates an unknown flux S at a chosen distance R to the known flux So at some the
corresponding distance Ro. If you know a reference flux and distance then select a new distance
you can calculate the new flux (or new distance if you have a new flux). You can also leave the
new flux in terms of the original to determine a relative flux, such as 1/4 the flux received at
Earth in the case of a planet twice as far away.

Theoretical Background: Energy Budget and Temperature Distribution

Energy budget and planet effective temperature. According to the principle of
conservation of energy, the net radiative energy gained by arbitrary body in a unit time (Enet) is
defined by the difference of incoming (Ein) and outgoing (Eout) energy.

Enet = Ein – Eout (Eq. 3)

The incoming energy Ein due to some distant source, such as the Sun, depends on energy flux
S impinging the cross-sectional area A⊥ of a body, such as the Earth, that intercepts this flux:

𝐸𝐸𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 𝐴𝐴⊥ ∙ (1 − 𝑎𝑎) ∙ 𝑆𝑆 (Eq. 4)

where a is the albedo of the body. The albedo is defined as the ratio of the energy lost via
reflection or scattering to the total incident energy. A perfectly reflecting requires a = 1, while
perfectly absorbing requires a = 0 (see Figures 3 and 4):

𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
𝑎𝑎 =
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒

Figure 3: Idealized spheres for a range of albedo values from 0 to 1.

Figure 4: Albedo values in percentages for common materials on Earth.

 Total outgoing energy of a body according to Stefan-Boltzmann law is equal to outgoing
radiative flux times total surface area of the body 𝐴𝐴SA :

𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝜎𝜎 ∙ 𝑇𝑇 4 (Eq. 5)

At the equilibrium (or steady state) case Enet= 0 and absorbed energy should be equal to
radiated energy, otherwise the body would warm or cool with time. Combining Eq. 4 and Eq. 5,
the following is obtained (see figure 5):

𝐸𝐸𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 𝐸𝐸𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 − 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = (𝐴𝐴⊥ ∙ (1 − 𝑎𝑎) ∙ 𝑆𝑆) − (𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝜎𝜎 ∙ 𝑇𝑇 4 )

Using the reference frame of Earth, incoming energy would be the energy received by Earth’s
cross-sectional area from the sun while the outgoing energy would be Earth’s radiated energy,
primarily in the infrared (heat). The temperature, T, is constant in time when Enet = 0, and in
termed the equilibrium or effective temperature Teff (sometimes Teq) and can be found from (1)
as
1/4
𝐴𝐴⊥ ∙ 𝑆𝑆 ∙ (1 − 𝑎𝑎)
𝑇𝑇𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = � �
𝐴𝐴SA ∙ 𝜎𝜎

For the case of the spherical body with radius r, the ratio of the cross-section 𝐴𝐴⊥ = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 and
total area 𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 is equal to 4. Therefore, equation (3) simplifies to a common expression
for the planet effective temperature:
1/4
𝑆𝑆 ∙ (1 − 𝑎𝑎)
𝑇𝑇𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = � � (Eq. 6)
4 ∙ 𝜎𝜎

Figure 5. Summary figure for incoming and outgoing energy for Earth.
 Greenhouse Effect. The most abundant gases in Earth’s atmosphere – nitrogen, oxygen, and
argon – neither absorb nor emit infrared radiation (heat), allowing incoming light to directly
impact the surface and either be absorbed by Earth or reflected directly back out into space.
However, certain gases – known as greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane
(CH4), and water (H2O)) – absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. Thus, as earth radiates heat, as
described in equation 5, these greenhouse gases absorb this upward-directed infrared radiation
and reemit it in all directions. As such, heat in the form of infrared radiation that would
otherwise be emitted out into space is partially redirected back down towards Earth, which

Figure 6. How light interacts with an atmosphere with greenhouse gases.

ultimately contributes to additional warming of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere (Figure 5).
This process is the greenhouse effect. The net result is that in the presence of greenhouse gases,
the surface temperatures will always be greater than the effective temperature:

𝑻𝑻𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬 > 𝑻𝑻𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄

Helpful hint to getting through this lab quickly: There are a lot of calculations on this lab.
Although you will need to write out the equations and show your work for calculations for at
least one of the model/experimental planets, you will be asked to repeat these calculations. Use
excel formulas to be able to quickly repeat calculations.

Online Resources (exercises and activities)

https://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/waves2.html
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~jmccullough/Applets/Applets_by_Topic/EM_Waves.html
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/blackbody-spectrum
http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/bbexplorer.html