Earth’s Global Energy Balance

Overview
• Electromagnetic Radiation
– Radiation and temperature
– Solar Radiation
– Longwave radiation from the Earth
– Global radiation balance
• Geographic Variations in Energy Flow
– Insolation over the globe
– Net radiation, latitude and energy balance
– Sensible and latent heat transfer
 Overview

• The global energy system

– Solar energy losses in the atmosphere
– Albedo
– Counterradiation and the greenhouse effect
– Global energy budgets of the atmosphere &
surface
– Climate & global change
What is light?
 Light is an
Electromagnetic Wave
&
a Particle

Photons: “pieces” of light,

each with precise
wavelength, frequency,
and energy.
Our eyes recognize
frequency (or wavelength)
as color!
 Photons
• Photons – are little
packets of energy.
• The energy carried by
each photon depends on
its frequency (color)
• Blue light carries more
energy per photon than
red light.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
 Electromagnetic Radiation
• Energy constantly emitted from every surface
• Can be in many different forms, e.g. light or heat
What happens when light gets
absorbed?
What causes the
atmosphere to be
opaque?
 Solar Radiation
•Shortwave Radiation
from Sun (dark
purple)
•Absorption of UV by
O3
•Absorption by CO2
and water vapor
(H2O↑) shown as
valleys

•Longwave Radiation
from
 Scattering
• Solar radiation can be scattered by
atmosphere
– Deflected off a molecule, cloud droplet, or particle
– May go up toward space, or down toward Earth
– Scattering most prevalent in blue wavelengths
– Thus, clear, blue skies
• Some solar radiation goes directly to surface
– Called transmission
– Solar radiation arrives as 0.3μm to 3μm wavelengths
– This is shortwave radiation
Remember you live on a rotating sphere
 Geographic Variation in Solar
Energy
• Insolation – Incoming
solar radiation
– More intense where
sun angle is highest
– Less intense with
lower sun angle
• Same energy spread
over a larger area
 Insolation
• Daily insolation – avg radiation total in 24 hours
– Depends on :
• Sun angle – higher sun angle → greater insolation
• Length of day – higher latitudes get long summer days
• Annual insolation – avg radiation total for year
– Also depends on sun angle and length of day
– Both of these determined by latitude
– So, latitude determines annual insolation
 Net Radiation
• Energy not usually
balanced at any location
• Net Radiation - Difference
between incoming and
outgoing radiation
• Between 40°N and 40°S,
incoming > outgoing
– Creates energy surplus

• Poleward of 40°N & S,

outgoing > incoming
– Creates energy deficit
• Deficit = Surplus, so net
radiation for Earth = 0
 Poleward Heat Transport
• Surplus energy
moves toward
poles (deficit
regions)
• Carried by:
• Warm, moist air
• Warm sea water
• Tropical cyclones

• Poleward heat
transport is driving
force behind:
•Global atmospheric
circulation
• Weather systems
• Ocean currents
 Why are there seasons?
• The Earth is tilted 23.5°
from it orbital plane
• Combine tilt with orbit
– Northern hemisphere
gets more direct Sun
part of year (northern
summer)
– Southern hemisphere
gets more direct Sun
part of year (northern
winter)
• Tilt & orbit create seasons,
not distance to Sun
Northern Summer
Northern Winter
Solstices & Equinoxes
 Path of the Sun in the Sky
40° North
• June
solstice:
– Sun rises
north of east
& sets north
of west
– Peaks at
73.5° above
horizon at
noon
– 15 hours of
daylight
– Highest
daily
insolation of
year
Path of the Sun in the Sky (40°
Date
North)
Noon Sun Daylight Daily
Angle Insolation
June 73.5° 15 hrs 460 W/m2
Solstice
Dec. 26.5° 9 hrs 160 W/m2
Solstice
Equinoxes 50° 12 hrs 350 W/m2
Path of the Sun in the Sky
Date
(Equator)
Noon Sun Daylight Daily
Angle Insolation
June 66.5° 12 hrs ~400
Solstice W/m2
Dec. 66.5° 12 hrs ~400
Solstice W/m2
Equinoxes 90° 12 hrs 440 W/m2
Path of the Sun in the Sky (North
Pole)
Date Noon Sun Daylight Daily
Angle Insolation
June 23.5° 24 hrs 500 W/m2
Solstice
Dec. No Sun 0 hrs 0 W/m2
Solstice
Equinoxes Horizon 12 hrs ~0 W/m2
 Daily Insolation through the
• Year
Yearly change in insolation greatest toward poles
• In Arctic & Antarctic Circles, Sun is below horizon part of
year
• At Equator, 2 maxs & 2 mins for daily insolation
– At equinoxes & solstices
• Between tropics, also 2 maxs & 2 mins per year
• Yearly insolation change important to climate

Insolation at
equinox
 Annual Insolation by Latitude
• Tilted Earth shown as
red line
– Equator greatest annual
insolation
– Considerable insolation
at highest latitudes
• Untilted Earth (blue
line)
– Equator greatest annual
insolation
– Highest latitudes little
insolation
– Big changes in climate
– Very cold pole
– Massive poleward heat
transport
 Heat Transfer: Surplus energy
is transported in two forms
• Sensible Heat – can be felt & measured Conduction
– Transferred by conduction (touching surface)
– Transferred by convection (carried by rising air)
– Example: Moving air masses
• Latent Heat – cannot be felt or measured Convection
– Stored as molecular motion when water changes
phase
– Absorbed in evaporation, melting, and sublimation
– Released in condensation, freezing, and deposition
– Very important form of heat transfer over long
distances
– Example: Storm systems, hurricanes

Latent heat absorbed

in evaporation
 Solar energy losses in the
atmosphere
•Scattering due to:
• Gas molecules
• Dust or other
particles

•O2, O3, & H2O↑ most

important absorbers
of insolation

•Global avg – 49% of

insolation makes it
to surface
 Once at the
surface what
happens? Albedo
• Proportion of shortwave
radiation reflected
• Shown as a proportion (0-1)
• Examples:
– Snowfield 0.45-0.85
– Black pavement 0.03
– Clouds 0.30-0.60
– Water (calm, high angle 0.02), (low
angle 0.80)
• Avg for Earth and atmosphere
0.29-0.34
 So what happens to all the energy
absorbed by these various
processes?
• Counterradiation – heat absorbed by
atmosphere reflected down to surface

A – energy radiated
to space from
surface
B – energy from
surface absorbed by
atmosphere
C – energy radiated
to space from
atmosphere
D – Counterradiation
 Part of Counterradiation is the
“Greenhouse Effect”
• Longwave radiation absorbed & re-
radiated to surface by atmosphere
• Lower atmosphere acts like blanket
 Global Energy Budget
ergy balanced for each level: surface, atmosphere, & sp
 Climate & Global Change
• Quantifying human impacts on climate difficult
• Climate and society have complex relationship
• e.g., Industrial processes
• add CO2 to atmosphere (warming)
• add aerosols to atmosphere (cooling)