What is the ideal radiation budget?

Of the ~340 W/m2 of solar radiation received by the Earth, an average of ~77 W/m2 is reflected back to space by clouds and the atmosphere and ~23 W/m2 is reflected by the surface albedo, leaving ~240 W/m2 of solar energy input to the Earth’s energy budget. This amount is called the absorbed solar radiation (ASR).

What is Erb’s in space?

NASA’s Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-radiated by the Earth. One of the longest-running spacecraft missions to date, ERBS was launched on October 5, 1984 on the Space Shuttle Challenger and retired on October 14, 2005. …

What is the Earth’s radiation budget and how is it measured?

RADIATION AND THE CLIMATE SYSTEM The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites measures the shortwave radiation reflected and longwave radiation emitted into space accurately enough for scientists to determine the Earth’s total radiation budget.

What is the largest source of uncertainty in our understanding of the Earth’s radiative budget?

It is well recognized that cloud changes and their influence on the Earth’s radiation budget in a warmer climate comprise the largest source of uncertainty in state-of-the-art climate models. Observations of CREs provide the only meaningful constraints on the climate model representation of cloud processes.

Is Earth energy budget balanced?

The earth-atmosphere energy balance is achieved as the energy received from the Sun balances the energy lost by the Earth back into space. In this way, the Earth maintains a stable average temperature and therefore a stable climate.

What is the radiation budget equation?

The radiation budget equation can be written for a specific location of the earth at a given instant of time by replacing the planetary mean incoming solar radiation term ( S/4 ) with the term S cos φ, where φ is the solar zenith angle at the location and time of interest.

What is another name for Erb’s point?

The nerve point of the neck, also known as Erb’s point is a site at the upper trunk of the brachial plexus located 2–3 cm above the clavicle.

What is Erb’s point heart?

“Erb’s point” is the fifth point of auscultation for the heart exam, located in the third intercostal space close to the sternum. It has sometimes been attributed to famous German neurologist Wilhelm Heinrich Erb (1840 – 1921), but without historical evidence.

Is earth energy budget balanced?

What are natural forcings?

5. Another way to refer to climate forcings is to call them climate drivers. Natural climate drivers include changes in the sun’s energy output, regular changes in Earth’s orbital cycle, and large volcanic eruptions that put light-reflecting particles into the upper atmosphere.

What is the fundamental energy balance for Earth?

Earth’s energy balance refers to the balance between the amount of incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation. In a 1-year period, the overall average flow of energy to and from Earth must balance, or the global mean (average) temperature of Earth would change.

What would happen if the Earth’s energy budget was not balanced?

If the Earth system is changed either through natural phenomena — such as volcanoes — or man’s activities and an imbalance in the Earth’s energy budget occurs, the Earth’s temperature will eventually increase or decrease in order to restore an energy balance.

What was the purpose of the Earth radiation budget satellite?

NASA’s Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-radiated by the Earth. Understanding this process helps reveal patterns in Earth’s weather.

What was the purpose of the ERBS satellite?

NASA’s Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-radiated by the Earth.

How does the Earth Radiation Budget experiment ( Erbe ) work?

Much like our own financial budgets of incoming and outgoing money, the Earth’s climate works better when the energy budget is balanced. The instruments aboard the ERBE satellites measure the amount of solar energy received by the Earth, the energy emitted by the Earth into space, and the amount of solar radiation which is reflected into space.

Why is the radiation budget important to scientists?

Scientists have been trying for decades to understand this critical balance – to understand the budget of incoming and outgoing energy, called the radiation budget. Much like our own financial budgets of incoming and outgoing money, the Earth’s climate works better when the energy budget is balanced.