CLT Week 2: The Earth has an “Energy Budget” that is kept in balance

Recitation Worksheet
Fall 2022

EXAMPLE SOLUTIONS
1. [Recommended time spent: 25-30 min]
Let’s investigate how Earth’s atmosphere affects the energy balance, using a simulation.
○ Open the Greenhouse Effect simulation activity: Greenhouse Effect

a. Set the “Greenhouse Gas Concentration (GGC)” to zero level and start the simulation by clicking on the “Start Sunlight”
button, also click on “Energy Balance” to enable it. Observe how incident Sunlight, Infrared Radiation and Surface
Temperature changes. Write down your observations and give a brief explanation to them based on your knowledge
from virtual and active lectures. What physical mechanism causes the Infrared Radiation?
b. What is the final equilibrium Surface Temperature, does this temperature value match what you would expect?
Explain.
c. Turn off the Cloud. Now click on the Cloud button to add a cloud in the model. Observe if there are changes in
Sunlight, Infrared Radiation and Surface Temperature, write down your observations and give a brief explanation to
why each of those variables changes.
d. Now click on the “calendar” icon in the GGC window, click on the “Ice Age” button, wait until the Surface Temperature
stabilizes. Again explain your observations in Sunlight, Infrared Radiation and Surface Temperature.
e. Click on each of “1750”, “1950” and “2020” buttons and wait until things stabilize. Observe the trends in GCC Sunlight,
IR and Surface Temperature and give explanations. Comment on the significance of the specific dates chosen (Ice age,
1750, 1950, 2020). Do they correspond to historical periods or turning points when human activities differ significantly,
explain?

Example Answer:

a. When the sunlight hits the surface temperature starts to increase and IR radiation is emitted from the
surface. The temperature is settled at 255.1 Kelvin. The temperature increase is due to heat transfer by
radiation from the Sun. The IR emission from the Earth is due to blackbody radiation.
b. When emitted radiation increases and equals the incoming radiation, the surface temperature reaches
an equilibrium at the value which is calculated by the “effective temperature” equation.
c. Addition of a cloud causes reflection of the sunlight radiation back to space and the surface
temperature declines to 254.0 K. The reflection effectively reduces the power incident on the surface.
This leads to a decline in the surface temperature until the IR radiation matches incoming radiation and
a new equilibrium is set.
d. In the Ice Age the GGC is at level 1 (out of 14 in scale). While the Sunlight remains the same, now part of
the IR radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and radiated back to the surface. The temperature
increases to 279.4 K (about 6 C) under these conditions which reflects the average temperature in the
Ice Age. The increased surface temperature causes an increase in IR radiation from the surface as seen
in the simulation. Addition of GGC, even though in low levels, causes an increase in the total radiation on
the Earth’s surface (sunlight + the additional IR from the atmosphere) The excess power causes an
increase in the surface temperature which is balanced by the increased blackbody radiation and an
equilibrium is set at a temperature above the “effective temperature”. The difference 19.7 C
(=279.4-255.1) is what we called the “Greenhouse Effect”.
e. For years 1750, 1950 and 2020 simulation applied GCC levels of 10, 10.5 and 13 respectively. As GGC
increases with each slider position, we observe an increase in the reflected IR from the atmosphere,
higher
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sunlight remains the same. Year 1750 represents the period of pre-industrial revolution, humans naturally
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 used “renewable” energy sources in agricultural settings, the GCC increased 10 (10 times the the Ice Age
level) due to its natural cycle. Year 1950 is about a century after the industrial revolution, when fossil
fuels (mainly coal) were utilized. Therefore, GCC has increased to 10.5 which caused T to increase 0.1 C
above the 1750 level. In 2020 GCC went up to level 13 due to increase in population and massive energy
consumption produced by fossil fuels including petroleum and natural gas. 2020 temperature is 1.2 C
above the pre-industrial level. In the simulation we observe that an increase in GCC leads to a higher
surface temperature.

2. [Recommended time spent: 20-25 min] Past Exam Question (Was worth 19 pts)
Venus and Earth are regarded as twin sisters since they are both quite close to the Sun, they both have rocky surfaces,
and the radius of Venus is just 5% smaller than that of Earth. However, the environmental conditions on Venus are very
different, mainly due to its CO2-rich atmosphere (causing excessive greenhouse effect). Its average surface temperature is
465oC. Given that solar flux incident on Earth is 1367 W/m2;

Possibly Useful Info:

○ Average distance from the Sun to Venus (dv) = 0.723 AU
○ Albedo of Venus (A) = 0.75
○ Sun’s surface temperature = 5776 K
○ Radius of the Sun, rSun ≈ 6.96 x 108 m
○ 1 AU ≈ 1.496 x 1011 m
○ Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 𝝈 =5.6703x10-8 W/m2K4

a. Calculate the solar flux incident on Venus.

b. Calculate the effective radiative temperature of Venus.
c. What is the extent of the greenhouse effect on the average temperature of Venus?

Example Answer:
a. Splanet= Psun/(4𝜋d2) → Solar flux incident on Venus, SV = Psun/(4𝜋dv2)
Solar flux incident on Earth, SE = Psun/(4𝜋dE2)
Psun= SV (4𝜋dV2) = SE (4𝜋dE2)
Then, SV = SE (dE2 / dV2) = 1367 × (1/0.723)2 = 2615.1 W/m2

Alternatively, you can also calculate PSun using the Stefan-Boltzmann law you learned in
the lecture, given the surface temperature of the Sun, TSun = 5776 K, and the radius of the
Sun, rSun = 6.96 x 108 m.

PSun = 𝜎TSun4(4𝜋rSun2) = (5.67 x 10-8 W/m2-K4)(5776 K)4(4𝜋)(6.96 x 108 m)2 = 3.84167 x 1026 W
SV = PSun/(4𝜋dv2) = 3.8 x 1026 W/(4𝜋 x (0.723 x 1.496 x 1011 m)2) = 2613.2 W/m2

b. Energy collected per unit area of Venus: SV (1 − A)

Energy radiated from a unit area when in equilibrium: 𝜎T4
SV (1 - A) 𝜋 r2 = 4 𝜋 r2 𝜎T4 → T = {SV (1 − A)/4𝜎}1⁄4 ≈ 232 K

c. The average temperature of Venus is 465+273=738 K

Solar illumination is responsible for 232 K. The remaining ∼500 K is due to the greenhouse effect.

3. [Recommended time spent: 15 min] This week, we are discussing energy balance, but what energies exactly are
balanced? Let’s look at this with the quantitative representation of the energies involved, and see how it is related to
the “effective radiative temperature” that you calculated in class.
a. Recall this slide from the lectures:
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 Using the graphic information provided on this slide, explain what this equation mean: S𝜋r2(1−A) = 𝜎T44𝜋r2.
What does each of the symbols mean, and what are balanced?
b. Based on this equation and based on your results from Problem 2, discuss what the “effective radiative temperature”
represents.
c. Does the effective radiative temperature of a planet depend on the star-planet distance? Why or why not?

Example Answer:
a. The equation shows the energy balance when all the radiation energy received from the star is
reradiated back to space. In other words, it shows the energy balance when there is no
greenhouse effect. When there is no greenhouse effect, at equilibrium, all the energy incoming
and absorbed should be equal to all the energy re-radiated by the planet. The left hand side is
energy received from the star per second (because it is given in W which is equal to joules per
second). S refers to the star's energy flux (at the average distance from the star). As apparent
from its unit, this is the amount of energy that falls on a certain amount of area during a limited
time. The cross sectional area of the Earth with a radius of r, that faces the incoming flux is taken
as 𝜋r2 A is the albedo (also known as reflectivity), so (1-A) represents how much of this energy
per second is absorbed by the earth. On the right hand side 𝜎 is the Stefan-Boltzman constant, T
is the temperature of the earth (or planet) and r again is the radius of earth. 𝜎T4 is the total
radiative power in units of W/m2 given by the Stefan Boltzman equation. Multiplying this with the
total radiating area of earth 4𝜋r2 gives us the total radiation in W and balances the equation.
b. Effective radiative temperature represents the temperature of a planet if it acted like a
black-body. It is the temperature when it absorbs all the energy it receives and re-radiates back
all the energy it absorbed.
c. Although it is not shown in the equation explicitly, effective radiative temperature depends on the
star-planet distance. Because S depends on distance. S represents the incoming energy flux
from the star at the planet’s average distance from the star.

4. [Recommended time spent: 15 min] Average temperature of Mars, Earth, Venus and the Sun are −55oC, 14oC, 460oC
and 5500oC, respectively.
a. Use the simulation below to find the power radiated from each planet/star per square meter (m2) and the
percentage of that power that falls within the visible region.
The simulation: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/radfrac.html
- Put the temperature and the area, and look at the “Total power radiated”

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 Note: Keep the “emissivity” = 1, meaning that we assume these bodies can emit perfectly what they absorb.
This is, by definition, called a blackbody. More detailed (advanced) info can be found here: A Good Absorber is
a Good Emitter if you are interested.
Note2: Keep the wavelength range at the default values (λ1 = 400 nm and λ2 = 700 nm). This is the “visible
band” of the EM spectrum.
b. Compare the power radiated for each of these planets/star. Are the values what you expect?
c. How about the percentages in the visible region?

Example Answer:
a. Mars P = 128.4 watt -- 1.3 % of the total radiated power falls within the visible range.
Earth P = 385.5 watt -- 4.1 % of the total radiated power falls within the visible range.
Venus P = 1.64 x 104 watt -- 2.4 % of the total radiated power falls within the visible range.
Sun P = 6.30 x 107 watt -- 37 % of the total radiated power falls within the visible range.
b. The values should agree with P = σT4 − so, we expect that the higher the temperature, the higher
the power.
c. In addition to the power, the wavelength at which the blackbody curve peaks also depends on
the temperature of the body. They all radiate in the visible range but comparing the percentages
among the planets (which radiates mostly in IR) may not be that straightforward. Of course, the
Sun radiates a much higher percentage of its radiation in the visible range.

If you have time at the end of the recitation: Research on what other factors (sunlight amount, albedo, natural phenomena,
etc.) affect the global surface temperature of a planet.

This is an open question but you may want to consider the following:
● What’s Really Warming the World? :
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/
● Surface Habitability Factors and the Habitable Zone (from NS101 Universe Module)

End of the recitation worksheet

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