Global Energy Balance (2 of 2)

Lecture 5, 02/9/2023
Jacquelyn Bracco
 All Matter Emits Electromagnetic Radiation

All Matter Also Absorbs (to varying degrees)

Electromagnetic Radiation

A Blackbody Absorbs ALL Radiation it Encounters

- Emitted Radiation from a Blackbody is Dependent on
the Temperature of the Blackbody

A Blackbody is a perfect/ideal absorber and emitter

UV visible infrared

Planck functions for

Sun and Earth:
Why Sun’s radiation
peaks in the visible
and Earth’s peaks in
IR

Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.8

Planck function describes shape of blackbody spectrum

mm
Wien’s law:
wavelength of the
most intense
T is temperature in
units of Kelvin (K) radiation

Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.7b

 Stefan-Boltzmann law:
Total energy flux from a blackbody (S) = sT4
T is in Kelvin
s = 5.67 x 10-8 W m-
2
K-4

Amount of energy
released by
blackbody is very
temperature sensitive

Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.7c

 Venus’ high albedo comes from the
permanent cloud layer that surrounds the
planet. These clouds are made up of sulfur
dioxide and sulfuric acid that reflect much of
the radiation that falls upon them.

This image shows the night side of Venus in

thermal infrared. It is a false-colour image using
data from Akatsuki's IR2 camera in two
wavelengths, 1.74 and 2.26 microns. Darker
regions denote thicker clouds, but changes in
color can also denote differences in cloud particle
size or composition from place to place.
More info here:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-
blogs/2018/0116-a-new-look-at-venus-
with-akatsuki.html
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/blackbody-spectru
m/latest/blackbody-spectrum_en.html
As surface temperature increases, outgoing IR flux increases

But if outgoing IR flux increases, surface temperature decrease

 Planetary energy balance systems diagram
without greenhouse gases
Solar
Effective Solar Irradiance
radiative
temperature: flux (S)

Temperature
planet would have Effective
Effective
Temperature (-)
Outgoing
Outgoing
IR
Temperature IR flux
if it radiated as a (Teff) flux

true blackbody
Albedo
Albedo (A)
(equation on
board)
 Greenhouse effect

DTg = Ts - Teff

DTg: change in surface T due to greenhouse

effect

Ts: actual surface temperature

In Class Activity Magnitude of Greenhouse
Effect on Earth and Different Planets

11
The average surface temperature of the Earth (Ts) is
approximately 288 K (15C or 59F).

How does the value of Ts compare to the value of Teff that

you calculated in Question 1 (255K)?

Calculate the difference (in K), which is DTg or the Earth’s

greenhouse effect.
Conduction
Heat Transfer
Convection
Latent Heat
Sensible Heat
Radiation

Which are most

important in the
atmosphere?
Heat Transfer
Latent heat flux:
http://geog.uoregon.edu/
envchange/clim_animati
ons/flash/lhtfl.html

Sensible heat flux:

http://geog.uoregon.edu/
envchange/clim_animati
ons/flash/shtfl.html
 Latent heat of vaporization: energy is taken up by evaporation and then
released to the atmosphere during condensation (moves ~30% of radiated heat in
global energy balance)

Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.19

Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere

0.04 400
Atmospheric Structure

Most important are troposphere

and stratosphere

Troposphere
Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.9b
Troposphere (surface to
10-15 km): where Earth’s
weather occurs
Well mixed by
convection - heat rises
from surface so the layer
is unstable
Sunlight absorbed by
surface, IR transported
until it reaches an altitude
where the atmosphere is
more transparent to IR
radiation
Stratosphere
50 km: temperature
peak caused by
absorption of UV
radiation by O3

Less mixed due to no

convection, more
“stratified” layer

Kump et al., The Earth System Figure 3.9b

Atmospheric Structure
 Next Class: Greenhouse gases
Due:
Reading: Steffen et al., 2018 (and SI) and
Stephens et al 2012 – summary only due for one
(2/14)
ICA 2 (Sea ice) due 2/14
Due 2/16: ICA on magnitude of greenhouse effect
2/23: Test 1