Book contents
- The Changing Flow of Energy through the Climate System
- The Changing Flow of Energy through the Climate System
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Earth and Climate System
- 2 Earth’s Energy Imbalance and Climate Change
- 3 Earth’s Energy Balance
- 4 The Sun–Earth System
- 5 Observations of Temperature, Moisture, Precipitation, and Radiation
- 6 The Climate System
- Flows of Energy
- 7 The Weather Machine
- 8 The Dynamic Ocean
- 9 Poleward Heat Transports by the Atmosphere and Ocean
- 10 The Changing Hydrological Cycle
- 11 Teleconnections and Patterns of Variability
- 12 El Niño
- 13 Feedbacks and Climate Sensitivity
- 14 Earth’s Energy Imbalance Estimates
- 15 Attribution and the Hiatus
- 16 Prediction and Projection
- 17 Emissions and Information
- 18 Climate Change and Environmental Issues
- Glossary
- Acronyms
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
14 - Earth’s Energy Imbalance Estimates
from Flows of Energy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2022
- The Changing Flow of Energy through the Climate System
- The Changing Flow of Energy through the Climate System
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Earth and Climate System
- 2 Earth’s Energy Imbalance and Climate Change
- 3 Earth’s Energy Balance
- 4 The Sun–Earth System
- 5 Observations of Temperature, Moisture, Precipitation, and Radiation
- 6 The Climate System
- Flows of Energy
- 7 The Weather Machine
- 8 The Dynamic Ocean
- 9 Poleward Heat Transports by the Atmosphere and Ocean
- 10 The Changing Hydrological Cycle
- 11 Teleconnections and Patterns of Variability
- 12 El Niño
- 13 Feedbacks and Climate Sensitivity
- 14 Earth’s Energy Imbalance Estimates
- 15 Attribution and the Hiatus
- 16 Prediction and Projection
- 17 Emissions and Information
- 18 Climate Change and Environmental Issues
- Glossary
- Acronyms
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
Global Earth’s Energy Imbalance (EEI) is a fundamental metric of climate change, and the local distribution of the imbalance has implications for regional climate variations. It has been a major challenge to rein in the uncertainties and reasonably establish the EEI. Previous chapters have exploited the local energy imbalance estimates to examine resulting heat transports and anomalies, and teleconnections. The atmosphere and oceans are dynamically active, and many phenomena attempt to move heat to where it can best be either lost in some sense, such as by radiation to space, or perhaps sequestered by being buried deep in the ocean. Although there is somewhat constrained effectiveness in many phenomena, such as hurricanes or ENSO, in redistributing heat and keeping regions cooler than they otherwise would be, these aspects are often not replicated well in climate models. Hence it is vital to understand the net heat gain, and how much and where heat is distributed within the Earth system. How much heat might be readily purged and serve as a negative feedback to warming?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Changing Flow of Energy Through the Climate System , pp. 210 - 233Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022