Reference no: EM133634060
The three energy "reservoirs" shown in the diagram are the Earth (green), the atmosphere (darker blue) and space (off the top of the diagram). The numbers show the fluxes of energy between the reservoirs. Remember, steady state means the flux of energy into a reservoir equals the flux of energy out of the reservoir.
The arrow labels on this diagram are often labelled with "absorbed" or "reflected". What do these two words mean in terms of energy transfer from one reservoir to another?
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Because it shows a system in a steady state, note that the incoming solar radiation from outer space (341) equals the amount of outgoing radiation to outer space (102 + 239 = 341; look at the numbers across the top), all in watts/m2.
How much energy is absorbed by the solid Earth as shown in this diagram. You'll have to add some numbers here to get this answer. Show all of your math for full credit.
How much energy is emitted by the solid Earth as shown in this diagram. Again, you'll have to do some addition. Show all of your math for full credit.
Note that the surface radiation emitted from the Earth's surface is 396 W/m2. How does this number compare to the amount of incoming solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface from outer space? How does it compare with the amount of energy that is lost back to outer space?
In the previous question you should have found that the 396 W/m2 emitted from the Earth's surface is much bigger than both the amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface from outer space as well as the amount of energy that is lost back to outer space. (If you didn't, go back and look again.) What's going on here? What process is causing these big discrepancies?
If more CO2 goes into the atmosphere, which of the numbers on this diagram would change, and how would they change?