(a) average amount of sunlight (in (b) average amount of heat (in Watts per

Watts per square meter) that was square meter) emitted from the Earth back
reflected from the Earth back into into space during a day in July 2000.
space during a day in July 2000.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images 55

(b) model with an atmosphere

transparent to solar
absorbs & emits longwave

surface warmed by net solar radiation

and downward longwave radiation
surface temperature Ts~300K

cf Ts~255K for no atmosphere

Note
radiation is not trapped,
instead reach new equilibrium with warmer ground 28
(c) Realistic atmosphere

Absorption of radiation is not uniform with wavelength in the

atmosphere:

29

(i) high absorption (ultra violet) by O2, O3

" < 0.3µm
(ii) window of little absorption (visible)
0.3 to 0.7 m
!
(iii) high absorption (infra-red) by H2O, CO2,
1 to 15 m N2O, CH4
29
 Absorption of radiation by gases

The mechanism of absorption differs depending on the the wavelength

UltraViolet InfraRed MicroWave

Molecule Dissociation Molecule Vibration Molecule Turning

-Di-atomic molecules (O2, N2) do not absorb IR radiation

(no electric dipole moment)

-Tri-atomic molecules (H2O, CO2, N2O, CH4, …) present different

forms of vibration and thus absorb at different wavelength
 Estimate of the Earth’s annual and global mean energy balance. Over the long term, the amount of incoming solar radiation absorbed by
the Earth and atmosphere is balanced by the Earth and atmosphere releasing the same amount of outgoing longwave radiation. About
half of the incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth’s surface. This energy is transferred to the atmosphere by warming the air in
contact with the surface (thermals), by evapotranspiration and by longwave radiation that is absorbed by clouds and greenhouse gases.
The atmosphere in turn radiates longwave energy back to Earth as well as out to space. Source: Kiehl and Trenberth (1997).

http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/FAQ/wg1_faq-1.1.html
IPCC (2007) 61

http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/FAQ/wg1_faq-1.3.html
62
1.6 Planetary atmospheres

Venus, Earth, Mars had similar high CO2 atmosphere

32

Venus

Temperature
The temperature of the
uppermost layer of Venus's
clouds averages about 13
degrees C. However, the
temperature of the planet's
surface is about 465 C,
higher than that of any other
planet.

Venus's permanently cloudy atmosphere

seen by Pioneer Venus orbiter in 1979
[Image: NASA]

64
 Acid Haze on Venus Credit: ESA/MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
Venus Express spacecraft currently orbiting Venus. The bright and smooth haze was found by Venus Express to be rich in sulfuric
acid, created when an unknown process lifted water vapor and sulphur dioxide from lower levels into Venus' upper atmosphere.
There, sunlight broke these molecules apart and some of them recombined into the volatile sulfuric acid. Over the course of just a
few days last July, the smooth acidic clouds spread from the South Pole of Venus across half the planet. The above false-color
picture of Venus was taken last July 23rd in ultraviolet light, and shows the unusual haze as relatively smooth regions across the
image bottom. 65

Mars

Atmosphere
Carbon dioxide makes up 95.3
percent of the gas in the
atmosphere of Mars. Other
gases include nitrogen (N2),
2.7 percent; argon (Ar), 1.6
percent; oxygen 0.13%;
carbon monoxide (CO), 0.07
percent; and water vapor
(H2O), 0.03 percent.
The planet Mars, like Earth, has clouds Pressure
in its atmosphere and a deposit of ice at
its north pole. But unlike Earth, Mars
has no liquid water on its surface. The
At the surface of Mars, the
rustlike color of Mars comes from the atmospheric pressure is
large amount of iron in the planet's soil.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space
typically 0.7 percent of the
Science Systems atmospheric pressure at
Earth's surface.

http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/mars_worldbook.html
66
NASA Selects 'MAVEN' Mission to Study
Mars Atmosphere
09.15.08

NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission

that will provide information about the Red
Planet's atmosphere, climate history and
potential habitability in greater detail than
ever before.

Called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile

EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, the $485
million mission is scheduled for launch in late
2013.
Artist's concept: Disappearance of the ancient magnetic
Mars once had a denser atmosphere that field may have triggered the loss of the Martian
supported the presence of liquid water on atmosphere. Credit: NASA.
the surface. As part of a dramatic climate
change, most of the Martian atmosphere
was lost. MAVEN will make definitive
scientific measurements of present-day
atmospheric loss that will offer clues about
the planet's history.

67
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/maven_20080915.html

1.6 Planetary atmospheres

Venus, Earth, Mars had similar high CO2 atmosphere

Ts
Venus 750K strong greenhouse
thick CO2 atmosphere
100% cloud cover

Earth 280K weak greenhouse

Mars 220K very weak greenhouse

thin CO2 atmosphere

32
Why the different evolution?

Venus — no chemical weathering

as no rain, since H2O as vapour

Earth — H2O and CO2 exchanged

between atmosphere & ocean,
& from volcanoes

Mars — lost most of atmosphere

carbon stored in rock
no release from volcanoes, as
geothermal activity ceased
33

The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment

70
 1.7 Heat transport
Solar heating per unit horizontal area
greater in tropics, than the pole.

• if no atmosphere/ocean
expect local radiative balance
large T contrast between equator & pole

• if atmosphere/ocean
no local radiative balance
polewards heat transport by fluids

smaller T contrast between equator & pole

34

Shortwave radiation (from the Sun) and longwave radiation (heat emitted by the Earth) vary with
latitude. The difference between the two shows that the Earth is a net absorber of energy (i.e.
absorbed energy > outgoing energy) in the tropics, and a net emitter (outgoing energy > absorbed
energy) in the polar regions. This is a plot of zonal mean radiation; that is, it shows how the
radiation varies with latitude but not longitude. If you imagine a circle around the globe at each
latitude, the radiation has been averaged around the circle, because in this case the variation with
longitude is less interesting than the variation with latitude.

http://www.climateprediction.net/science/cl-intro.php 37
 Poleward heat transport

6
Atmosphere.

4
Heat transport (PW)

-2
Ocean

-4

-6

-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80

Latitude

1 PW = 1015W 73

1.8 Hydrological cycle

Residence time of a water parcel:
10 days — atmosphere
1 year — land/soil
3000 year — ocean
> 4000 years — ice sheets

Air-sea exchange:
evaporation > precipitation in the tropics
" " < " " high latitudes

Transport
Atmosphere transfers moisture polewards
Ocean returns fresh water equatorwards.

cf. heat is fluxed polewards by both

35
atmosphere & ocean
 1.9 Feedbacks in the climate system
positive feedback amplifies a perturbation
negative " " dampens "
Climate system has many feedback processes.

Examples?
(a) ice-albedo feedback — positive feedback

(b) H2O vapour and CO2 feedback — positive feedback

(c) cloud feedback —maybe negative or positive

Satellite data suggests might be overall negative

Feedbacks are crucial to amplify forcing mechanisms &

explain climate record 36