Energy in the Earth System

In the Earth system…

Energy Flows

Matter Cycles

Life Webs

Dr. Art’s Guide to the Planet Earth, Art Sussman, Ph.D.

Energy flows in waves

Energy flows, and is lost

Energy flows in the UniverseA hotter radiating body emits shorter wavelengths.

A cooler body emits longer wavelengths.

diagram

The Earth emits heat

To be continued…

The Moon and Earth

The Moon has no atmosphere

Moon’s energy budget differs

Greenhouse Effect

Warms Earth Needed for life

to thrive Gases: water vapor

carbon dioxide methane, and nitrous oxide

More than 2 atoms, bound loosely

transparent to incoming visible light

Opaque to IR radiated from Earth

Climate Change

What factors contribute to enhanced greenhouse effect?

Are human activities causing Earth to warm?

Antarctica from space

Antarctica

Antarctica is covered by ice

How snow is squeezed into ice

How an ice sheet is made

Antarctic ice

How thick is this ice sheet?

Layered ice

The ice core drill rig

The ice core

Handling ice cores

Studying ice cores

Layers in ice cores

Ice core sites in Antarctica

Vostok

Vostok ice core temperature difference from today

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

0 100 200 300 400Thousands of years before today

Te

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?

Vostok ice core temperature difference from today

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

0 100 200 300 400

Thousands of years before today

Tem

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ratu

re d

iffe

ren

ce

(d

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ree

s F

ah

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CO2 data

http://physics.gallaudet.edu/vostok/

Predict the CO levels in 2100…