The Earth is constantly trying to find a balance between the energy that comes from the Sun and the energy that our planet releases back into space. Since the industrial revolution, humanity has thrown this energy budget out of balance, emitting greenhouse gases that capture more radiation.
Adding these greenhouse gases leads to something called radiation shock. Evidence for this phenomenon has been established by examining greenhouse gas densities and surface temperature changes over the past 150 years, but not directly. In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists report at first glance the ever-increasing global radiation thrust.
“This is the first calculation of the Earth’s total radical propulsion using global observations, describing the effects of aerosol and greenhouse gases,” said lead author Dr. Ryan Kramer, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and University Maryland, in a statement. “It is direct evidence that human activity is causing changes in the Earth’s energy budget.”
Since 1997, thanks to NASA Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Power System (CERES), scientists have been able to measure what energy comes from the Sun and how much energy the Earth reflects on it. back into space. This type of data can track the changes in the energy budget, but is not the cause of radiation stimulation.
Other NASA satellites have helped with that impressive problem. They can be used to monitor changes in natural onions that affect energy budget. Clouds, surface brightness, and rain mist are examples of these. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite measures the water valve in our atmosphere, which absorbs heat – so depending on the level of humidity in the atmosphere, the energy left the different Earth.
The team then created a new computing method to remove the changes from natural sources in the energy measurements made by CERES. They showed that radiation scattering has increased by 0.5 Watts per square meter from 2003 to 2018. This is largely due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but a decrease in reflective aerosol also plays a role according to the researchers.
“Creating a direct record of radiation exposure measured from observation will allow us to assess how well climate models can simulate these forcings,” explained Gavin Schmidt, director of the Institute of Studies NASA Space Agency (GISS) in New York City. “This will allow us to make more confident predictions about how the weather will change in the future. ”
The new method is fast and can be used to monitor day-to-day changes, as well as being used as a test bed for future models.