burns presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Stephen J. BurnsDepartment of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst
The Earth System
Earth is a complex system of interacting physical, chemical and biological processes, and provides a natural laboratory whose experiments have been running since the beginning of time.”
The Earth’s Climate System
Climate Feedback
• External Forcing - Incoming solar energy drives the climate system, volcanoes modify the climate system.
• Internal Forcing - Water vapor and other gases govern how the atmosphere reacts to solar energy, producing the “greenhouse” effect that keeps the Earth habitable.
Forces Acting on Climate Climate
Response
Impact
Components of the Climate System
Earth’s energy balance
The Greenhouse Effect: Feedbacks
68 100
Radiation budget at different latitudes
Climate through
time?
ENSO ImpactsOccur around the worldDroughts (e.g. Australia, Africa, Brazil, Indonesia)Floods (e.g. Peru, southern USA)
Marcott et al,. 2013
Foster and Rahmstorf (2011)