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1 - Earth and Climate System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2022

Kevin E. Trenberth
Kevin E. Trenberth
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research
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Summary

The Sun is the center of our climate system. It provides a fairly steady stream of radiant energy to Earth, and in order to keep from heating up, Earth in turn radiates energy back out into space. In between the incoming and outgoing radiation are all of the rich complex processes involved in the climate system including all of the weather systems, the entire hydrological cycle, the ocean, land and ice, and the multitude of forms of heat and energy on the planet. The internal interactive components in the climate system (Fig. 1.1) include the atmosphere, oceans, ice, and land.

Type
Chapter
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The Changing Flow of Energy Through the Climate System , pp. 1 - 13
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

References and Further Reading

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013: Climate Change 2013. The Physical Science Basis, ed. Stocker, T. F., et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Karl, T. R., and Trenberth, K. E., 2003: Modern global climate change. Science, 302(5651), 1719–1723. Doi: 10.1126/science.1090228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lorenz, E. N., 1967: The Nature and Theory of the General Circulation of the Atmosphere. Vol. 218. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization, 161pp.Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society, 2020: Climate Change: Evidence and Causes: Update 2020. 36pp. Doi: 10.17226/25733.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oreskes, N., and Conway, E. M., 2010: Merchants of Doubt. London: Bloomsbury Press, 355pp.Google ScholarPubMed
Trenberth, K. E., ed., 1992: Climate System Modeling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 788pp.Google Scholar
Trenberth, K. E., 1997: The use and abuse of climate models in climate change research. Nature, 386, 131–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trenberth, K. E., 2001: Stronger evidence of human influence on climate: the 2001 IPCC Assessment. Environment, 43(4), 8–19.Google Scholar
Trenberth, K. E., 2018: Climate change caused by human activities is happening and it already has major consequences. Journal of Energy and Water Resources Law, 36, 463–481. Doi: 10.1080/02646811.2018.1450895.Google Scholar
Trenberth, K. E., Houghton, J. T., and Meira Filho, L. G., 1996: The climate system: an overview. In: Houghton, J. T., Meira Filho, L. G., Callander, B., et al., eds., Climate Change 1995. The Science of Climate Change. Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 51–64.Google Scholar

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