Why is the concept of radiative forcing critical to understanding the causes of global climate change?
What will be an ideal response?
Radiative forcing is the amount of change in thermal energy units (watts/square meter on the Earth's surface) caused by a given factor. This allows a quantitative scientific evaluation of the many variables that make up the equation of Earth's heat balance. The variables include solar output, ocean absorption, ocean circulation, changes in albedo, Milankovitch cycles, aerosols, and anthropogenic factors. Positive values indicate a warming effect, while negative values have a cooling effect. This analytical approach strengthens the scientific conclusions drawn about the relative importance of each variable contributing to climate change.
You might also like to view...
Why does it take less energy for a stream to pick up larger silt grains than smaller silt and clay sized particles?
What will be an ideal response?
Please explain why you selected the houses you did in Q1 and Q2. Please include what types of hazardous phenomena (e.g., liquefaction, tsunami, landslide, etc.)
you would expect at the other two houses you didn't select in Q1 and Q2 that would make it an earthquake hazard and WHY. What will be an ideal response?
Ecotopia was the name given by the author Callenbach to which region?
A) The Rocky Mountains B) The Intermontane C) California D) The Pacific Northwest E) Megalopolis
Match the correct terms to their correct positions in the solar system
A) Kuiper Belt B) Uranus C) Neptune D) Mars E) Saturn F) Venus G) Earth H) Sun I) Jupiter J) Mercury 1) A 2) B 3) C 4) D 5) E 6) F 7) G 8) H 9) I 10) J