What is climate forcing and how does it work?
Radiative forcing (or climate forcing) is the change in energy flux in the atmosphere caused by natural or anthropogenic factors of climate change as measured by watts / metre2. It is a scientific concept used to quantify and compare the external drivers of change to Earth’s energy balance.
What are the three types of climate forcing?
The three types of climate forcing are changes in solar irradiance, albedo, and atmospheric gases. Each of these factors is interconnected as an increase in solar irradiance, for example can cause ice to melt, which decreases albedo and increases the quantity of water vapour in the atmosphere.
What are climate forcing factors?
The main external climate forcings experienced over the last 2,000 years are volcanic eruptions, changes in solar radiation reaching the Earth, and increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols due to human activities.
What does climate forcing do to the environment?
In the same way as applying a pushing force to a physical object will cause it to become unbalanced and move, a climate forcing factor will change the climate system. When forcings result in incoming energy being greater than outgoing energy, the planet will warm (positive RF).
What is the best example of a climate forcing?
Examples of some of the most important types of forcings include: variations in solar radiation levels, volcanic eruptions, changing albedo, and changing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
What is climate forcing quizlet?
climate forcings. things that change global temperatures directly. -greenhouse gases, volcanoes, air pollution, land cover changes, etc. climate feedbacks. things that respond to temperature changes, but also affect temperature.
Which is an example of external climate forcing?
One is external forcing, which contains both natural and anthropogenic sources. Examples of natural external forcing include solar variability and volcanic eruptions. Examples of anthropogenic forcing are from changing concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and land cover use produced by human activities.
What is GCM in geography?
General circulation models (GCMs) are a class of computer-driven models for weather forecasting, understanding of climate, and for projecting climate change (IPCC, 2007). From: GIS and Geostatistical Techniques for Groundwater Science, 2019.
Which substances are regulated by the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto protocol covers six categories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphurhexafluoride (SF6).
What are the principal components of a GCM?
The mathematical expressions that comprise a GCM can be loosely broken down into three separate, but coupled categories: (1) the dynamics of the climate system that describe the large-scale movement of air masses and transport of energy and momentum; (2) the physics of the climate system such as radiation transmission …
How does GCM model work?
A general circulation model (GCM) is a type of climate model. It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean. It uses the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources (radiation, latent heat).
What is the function of Kyoto Protocol?
In short, the Kyoto Protocol operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets.