EESA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Energy Flux, Milankovitch Cycles, Pleistocene
Document Summary
Earth"s climate is all about energy fluxes and the balance between outgoing and incoming energy. A warm substance is warm bc it holds more energy than a cold substance. If a warm substance becomes cooler, energy is leaving the substance (vice versa) In a steady state earth, incoming energy will equal outgoing energy over a year. If this is not true, the earth will either warm up or cool down. Earth receives all energy as incoming solar radiation (insolation) The rate (amount per time) of energy (joules) received at a surface is called power (js^-1) 1 joule per second = 1 watt (w) Power per surface area is an energy flux and is measured in wm^-2. Differs spatially leading to differences in energy inputs depending on location. Differs temporally leading to differences in energy inputs depending on time of year. Marks part of the earth that receives highest amount of energy inputs.
