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Energy flows between space, the atmosphere, and Earth's surface. Rising greenhouse gas levels are contributing to an energy imbalance. Factors affecting Earth's climate can be broken down into forcings, feedbacks and internal variations. [14]: 7 Four main lines of evidence support the dominant role of human activities in recent climate change: [17]
The volcanic eruptions considered to be large enough to affect the Earth's climate on a scale of more than 1 year are the ones that inject over 100,000 tons of SO 2 into the stratosphere. [72] This is due to the optical properties of SO 2 and sulfate aerosols, which strongly absorb or scatter solar radiation, creating a global layer of sulfuric ...
As the Sun is the Earth's primary energy source, changes in incoming sunlight directly affect the climate system. [140] Solar irradiance has been measured directly by satellites , [ 147 ] and indirect measurements are available from the early 1600s onwards. [ 140 ]
The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get." [ 16 ] Over historical time spans, there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude , altitude, proportion of land to water, and proximity to oceans and mountains.
The five components of the climate system all interact. They are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. [1]: 1451 Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things).
Earth's energy budget (or Earth's energy balance) is the balance between the energy that Earth receives from the Sun and the energy the Earth loses back into outer space. Smaller energy sources, such as Earth's internal heat, are taken into consideration, but make a tiny contribution compared to solar energy.
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...
Climate change occurs when changes of Earth's climate system result in new weather patterns that remain for an extended period of time. This duration of time can be as brief as a few decades to as long as millions of years. The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also gives off energy to outer space.