Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The Earth has an energy budget. Our planet is constantly trying to balance the flow of energy in and out of the Earth system, however, human activities are throwing that out of balance, causing the planet to increase in temperature in response.
This was stated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which pointed out that according to a study they conducted, it has been proven for the first time with direct observations that radiative forcings are increasing due to human actions, affecting the planet's energy balance and, ultimately, causing climate change.
"This is the first calculation of the Earth's total radiative forcing using global observations, taking into account the effects of aerosols and greenhouse gases," said Ryan Kramer, first author of the paper and a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
"It is direct evidence that human activities are causing changes in the Earth's energy budget," he added.
NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project studies the radiation flux in the Earth's upper atmosphere.
A series of CERES instruments have flown continuously on satellites since 1997. Each measures how much energy enters the Earth's system and how much leaves, giving the overall net change in radiation. These data, in combination with other data sources, such as ocean heat measurements, show that there is an energy imbalance on our planet.
"But it doesn't tell us what factors are causing changes in the energy balance," Kramer said.
This study used a new technique to analyze how much of the total energy change is caused by humans. The researchers calculated how much of the imbalance was caused by fluctuations in factors that often occur naturally, such as water vapor, clouds, temperature and surface albedo - essentially the brightness or reflectivity of the Earth's surface.
Thus, the researchers calculated the energy change caused by each of these natural factors and then subtracted the values from the total. The excess portion is the radiative forcing.
According to the paper, the team found that human activities have caused radiative forcing on Earth to increase by approximately 0.5 watts per square meter between 2003 and 2018.
This increase is mainly due to greenhouse gas emissions from elements such as power generation, transportation and industrial manufacturing. Reduced reflective aerosols are also contributing to the imbalance.
The method used in the study could be used to track how human emissions are affecting the climate, monitor how well various mitigation efforts are working, and evaluate models to predict future changes in climate, NASA said.
"Creating a direct record of the radiative forcing calculated from observations will allow us to assess how well climate models can simulate these forcings," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City.
"This will allow us to make more confident projections about how the climate will change in the future," he said.
