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The Earth's weather is a consequence of its illumination by the Sun and the laws of thermodynamics. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's energy and whose energy sink, ultimately, is the blackness of space. The work produced by that engine causes the motion of the masses of air, and in that process it ...
A simple radiant heat transfer model treats the earth as a single point and averages outgoing energy; This can be expanded vertically (radiative-convective models), or horizontally; Finally, (coupled) atmosphere–ocean–sea ice global climate models discretise and solve the full equations for mass and energy transfer and radiant exchange.
The primary method by which the Sun transfers heat to the Earth is thermal radiation. This energy is partially absorbed and scattered in the atmosphere, the latter process being the reason why the sky is visibly blue. [3] Much of the Sun's radiation transmits through the atmosphere to the surface where it is either absorbed or reflected.
Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere.Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, radiation budget, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere (as well as how these tie into boundary systems such as the oceans).
A representation of the exchanges of energy between the source (the Sun), the Earth's surface, the Earth's atmosphere, and the ultimate sink outer space. The ability of the atmosphere to redirect and recycle [41] energy emitted by the Earth surface is the defining characteristic of the greenhouse effect.
The windows provide direct channels for Earth's surface to receive electromagnetic energy from the Sun, and for thermal radiation from the surface to leave to space. [3] Atmospheric windows are useful for astronomy , remote sensing , telecommunications and other science and technology applications.
The Earth-atmosphere system is radiatively cooled, emitting long-wave radiation which balances the absorption of short-wave (visible light) energy from the sun. Convective transport of heat, and evaporative transport of latent heat are both important in removing heat from the surface and distributing it in the atmosphere.
Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to-work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the Earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. . Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to describe and explain such phenomena as the properties of moist air, the formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and ...