Earth’s atmosphere trapping ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat: NASA, NOAA report
Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have determined in new research that the Earth’s atmosphere has been trapping an “unprecedented” amount of heat, with the planet’s energy imbalance approximately doubling from 2005 to 2019.
NASA explained in a release Tuesday that the blue marble’s climate is determined by the balance between how much of the sun’s energy is absorbed in the atmosphere and at the surface and how much thermal infrared radiation is emitted into space.
Additionally, the researchers found that a change in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), a pattern of Pacific climate variability, to a warm phase “likely played a major role in the intensification of the energy imbalance.”
Ultimately, the study determined that unless the rate of heat intake abates, the Earth is in for greater changes in climate.