The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) top-of-atmosphere (TOA), Edition 4.0 (Ed4.0), data product is described. EBAF Ed4.0 is an update to EBAF ...Ed2.8, incorporating all of the Ed4.0 suite of CERES data product algorithm improvements and consistent input datasets throughout the record. A one-time adjustment to shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) TOA fluxes is made to ensure that global mean net TOA flux for July 2005–June 2015 is consistent with the in situ value of 0.71 W m−2.While global mean all-sky TOA flux differences between Ed4.0 and Ed2.8 are within 0.5 W m−2, appreciable SW regional differences occur over marine stratocumulus and snow/sea ice regions. Marked regional differences in SW clear-sky TOA flux occur in polar regions and dust areas over ocean. Clear-sky LW TOA fluxes in EBAF Ed4.0 exceed Ed2.8 in regions of persistent high cloud cover. Owing to substantial differences in global mean clear-sky TOA fluxes, the net cloud radiative effect in EBAF Ed4.0 is −18 W m−2 compared to −21 W m−2 in EBAF Ed2.8. The overall uncertainty in 1° × 1° latitude–longitude regional monthly all-sky TOA flux is estimated to be 3 W m−2 one standard deviation (1σ) for the Terra-only period and 2.5 W m−2 for the Terra–Aqua period both for SW and LW fluxes. The SW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is estimated to be 6 W m−2 for the Terra-only period and 5 W m−2 for the Terra–Aqua period. The LW clear-sky regional monthly flux uncertainty is 5 W m−2 for Terra only and 4.5 W m−2 for Terra–Aqua.
Earth's Energy Imbalance (EEI) is a relatively small (presently ∼0.3%) difference between global mean solar radiation absorbed and thermal infrared radiation emitted to space. EEI is set by natural ...and anthropogenic climate forcings and the climate system's response to those forcings. It is also influenced by internal variations within the climate system. Most of EEI warms the ocean; the remainder heats the land, melts ice, and warms the atmosphere. We show that independent satellite and in situ observations each yield statistically indistinguishable decadal increases in EEI from mid‐2005 to mid‐2019 of 0.50 ± 0.47 W m−2 decade−1 (5%–95% confidence interval). This trend is primarily due to an increase in absorbed solar radiation associated with decreased reflection by clouds and sea‐ice and a decrease in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) due to increases in trace gases and water vapor. These changes combined exceed a positive trend in OLR due to increasing global mean temperatures.
Plain Language Summary
Climate is determined by how much of the sun's energy the Earth absorbs and how much energy Earth sheds through emission of thermal infrared radiation. Their sum determines whether Earth heats up or cools down. Continued increases in concentrations of well‐mixed greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and the long time‐scales time required for the ocean, cryosphere, and land to come to thermal equilibrium with those increases result in a net gain of energy, hence warming, on Earth. Most of this excess energy (about 90%) warms the ocean, with the remainder heating the land, melting snow and ice, and warming the atmosphere. Here we compare satellite observations of the net radiant energy absorbed by Earth with a global array of measurements used to determine heating within the ocean, land and atmosphere, and melting of snow and ice. We show that these two independent approaches yield a decadal increase in the rate of energy uptake by Earth from mid‐2005 through mid‐2019, which we attribute to decreased reflection of energy back into space by clouds and sea‐ice and increases in well‐mixed greenhouse gases and water vapor.
Key Points
Satellite and in situ observations independently show an approximate doubling of Earth's Energy Imbalance (EEI) from mid‐2005 to mid‐2019
Anthropogenic forcing, internal variability, and climate feedbacks all contribute to the positive trend in EEI
Marked decreases in clouds and sea‐ice and increases in trace gases and water vapor combine to increase the rate of planetary heat uptake
Interannual variability of the global radiation budget, regions that contribute to its variability, and what limits albedo variability are investigated using Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy ...System (CERES) data taken from March 2000 through February 2004. Area-weighted mean top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflected shortwave, longwave, and net irradiance standard deviations computed from monthly anomalies over a 1° × 1° region are 9.6, 7.6, and 7.6W m−2, respectively. When standard deviations are computed from global monthly anomalies, they drop to 0.5, 0.4, and 0.4 W m−2, respectively. Clouds are mostly responsible for the variation. Regions with a large standard deviation of TOA shortwave and longwave irradiance at TOA are the tropical western and central Pacific, which is caused by shifting from La Niña to El Niño during this period. However, a larger standard deviation of 300–1000-hPa thickness anomalies occurs in the polar region instead of the tropics. The correlation coefficient between atmospheric net irradiance anomalies and 300–1000-hPa thickness anomalies is negative. These indicate that temperature anomalies in the atmosphere are mostly a result of anomalies in longwave and dynamical processes that transport energy poleward, instead of albedo anomalies by clouds directly affecting temperature anomalies in the atmosphere. With simple zonal-mean thermodynamic energy equations it is demonstrated that temperature anomalies decay exponentially with time by longwave emission and by dynamical processes. As a result, the mean meridional temperature gradient is maintained. Therefore, mean meridional circulations are not greatly altered by albedo anomalies on an annual time scale, which in turn provides small interannual variability of the global mean albedo.
The algorithm to produce the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Edition 4.0 (Ed4) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF)-surface data product is explained. The algorithm forces computed ...top-of-atmosphere (TOA) irradiances to match with Ed4 EBAF-TOA irradiances by adjusting surface, cloud, and atmospheric properties. Surface irradiances are subsequently adjusted using radiative kernels. The adjustment process is composed of two parts: bias correction and Lagrange multiplier. The bias in temperature and specific humidity between 200 and 500 hPa used for the irradiance computation is corrected based on observations by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). Similarly, the bias in the cloud fraction is corrected based on observations by Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) and CloudSat. Remaining errors in surface, cloud, and atmospheric properties are corrected in the Lagrange multiplier process. Ed4 global annual mean (January 2005 through December 2014) surface net shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) irradiances increase by 1.3 W m−2 and decrease by 0.2 W m−2, respectively, compared to EBAF Edition 2.8 (Ed2.8) counterparts (the previous version), resulting in an increase in net SW + LW surface irradiance of 1.1 W m−2. The uncertainty in surface irradiances over ocean, land, and polar regions at various spatial scales are estimated. The uncertainties in all-sky global annual mean upward and downward shortwave irradiance are 3 and 4 W m−2, respectively, and the uncertainties in upward and downward longwave irradiance are 3 and 6 W m−2, respectively. With an assumption of all errors being independent, the uncertainty in the global annual mean surface LW + SW net irradiance is 8 W m−2.
This review describes image analyses for chromosome visible structures, focusing on the chromosome imaging system CHIAS (Chromosome Image Analyzing System). CHIAS is the first comprehensive imaging ...system for the analysis and characterization of plant chromosomes. A simulation method for human vision for capturing band positive regions was developed and used for the image analysis of large plant chromosomes with bands. Applying this method to C-banded
Crepis
chromosomes enabled recognition of band positive regions as seen by human vision. Furthermore, a new image parameter, condensation pattern was developed and successfully applied to identify small plant chromosomes such as rice and brassicas. Condensation profile (CP) derived from condensation pattern was also effective in developing quantitative chromosome maps. The result was quantitative chromosomal maps of several plants with small chromosomes, including
Arabidopsis
, diploid brassicas, rapeseed, rice, spinach, and sugarcane. In the final chapter, various applications of imaging techniques to the analysis of pachytene chromosomes, improved visibility of multicolor FISH images, 3D reconstruction of a human chromosome based on cross-section images obtained by a FIB/SEM, automatic extraction of chromosomal regions by machine learning, etc. are described.
The energy budgets over land and oceans are still afflicted with considerable uncertainties, despite their key importance for terrestrial and maritime climates. We evaluate these budgets as ...represented in 43 CMIP5 climate models with direct observations from both surface and space and identify substantial biases, particularly in the surface fluxes of downward solar and thermal radiation. These flux biases in the various models are then linearly related to their respective land and ocean means to infer best estimates for present day downward solar and thermal radiation over land and oceans. Over land, where most direct observations are available to constrain the surface fluxes, we obtain 184 and 306 Wm
−2
for solar and thermal downward radiation, respectively. Over oceans, with weaker observational constraints, corresponding estimates are around 185 and 356 Wm
−2
. Considering additionally surface albedo and emissivity, we infer a surface absorbed solar and net thermal radiation of 136 and −66 Wm
−2
over land, and 170 and −53 Wm
−2
over oceans, respectively. The surface net radiation is thus estimated at 70 Wm
−2
over land and 117 Wm
−2
over oceans, which may impose additional constraints on the poorly known sensible/latent heat flux magnitudes, estimated here near 32/38 Wm
−2
over land, and 16/100 Wm
−2
over oceans. Estimated uncertainties are on the order of 10 and 5 Wm
−2
for most surface and TOA fluxes, respectively. By combining these surface budgets with satellite-determined TOA budgets we quantify the atmospheric energy budgets as residuals (including ocean to land transports), and revisit the global mean energy balance.
Exercise has numerous health-promoting effects in humans; however, individual responsiveness to exercise with regard to endurance or metabolic health differs markedly. This 'exercise resistance' is ...considered to be congenital, with no evident acquired causative factors. Here we show that the anti-oxidative hepatokine selenoprotein P (SeP) causes exercise resistance through its muscle receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). SeP-deficient mice showed a 'super-endurance' phenotype after exercise training, as well as enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and peroxisome proliferative activated receptor γ coactivator (Ppargc)-1α (also known as PGC-1α; encoded by Ppargc1a) expression in skeletal muscle. Supplementation with the anti-oxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced ROS production and the endurance capacity in SeP-deficient mice. SeP treatment impaired hydrogen-peroxide-induced adaptations through LRP1 in cultured myotubes and suppressed exercise-induced AMPK phosphorylation and Ppargc1a gene expression in mouse skeletal muscle-effects which were blunted in mice with a muscle-specific LRP1 deficiency. Furthermore, we found that increased amounts of circulating SeP predicted the ineffectiveness of training on endurance capacity in humans. Our study suggests that inhibitors of the SeP-LRP1 axis may function as exercise-enhancing drugs to treat diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Synoptic (SYN1deg), edition 3, product provides climate-quality global 3-hourly 1 degree 1 degree gridded top of atmosphere, in-atmosphere, and ...surface radiant fluxes. The in-atmosphere surface fluxes are computed hourly using a radiative transfer code based upon inputs from Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), 3-hourly geostationary (GEO) data, and meteorological assimilation data from the Goddard Earth Observing System. The GEO visible and infrared imager calibration is tied to MODIS to ensure uniform MODIS-like cloud properties across all satellite cloud datasets. Computed surface radiant fluxes are compared to surface observations at 85 globally distributed land (37) and ocean buoy (48) sites as well as several other publicly available global surface radiant flux data products. Computed monthly mean downward fluxes from SYN1deg have a bias (standard deviation) of 3.0 W m super(-2) (5.7%) for shortwave and -4.0 W m super(-2) (2.9%) for longwave compared to surface observations. The standard deviation between surface downward shortwave flux calculations and observations at the 3-hourly time scale is reduced when the diurnal cycle of cloud changes is explicitly accounted for. The improvement is smaller for surface downward longwave flux owing to an additional sensitivity to boundary layer temperature/humidity, which has a weaker diurnal cycle compared to clouds.
The albedo of Earth Stephens, Graeme L.; O'Brien, Denis; Webster, Peter J. ...
Reviews of geophysics,
March 2015, Volume:
53, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The fraction of the incoming solar energy scattered by Earth back to space is referred to as the planetary albedo. This reflected energy is a fundamental component of the Earth's energy balance, and ...the processes that govern its magnitude, distribution, and variability shape Earth's climate and climate change. We review our understanding of Earth's albedo as it has progressed to the current time and provide a global perspective of our understanding of the processes that define it. Joint analyses of surface solar flux data that are a complicated mix of measurements and model calculations with top‐of‐atmosphere (TOA) flux measurements from current orbiting satellites yield a number of surprising results including (i) the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (NH, SH) reflect the same amount of sunlight within ~ 0.2 W m−2. This symmetry is achieved by increased reflection from SH clouds offsetting precisely the greater reflection from the NH land masses. (ii) The albedo of Earth appears to be highly buffered on hemispheric and global scales as highlighted by both the hemispheric symmetry and a remarkably small interannual variability of reflected solar flux (~0.2% of the annual mean flux). We show how clouds provide the necessary degrees of freedom to modulate the Earth's albedo setting the hemispheric symmetry. We also show that current climate models lack this same degree of hemispheric symmetry and regulation by clouds. The relevance of this hemispheric symmetry to the heat transport across the equator is discussed.
Key Points
Reviews our understanding of the Earths albedo and factors that shape it
The albedo of Earth is highly regulated mostly by clouds
The regulation has surprising consequences, and the implications are discussed
Clouds are an essential parameter of the surface energy budget influencing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) response to atmospheric warming and net contribution to global sea level rise. A 4-yr ...record of NASA A-Train cloud observations is combined with surface radiation measurements to quantify the WAIS radiation budget and constrain the three-dimensional occurrence frequency, thermodynamic phase partitioning, and surface radiative effect of clouds over West Antarctica (WA). The skill of satellite-modeled radiative fluxes is confirmed through evaluation against measurements at four Antarctic sites (WAIS Divide ice camp and Neumayer, Syowa, and Concordia stations). Owing to perennial high-albedo snow and ice cover, cloud infrared emission dominates over cloud solar reflection and absorption leading to a positive net all-wave cloud radiative effect (CRE) at the surface, with all monthly means and 99.15% of instantaneous CRE values exceeding zero. The annual-mean CRE at the WAIS surface is 34 W m−2, representing a significant cloud-induced warming of the ice sheet. Low-level liquid-containing clouds, including thin liquid water clouds implicated in radiative contributions to surface melting, are widespread and most frequent in WA during the austral summer. In summer, clouds warm the WAIS by 26 W m−2, on average, despite maximum offsetting shortwave CRE. Glaciated cloud systems are strongly linked to orographic forcing, with maximum incidence on the WAIS continuing downstream along the Transantarctic Mountains.
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