Solar Radiation & The Earth'S Energy Balance

SOLAR RADIATION & THE EARTH’S
ENERGY BALANCE
The Earth’s climate is a solar powered system. Globally, over the course of the year, the
Earth system—land surfaces, oceans, and atmosphere—absorbs an average of about
240 watts of solar power per square meter (one watt is one joule of energy every
second). The absorbed sunlight drives photosynthesis, fuels evaporation, melts snow
and ice, and warms the Earth system.
The Sun doesn’t heat the Earth evenly. Because the Earth is a sphere, the Sun heats
equatorial regions more than polar regions. The atmosphere and ocean work non-stop
to even out solar heating imbalances through evaporation of surface water, convection,
rainfall, winds, and ocean circulation. This coupled atmosphere and ocean circulation is
known as Earth’s heat engine.
The climate’s heat engine must not only redistribute solar heat from the equator toward
the poles, but also from the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere back to space.
Otherwise, Earth would endlessly heat up. Earth’s temperature doesn’t infinitely rise
because the surface and the atmosphere are simultaneously radiating heat to space.
This net flow of energy into and out of the Earth system is Earth’s energy budget.
When the flow of incoming solar energy is balanced by an equal flow of heat to space,
Earth is in radiative equilibrium, and global temperature is relatively stable. Anything that
increases or decreases the amount of incoming or outgoing energy disturbs Earth’s
radiative equilibrium; global temperatures rise or fall in response.
For visualization on the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) see NASA’s
Visualization Studio
Incoming Sunlight
All matter in the universe that has a temperature above absolute zero (the temperature at which
all atomic or molecular motion stops) radiates energy across a range of wavelengths in the
electromagnetic spectrum. The hotter something is, the shorter its peak wavelength of radiated
energy is. The hottest objects in the universe radiate mostly gamma rays and x-rays. Cooler
objects emit mostly longer-wavelength radiation, including visible light, thermal infrared, radio,
and microwaves.
Image_
The surface of the Sun has a temperature of about 5,800 Kelvin (about 5,500 degrees
Celsius, or about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit). At that temperature, most of the energy
the Sun radiates is visible and near-infrared light. At Earth’s average distance from the
Sun (about 150 million kilometers), the average intensity of solar energy reaching the
top of the atmosphere directly facing the Sun is about 1,360 watts per square meter,
according to measurements made by the most recent NASA satellite missions. This
amount of power is known as the total solar irradiance. (Before scientists discovered
that it varies by a small amount during the sunspot cycle, total solar irradiance was
sometimes called “the solar constant.”)
A watt is measurement of power, or the amount of energy that something generates or

uses over time. How much power is 1,360 watts? An incandescent light bulb uses
anywhere from 40 to 100 watts. A microwave uses about 1000 watts. If for just one
hour, you could capture and re-use all the solar energy arriving over a single square
meter at the top of the atmosphere directly facing the Sun—an area no wider than an
adult’s outstretched arm span—you would have enough to run a refrigerator all day.
The total solar irradiance is the maximum possible power that the Sun can deliver to a
planet at Earth’s average distance from the Sun; basic geometry limits the actual solar
energy intercepted by Earth. Only half the Earth is ever lit by the Sun at one time, which
halves the total solar irradiance.
In addition, the total solar irradiance is the maximum power the Sun can deliver to a
surface that is perpendicular to the path of incoming light. Because the Earth is a
sphere, only areas near the equator at midday come close to being perpendicular to the
path of incoming light. Everywhere else, the light comes in at an angle. The progressive
decrease in the angle of solar illumination with increasing latitude reduces the average
solar irradiance by an additional one-half.
Averaged over the entire planet, the amount of sunlight arriving at the top of Earth’s atmosphere
is only one-fourth of the total solar irradiance, or approximately 340 watts per square meter.
When the flow of incoming solar energy is balanced by an equal flow of heat to space, Earth is in
radiative equilibrium, and global temperature is relatively stable. Anything that increases or
decreases the amount of incoming or outgoing energy disturbs Earth’s radiative equilibrium;
global temperatures must rise or fall in response.
Heating Imbalances
Three hundred forty watts per square meter of incoming solar power is a global average; solar
illumination varies in space and time. The annual amount of incoming solar energy varies
considerably from tropical latitudes to polar latitudes (described on page 2). At middle and high
latitudes, it also varies considerably from season to season.
If the Earth’s axis of rotation were vertical with respect to the path of its orbit around the Sun, the size of
the heating imbalance between equator and the poles would be the same year round, and the seasons we
experience would not occur. Instead Earth’s axis is tilted off vertical by about 23 degrees. As the Earth
orbits the Sun, the tilt causes one hemisphere and then the other to receive more direct sunlight and to
have longer days.
In the “summer hemisphere,” the combination of more direct sunlight and longer days means
the pole can receive more incoming sunlight than the tropics, but in the winter hemisphere, it
gets none. Even though illumination increases at the poles in the summer, bright white snow
and sea ice reflect a significant portion of the incoming light, reducing the potential solar
heating.
The differences in reflectivness (albedo) and solar illumination at different latitudes lead to net
heating imbalances throughout the Earth system. At any place on Earth, the net heating is the
difference between the amount of incoming sunlight and the amount heat radiated by the Earth
back to space. In the tropics there is a net energy surplus because the amount of sunlight
absorbed is larger than the amount of heat radiated. In the polar regions, however, there is an
annual energy deficit because the amount of heat radiated to space is larger than the amount of
absorbed sunlight.
Earth’s Energy Budget

Note: Determining exact values for energy flows in the Earth system is an area of
ongoing climate research. Different estimates exist, and all estimates have some
uncertainty. Estimates come from satellite observations, ground-based observations,
and numerical weather models. The numbers in this article rely most heavily on direct
satellite observations of reflected sunlight and thermal infrared energy radiated by the
atmosphere and the surface.
Earth’s heat engine does more than simply move heat from one part of the surface to
another; it also moves heat from the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere back to
space. This flow of incoming and outgoing energy is Earth’s energy budget. For Earth’s
temperature to be stable over long periods of time, incoming energy and outgoing
energy have to be equal. In other words, the energy budget at the top of the
atmosphere must balance. This state of balance is called radiative equilibrium.
About 29 percent of the solar energy that arrives at the top of the atmosphere is
reflected back to space by clouds, atmospheric particles, or bright ground surfaces like
sea ice and snow. This energy plays no role in Earth’s climate system. About 23 percent
of incoming solar energy is absorbed in the atmosphere by water vapor, dust, and
ozone, and 48 percent passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface.
Thus, about 71 percent of the total incoming solar energy is absorbed by the Earth
system.

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SOLAR RADIATION & THE EARTH’S

A watt is measurement of power, or the amount of energy that something generates or

Earth’s Energy Budget

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