Two years ago, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, published a study that found inconsistencies between satellite observations of heat on Earth and measurements of ocean warming, and suggested that there was "wasted energy" in the system of our planet . But if so, where was that energy going?
An international team of atmospheric researchers and oceanographers, led by Norman Loeb of NASA's Langley Center, appears to have solved the mystery. Using data from 2001 to 2010, to measure changes in the balance of net radiation in the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere, they have found that satellite and ocean measurements largely coincide . In principle, no energy is wasted. What does happen is that it accumulates in the oceans.
"Our data show that the Earth has been accumulating heat in the ocean at a rate of half a watt per square meter, with no signs of a decline, " says Loeb. "This 'extra' energy will eventually find its way back to the atmosphere and will increase temperatures on Earth," the researcher concludes. Their analysis, which is summarized in a NASA-led study published in the journal Nature Geoscience , reveals that, if released into the atmosphere, an accumulation of half a watt of heat per square meter could increase global temperature by more than 0, 3 degrees centigrade .
