Atmospheric_heat_flow_profile.svg


Summary

Description
English: Heat flow profile of Earth's atmosphere, showing (a) radiative cooling and thermal radiation fluxes, (b) non-radiative heat flow, (c) balance of atmospheric heating and cooling, and (d) temperature profile.

The figure is intended to support qualitative understanding. Quantitative values may or may not be representative of current-day Earth.

References:

The charts in the figure were created by adapting data produced by the University of Chicago's " RTM Earth's Energy Budget " online interactive model.

Some of the sub-charts are similar to ones in Manabe, S.; Strickler, R. F. (1964). "Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Convective Adjustment". J. Atmos. Sci. 21: 361–385. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1964)021<0361:TEOTAW>2.0.CO;2 .

Notes:

To obtain a simple diagram, clouds have been omitted. The concentration of greenhouse gases and the lapse rate have been increased to compensate, resulting in a greenhouse effect size similar to that for current-day Earth. As a result of these adjustments, the diagram offers a qualitative illustration of how things work, but numerical values and vertical profiles differ somewhat from reality.
Date
Source Own work
Author Rhwentworth

Licensing

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license:
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution share alike
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.

Captions

Heat profile of Earth's atmosphere, showing radiative cooling, non-radiative heat flow, and balance of atmospheric heating and cooling

6 June 2023

image/svg+xml

3d595ea61122255c3b749fe5d8320dafb66f723d

132,343 byte

432 pixel

720 pixel