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Continental heat gain in the global climate system
Author(s) -
Beltrami Hugo,
Smerdon Jason E.,
Pollack Henry N.,
Huang Shaopeng
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014310
Subject(s) - cryosphere , lithosphere , atmosphere (unit) , heat flux , geology , climatology , climate model , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , global warming , flux (metallurgy) , climate change , earth science , geophysics , heat transfer , meteorology , sea ice , oceanography , tectonics , geography , seismology , materials science , physics , thermodynamics , metallurgy
Recent estimates have shown the heat gained by the ocean, atmosphere, and cryosphere as 18.2 · 10 22 J, 6.6 · 10 21 J, and 8.1 · 10 21 J, respectively over the past half‐century. However, the heat gain of the lithosphere via a heat flux across the solid surface of the continents (29% of the Earth's surface) has not been addressed. Here we calculate that component of Earth's changing energy budget, using ground‐surface temperature reconstructions for the continents. In the last half‐century there was an average flux of 39.1 mW m −2 across the land surface into the subsurface, leading to 9.1 · 10 21 J absorbed by the ground. The heat inputs during the last half‐century into all the major components of the climate system — atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, lithosphere‐reinforce the conclusion that the warming during the interval has been global.