Open AccessA breviary of Earth’s climate changes using Stephan-Boltzmann law
Author(s) -
Guillermo Nicolás Murray Tortarolo
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.20937/atm.53102
Subject(s) - global warming , context (archaeology) , climate change , atmosphere (unit) , global temperature , earth (classical element) , thermal , energy balance , solar constant , planet , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , geology , physics , meteorology , astrophysics , paleontology , thermodynamics , astronomy , oceanography , solar irradiance
Earth’s surface temperature oscillated greatly throughout time. From near congelation during “snowball Earth” 2.9Gya to an ice-free world in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal maximum 55Mya. These changes have been forced by internal (e.g. changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere) or external (e.g. changes in solar luminosity) drivers that varied through time. Thus, if we understand how the radiation budget evolved in different times, we can closely calculate past global climate; a fundamental comparison to situate current climate change in the context Earth’s history. Here I present an analytical framework employing a simple energy balance derived from the Stephan-Boltzmann law, that allows for quick comparison between drivers of global temperature and at multiple moments in the history of our planet. My results show that current rates of increase in global temperature are at least four times faster than any previous warming event.