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Earth's Systems / Energy flow / Surface heat release

Surface heat release

How absorbed sunlight warms Earth's surface and how the surface sheds that heat by latent heat of evaporation, sensible heat to the air and net infrared radiation, loading the atmosphere with heat.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Surface warms as absorbed sunlight turns into heat

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Atmosphere gains heat from the surface and from absorbed sunlight

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESEarth surfaceAtmosphereOceansVegetationHeatSunlightWaterInfraredradiationImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.50% latent heatImpact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.10% sensible heatImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.40% net infraredImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Surface warms as absorbed sunlight turns into heat: makes HeatmakesSurface warms as absorbed sunlight turns into heat: uses up Sunlightuses upSurface sheds its heat by three routes: uses up Heatuses upEvaporation and transpiration absorb latent heat: uses up Heatuses upEvaporation and transpiration absorb latent heat: uses up Wateruses upWarm surface heats the air above it (sensible heat, convection): uses HeatSurface emits infrared radiation upward (net of back radiation): makes Infrared radiationmakesAtmosphere gains heat from the surface and from absorbed sunlight: uses Heatwarms the groundHeat: warms the groundconverted to thermalenergySunlight: converted to thermal energyleaves through threeroutesHeat: leaves through three routesabsorbed as latent heatHeat: absorbed as latent heatturns to vapourWater: turns to vapourwarms air by convectionHeat: warms air by convectionemitted upward fromsurfaceInfrared radiation: emitted upward from surfacewarms the air layerHeat: warms the air layerStart: Surface heatreleaseSTARTStart: Surface heat releaseEnd: Surface heatreleaseENDEnd: Surface heat releaseSurface warms asabsorbed sunlight turnsinto heat📄1Surface warms as absorbed sunlight turns into heatSurface sheds its heatby three routes📄1Surface sheds its heat by three routesEvaporation andtranspiration absorblatent heat📄1Evaporation and transpiration absorb latent heatWarm surface heats theair above it (sensibleheat, convection)📄1Warm surface heats the air above it (sensible heat, convection)Surface emits infraredradiation upward (netof back radiation)📄1Surface emits infrared radiation upward (net of back radiation)Atmosphere gains heatfrom the surface andfrom absorbed sunlight📄1Atmosphere gains heat from the surface and from absorbed sunlight
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Surface warms as absorbed sunlight turns into heat
Earth surfaceSunlightHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)
⑂ Surface sheds its heat by three routes
Earth surfaceHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)
Evaporation and transpiration absorb latent heat
OceansVegetationWaterHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)
Warm surface heats the air above it (sensible heat, convection)
Earth surfaceAtmosphereHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)
Surface emits infrared radiation upward (net of back radiation)
Earth surfaceInfrared radiation
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)
Atmosphere gains heat from the surface and from absorbed sunlight
AtmosphereHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Trenberth, Fasullo & Kiehl 2009, Earth's global energy budget, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 90:311-323: Global budget: ~341 W/m2 incoming; ~102 reflected (30%), ~78 absorbed by atmosphere (23%), ~161 absorbed by surface (47%); surface loses ~80 as latent heat, ~17 sensible, ~63 net infrared; ~333 back radiation; ~239 outgoing longwave. (confidence 0.9)