Scientists from NASA and US universities have come to the conclusion that our planet is absorbing more energy from the Sun that it is emitting back into space. The globe is slowly warming because the energy is out of balance.
The scientists came to this conclusion after studying data from satellites, buoys and computer models to study the oceans of our planet. They found that per square meter Earth is absorbing 0.85 watts more than its emitting back into space. This will cause an additional warming of 0.6 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
Atmospheric pollution, including methane, carbon dioxide, ozone and black carbon particles, are the blame for this problem. NASA says that these pollutants prevent heat from escaping back into space and they also increase the absorption of sunlight.
Even if we would stop emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, our climate would still continue to warm over the next century. This has huge consequences such as rising sea levels and ice sheet disintegration. According to the data of the scientists sea levels have risen by about 3.1 centimeters per decade - twice as fast is in the preceding century.
The energy on Earth is out of balance
Posted on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 00:47 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck