Energy and Climate  Assessment

 

You may refer to the energy budget figure below to help you answer these questions:
1) If the amount of incoming solar energy increased, how might the atmosphere respond to maintain a balance of the net energy budget of the surface?
2) Explain why changing the planet's albedo modifies the planet's surface temperature.
3) Can the surface temperature be less than the planet's emission temperature?
4) If you increase the solar output, how can you decrease the surface temperature?
5) Why does surface temperature increase with increasing atmospheric infrared emission?
6) How might clouds impact the surface temperature?

Submit your answers via the Dropbox on Learn at UW.

Also be sure to fill out the Evaluation form for Lesson 2 on Learn at UW.