A video micro-lecture that discusses Earth’s energy balance and the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere.
Tag: Planetary Energy Balance
Reading: A History of Climate Models
A reading titled ‘Simple Models of Climate Change’ by Spencer Weart hosted on the website of Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics. This reading is a supplement to Spencer Weart’s book titled, ‘The Discovery of Global Warming’. This reading provides a history of climate change models from 1950 and how they evolved over time.
Students will learn about various topics in physics and earth sciences such as the greenhouse effect, atmospheric radiation, heat transfer, and general atmospheric circulation models. They will also learn how some ideas – correct and incorrect, about climate sciences were theorised and evolved with time.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- When was the first climate change model theorised?
- What were some of the misconceptions about climate change in the mid-20th century?
- What ideas and methods about climate change from the past have carried on into current climate change models?
About the Tool
| Tool Name | Simple Models of Climate Change |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Physics, Climate Models, Atmospheric Circulation, Heath Transfer, Radiation, Chaos Theory |
| Climate Topic | Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance |
| Type of tool | Reading |
| Grade Level | Highschool, Undergraduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Spencer Weart |
| Hosted at | Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online/ Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: Chaos Theory and Global Warming
A reading titled ‘Chaos in the Atmosphere’ by Spencer Weart hosted on the website of Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics. This reading is a supplement to Spencer Weart’s book titled, ‘The Discovery of Global Warming’, that explains complex models about weather prediction and chaos theory.
Students will learn about chaos theory with respect to the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system. They will also learn how chaos theory is used to make predictions and calculations for climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What is chaos theory?
- What makes climate calculation difficult to predict?
- How can small changes lead to catastrophic climate impact?
About the Tool
| Tool Name | Chaos in the Atmosphere |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Chaos Theory, Climate Models, Atmospheric Physics, Weather Prediction |
| Climate Topic | Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance |
| Type of tool | Reading |
| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Spencer Weart |
| Hosted at | Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online/ Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Teaching module: The Physics of Climate Change Prediction
A teaching module developed by Climateprediction.net on climate physics and climate models. The module for ‘A level Physics’ students includes introductory resources, exercises and worksheets on climate change models. The module consists of the following sections:
- Introducing climate prediction
- Climate modelling using Modellus
- Simple Climate Model
- The logistic equation
- Advanced Climate Model
- Science Behind the News Headlines
Students will be introduced to iterative modelling with spatial and temporal resolutions that can be used in Gas Laws and Thermal Physics. They will also learn about advanced logistic equations and how to apply them to the issue of climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What is a simple energy balance model?
- How can logistic equations be used to predict climate and weather changes?
- Discuss, with example, how climate change science is portrayed in the media?
About the tool
| Tool Name | A level Physics |
| Discipline | Physics |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Physics, Thermal Physics, Gas Law, Atmospheric Physics, Chaos Theory, Chaotic Systems, Climate Change Models, Logistic Equation, Greenhouse Gas Effect |
| Climate Topic | Planetary Energy Balance; Planetary Climate; Climate Variability Record |
| Type of tool | Teaching Module |
| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Climate Prediction |
| Hosted at | Climate Prediction Website |
| Link | https://www.climateprediction.net/education/a-level-physics/ |
| Access | Online/Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Video Lecture: Radiative Transfer
Two video lectures titled, ‘Radiative Transfer Equation’ from the e-learning course, ‘Introduction to Atmospheric Science’ developed by C Balaji, IIT Madras, for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), India. These video lectures discuss how to calculate radiative transfer equation and further discusses its importance in atmospheric sciences, particularly in satellite remote sensing.
Students will learn about isotropic scattering, radiation derivative calculation, spectral emissivity and reflectivity, absorption coefficient, Beer-Lambert’s law, and Schwarzschild’s equation. They will also learn how to apply the radiative transfer equation to multispectral infrared sounder, infrared imager, microwave sounder, and microwave imager for satellite remote sensing and satellite meteorology.
A transcript of the lecture is also provided.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- Define the following:
- Radiative transfer
- Remote sensing
- Spectral emissivity
- Beer-Lambert’s law
- How can radiative transfer calculations be used for atmosphere remote sensing?
About the tool
| Tool Name | Lecture – 35 and 36: Radiative Transfer Equation – Derivation |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Physics, Radiative Transfer, Radiative Transfer Equation, Absorption Coefficient, Beer-Lambert’s law, Schwarzschild’s Equation |
| Climate Topic | Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance; Climate and the Atmosphere |
| Type of tool | Video Lecture (50 mins and 42 mins) |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate, Graduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | C Balaji, IIT Madras |
| Hosted at | NPTEL (https://nptel.ac.in/courses/119/106/119106008/) |
| Link | Link 1 , Link 2 |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: Planetary Temperatures
A reading that discusses the blackbody emission properties of the Sun and planets, describes the calculation of planetary temperatures by using the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, and explains the effect of atmospheres on planetary temperatures.
Visualization: Blackbody Radiation and Planetary Temperatures
A visualization to understand blackbody radiation, the effects of albedo and solar brightness on the temperature of a planet, and the greenhouse effect of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Read More “Visualization: Blackbody Radiation and Planetary Temperatures”
Video Lecture: Planck’s Law and Earths Climate
A video lecture titled, ‘Planck’s distribution and Inverse square law’ from the e-learning course, ‘Introduction to Atmospheric Science’ developed by C Balaji, IIT Madras, for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), India. These video lecture gives a detailed explanation about Planck’s Law for black body distribution. It also includes discussions on Wien’s displacement law, radiative loss, Simpson’s rule, Trapezoidal rule, Gauss quads, the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, and Newton Raphson method.
Students will learn about Planck’s law and how to calculate Earth’s temperature. They will also be introduced to photosphere, flux density, planetary albedo, reflectivity, absorptivity, transmissivity, emissivity for land, and emissivity of ocean which are used to calculate Earth’s temperature and determine its climate.
A transcript of the lecture is also provided.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- Define the following:
- Black body radiation
- Albedo Effect
- Adsorption
- Transmissivity
- Emissivity of land
- How is Earth’s temperature calculate given the following scenario:
- Earth as a black body
- Earth with oceans, snow covered land and a simple layer of non-interactive air
About the tool
| Tool Name | Lecture – 32: Planck’s distribution and Inverse square law |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Physics, Planck’s Law, Black Body Radiation, Earth Climate System, Albedo Effect, Stefan-Boltzmann Law |
| Climate Topic | Introduction to Climate Change; Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance; Climate and the Atmosphere |
| Type of tool | Video Lecture ( 47 mins) |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate, Graduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | C Balaji, IIT Madras |
| Hosted at | NPTEL (https://nptel.ac.in/courses/119/106/119106008/) |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Laboratory Activity: Modeling the Earth’s Zonal Energy Balance
A laboratory activity to create an energy balance model for planet Earth and obtain numerical solutions for the differential equations in the model.
Read More “Laboratory Activity: Modeling the Earth’s Zonal Energy Balance”
Video Lecture: Physics of Scattering and Greenhouse Gases
Two video lectures titled, ‘Physics of scattering, emission and absorption’ from the e-learning course, ‘Introduction to Atmospheric Science’ developed by C Balaji, IIT Madras, for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), India. These video lectures explain the behaviour of Earth’s atmosphere due to interaction between gases and sun’s radiation which lead to radiative absorption, emission and scattering.
Students will learn about reflection, refraction, isotropic scattering, greenhouse gases, extinction coefficient, Prevost law, Stefan Boltzmann law, thermal conductivity of water, Kirchhoff’s law, Marshall-Palmer distribution, Rayleigh scattering, Mie scattering, Doppler and Lorentz broadening and Gaussian distribution.
A transcript of the lecture is also provided.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- How do greenhouse gases interact with incoming solar radiation?
- Discuss the physics of scattering in the atmosphere.
About the tool
| Tool Name | Lecture – 33 and 34: Physics of scattering, emission and absorption |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Physics, Prevost law, Stefan Boltzmann law, Kirchhoff’s law, Marshall-Palmer distribution, Rayleigh scattering |
| Climate Topic | Introduction to Climate Change; Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance; Climate and the Atmosphere |
| Type of tool | Video Lecture (48 mins and 41 mins) |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate, Graduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | C Balaji, IIT Madras |
| Hosted at | NPTEL (https://nptel.ac.in/courses/119/106/119106008/) |
| Link | Link 1 , Link 2 |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect
A reading titled ‘The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect’ by Spencer Weart hosted on the website of Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics. This reading is a supplement to the book titled, ‘The Discovery of Global Warming’ by Spencer Weart. It includes discussions on the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere and how it impacts Earth’s temperature. The reading also discusses the pioneering work of Svante Arrhenius, Guy Stewart Callendar, and Charles David (Dave) Keeling.
Students will be introduced to the Greenhouse Effect, Keeling Curve, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, and how increased carbon dioxide concentrations can cause an increase in the surface temperature of the Earth.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What is the Greenhouse Effect?
- How does increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere lead to warming of the planet?
About the Tool
| Tool Name | The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Greenhouse Effect, Greenhouse Gases, Keeling Curve |
| Climate Topic | Greenhouse Effect; Planetary Climate; Planetary Energy Balance |
| Type of tool | Reading |
| Grade Level | Middle School, Highschool |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Spencer Weart |
| Hosted at | Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online/ Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: General Circulation Models of Climate
A reading titled ‘General Circulation Models of Climate’ by Spencer Weart hosted on the website of Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics. This reading is a supplement to the book titled, ‘The Discovery of Global Warming’ by Spencer Weart. It summarises the complexity of Earth System Models and challenges in creating a single global climate model. The reading gives details of the first model calculation by Syukuro Manabe, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021, on how Earth’s average temperature would rise a few degrees if the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is doubled.
Students will learn about General Circulation Models, the Earth System and its complexity, and methods of weather and climate prediction.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What are the various Earth System Models?
- Why is it difficult to have a comprehensive climate model that accurately predicts climate behaviour?
About the Tool
| Tool Name | General Circulation Models of Climate |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Climate Models, General Circulation Model, Modelling, Earth System Models, Greenhouse Gas Models, Climate System |
| Climate Topic | Planetary Climate, Planetary Energy Balance |
| Type of tool | Reading |
| Grade Level | Highschool, Undergraduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Spencer Weart |
| Hosted at | Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online/ Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: Simple Atmospheric Model
A reading that introduces a single-layer atmosphere model, which is based on the emissivity of thermal radiation, to explain atmospheric warming.
Model/Simulator: Daisyworld—A Model to Explore the Gaia Hypothesis
| A model/simulator to explore the Gaia hypothesis and the concepts of albedo and hysteresis through the example of daisies (living organisms) and their interaction with temperature (climatic factor). |
Read More “Model/Simulator: Daisyworld—A Model to Explore the Gaia Hypothesis”
