Earthshine annual mean albedo 1998–2017 expressed as watts per square meter (W/m2). The CERES annual albedo 2001–2019, also expressed in , are shown in blue. A best fit line to the CERES data (2001–2019) is shown with a blue dashed line. Average error bars for CERES measurements are of the order of 0.2 W/m2.
Credit: Goode et al. (2021), Geophysical Research Letters
Warming ocean waters have caused a drop in the brightness of the Earth, according to a new study.
Researchers used decades of measurements of earthshine — the light reflected from Earth that illuminates the surface of the Moon — as well as satellite measurements to find that there has been a significant drop in Earth’s reflectance, or albedo, over the past two decades.
The Earth is now reflecting about half a watt less light per square meter than it was 20 years ago, with most of the drop occurring in the last three years of earthshine data, according to the new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters, which publishes high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.
That’s the equivalent of 0.5% decrease in the Earth’s reflectance. Earth reflects about 30% of the sunlight that shines on it.
“The albedo drop was such a surprise to us when we analyzed the last three years of data after 17 years of nearly flat albedo,” said Philip Goode, a researcher at New Jersey Institute of Technology and the lead author of the new study, referring to the earthshine data from 1998 to 2017 gathered by the Big Bear Solar Observatory in Southern California. When the latest data were added to the previous years, the dimming trend became clear.
Two things affect the net sunlight reaching the Earth: the Sun’s brightness and the planet’s reflectivity. The changes in Earth’s albedo observed by the researchers did not correlate with periodic changes in the Sun’s brightness, so that means changes in Earth’s reflectiveness are caused by something on the Earth.
Specifically, there has been a reduction of bright, reflective low-lying clouds over the eastern Pacific Ocean in the most recent years, according to satellite measurements made as part of NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project.
That’s the same area, off the west coasts of North and South America, where increases in sea surface temperatures have been recorded because of the reversal of a climatic condition called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with likely connections to global climate change.
The dimming of the Earth can also be seen in terms of how much more solar energy is being captured by Earth’s climate system. Once this significant additional solar energy is in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, it may contribute to global warming, as the extra sunlight is of the same magnitude as the total anthropogenic climate forcing over the last two decades.
“It’s actually quite concerning,” said Edward Schwieterman, a planetary scientist at the University of California at Riverside who was not involved in the new study. For some time, many scientists had hoped that a warmer Earth might lead to more clouds and higher albedo, which would then help to moderate warming and balance the climate system, he said. “But this shows the opposite is true.”
Original Article: EARTH IS DIMMING DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
More from: New Jersey Institute of Technology | University of La Laguna | New York University
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Earth’s reflectance
- Danuri: Facts about the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO)on July 27, 2022 at 3:27 am
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), officially named Danuri, is the Korea Aerospace Research Institute's (KARI) first exploratory space mission outside of Earth's orbit. Danuri will launch on ...
- DLR to investigate dust from asteroid Ryuguon July 19, 2022 at 3:32 am
JAXA has assigned the DLR Institute of Planetary Research the dust particle A0112 from the samples that were brought to Earth in 2020 by the Hayabusa2 mission. The three-millimetre grain ...
- Vasit Sagan, Ph.D.on July 1, 2022 at 6:39 am
Environmental Earth Sciences. 75(3): 260 ... Characterizing crop responses to background ozone in open air agricultural field by using reflectance spectroscopy. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing ...
- Hayabusa 2 finds remnants of liquid water on asteroid Ryuguon June 26, 2022 at 5:00 pm
a discovery that could strengthen the theory that life on Earth originated from outer space, scientists said. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said near-infrared reflectance observations of ...
- Moon rocks collected by China's Chang'e-5 lander have WATER in themon June 15, 2022 at 5:34 am
This confirms earlier findings from Earth-based telescopes ... including the spectral reflectance of moon rocks. This is a process where light reflected from the rocks can indicate their ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Earth’s reflectance
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Albedo
- Turkish scientists start observing Antarctic data on atmospheric particulateson August 1, 2022 at 8:12 pm
Scientists in Türkiye have started to observe data on particulates in the atmosphere above Antarctica collected via satellite and ground-based systems. According to geomatic engineer Mahmut Oguz ...
- Genshin Impact 3.0 Character Banners have possibly leakedon August 1, 2022 at 9:45 am
Ahead of the Genshin Impact version 2.8’s conclusion, leaks regarding the upcoming 3.0 Character Banners have surfaced online. From the datamined content, it appears that players may finally be able ...
- Greenland Ice Sheet Todayon August 1, 2022 at 8:47 am
Share; Tweet; Email; A moderate melt surge swept across northern Greenland and then encompassed much of the ice sheet perimeter in mid-July. Overall, the 2022 summer season in Gre ...
- If Heatwaves Are The ‘New Normal’, How Can We Cool Our Cities Down?on August 1, 2022 at 1:33 am
An innovative project being led by GAF is deploying solar reflective road and pavement coatings in a 10-square block area in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacoima.
- Weather Wednesday: What is an urban heat island?on July 27, 2022 at 9:56 am
In a previous column I went into detail about albedo and how what you wear makes a difference in how your body stays cool in the heat. The same concept can be applied to the urban heat island effect.