Where has the energy from global warming gone?
By measuring the net radiative incoming
and outgoing energy at the top
of Earth’s atmosphere, it is possible
to determine how much energy remains in
the Earth system. But where exactly does
the energy go?…Existing observing systems can measure
all the required quantities, but it nevertheless
remains a challenge to obtain closure of
the energy budget. This inability to properly
track energy—due to either inadequate measurement
accuracy or inadequate data processing—
has implications for understanding
and predicting future climate….How can we understand whether the
strong cold outbreaks of December 2009 are
simply a natural weather phenomenon, as
they seem to be, or are part of some change
in clouds or pollution, if we do not have adequate
measurements?
If you can’t see the Science paper, here is a writeup in Discover Magazine
Half of the energy expected to have fueled global warming since 2003 has gone missing, researchers report.