Monitoring the Earth’s radiation budget Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency describes how the Earth Explorer FORUM mission will give scientists a better understanding of our planet’s radiation budget. 

The radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere influences Earth’s surface temperature.

This balance has been disrupted by greenhouse gas emissions, which trap an enormous amount of heat that would usually be released into space. 

FORUM will measure across Earth’s entire far-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum to examine the influence that these wavelengths have on surface temperatures. Other NASA instruments monitor changes in other aspects of the Earth’s climate system—such as clouds, aerosol particles, and surface reflectivity—and scientists are examining their many interactions with the radiation budget. Check out this Earth’s Energy Budget poster to learn more about our understand of energy flows into and away from Earth.

The energy entering, reflected, absorbed, and emitted by the Earth system are the components of the Earth’s radiation budget. Earth’s energy budget describes the balance between the radiant energy that reaches Earth from the sun and the energy that flows from Earth back out to space. Earth’s energy budget

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: European Space Agency