Surface Forcing Time Series (VIDEO)
Caption
These graphs show carbon dioxide's increasing greenhouse effect at two locations on the Earth's surface. The first graph shows carbon dioxide radiative forcing measurements obtained at a research facility in Oklahoma. As the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (blue) increased from 2000 to the end of 2010, so did surface radiative forcing due to C02 (orange), and both quantities have upward trends. This means the Earth absorbed more energy from solar radiation than it emitted as heat back to space. The seasonal fluctuations in surface forcing are caused by plant-based photosynthetic activity. The second graph shows similar upward trends at a research facility on the North Slope of Alaska.
Credit
Berkeley Lab
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License
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