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Recent Energy Balance of Earth
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International Journal of Geosciences·Volume 01 (2010)·Pages 99–101·Published 30 November 2010·DOI10.4236/ijg.2010.13013
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Abstract
A recently published estimate of Earth’s global warming trend is 0.63 ± 0.28 W/m2, as calculated from ocean heat content anomaly data spanning 1993-2008. This value is not representative of the recent (2003-2008) warming/cooling rate because of a “flattening” that occurred around 2001-2002. Using only 2003-2008 data from Argo floats, we find by four different algorithms that the recent trend ranges from –0.010 to –0.161 W/m2 with a typical error bar of ±0.2 W/m2. These results fail to support the existence of a frequently-cited large positive computed radiative imbalance.
KeywordsEnergy BalanceRadiative ImbalanceOcean Heat Content
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