V. THE GLOBAL ENERGY BUDGET - 1

Author(s): Cliffe, Tim
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This is an introduction to Environmental Climatology (traditionally known as "Physical Climatology") where the focus is upon the energy FLOWS that drive the Earth-Atmosphere System (i.e., the "Terrestrial System"). Like with any machine, these energy flows include inputs and outputs that operate not independently but as per the First and Second Energy Laws. Specifically for Earth, the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and Wien's Law are used to express the planet's Energy Budget in fundamental terms, and thus to lay the groundwork for answering the following basic questions: (1) In ultimate energy terms, WHY do the atmosphere and oceans move? (2) In ultimate energy terms, what is the RESULT of atmospheric and oceanic motion?

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