CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITY:
The amount of energy that reaches the Earth is called insolation and units of this energy are watts/sq.meter/second (W/m2/sec.). Think of it as the amount of energy absorbed every second of
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Earth's energy budget (or Earth's energy balance) is the balance between the energy that Earth receives from the Sun and the energy the Earth loses back into outer space. Smaller energy sources, such as Earth's internal heat, are taken into consideration, but make a tiny contribution compared to solar energy. In spite of the enormous transfers of energy into and from the Earth, it maintains a relatively constant temperature because, as a whole, there is little net gain or loss: Earth emits via atmospheric and terrestrial radiation (shifted to longer electromagnetic wavelengths) to space.
