Disaster Calendar – 10 July 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,345 Days Left

[July 10, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,345 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

New Hampshire Declared Disaster Area

WARNING: Many parts of the United States could be devastated by extreme climatic, geophysical and geological episodes over the next 18 months: FIRE-EARTH Forecast

The Disaster President Declares New Hampshire a Disaster Area

The “first stage” federal disaster declaration for the State of New Hampshire is in response to the emergency conditions resulting from a massive snowstorm that buffeted New England October 29-30, 2011.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 3

[November 3, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,595 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• New Hampshire, USA. The White House has declared an emergency exists in the State of New Hampshire following the emergency conditions resulting from a severe pre-Halloween snowstorm that barreled through New England October 29-30, 2011.
• The declaration covers all 10 counties in New Hampshire.
• “As of Wednesday evening, there have been eight storm-related deaths in the state, including that of a West Hartford woman who died in a fire at her home on Tuesday night.” Said a report.
• The storm caused power outages to at least 300,000 New Hampshire households.
• “This was a historic storm that resulted in record levels of snowfall in some areas of the state, resulting widespread power outages and a tremendous amount of debris,” Gov. Lynch said. “The utilities are reporting power outages could last a week in some areas and an emergency disaster declaration will help ensure we have sufficient sheltering supplies and can recover from this storm as soon as possible.”
• “As of this morning, more than 100 local roads remain closed due to downed power lines and debris.  Some 162 elementary and secondary schools are closed statewide.  Over 220,000 utility customers remain without power.  Utilities have been unable to provide definitive restoration estimates, only complicating the work of public safety and emergency management officials.  The state’s largest utility reports it may take a week to restore power to customers, which will likely increase the need for sheltering services as the week progresses.  Seven regional shelters were established that served over 270 persons last night.” Gov Lynch wrote in a letter to the Disaster President.
• Storm caused third largest power outage in state history. 

Other Disasters

• Illinois, USA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared 77 countes in the state of Illinois as agricultural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought and excessive heat that began on July 1st and continued until September. The Agricultural Disaster Declaration includes 44 counties that have been designated as primary disaster areas and 33 others as contiguous disaster areas.
• “After an extremely wet spring, Illinois recorded significantly below-average rainfall totals across the middle third of the state from July to September – key months for crop development. The drought was most severe in west-central Illinois, which received just 4.46 inches of rain, or nearly seven inches less than normal. Rainfall deficits of two to four inches were common in other parts of central Illinois, according to the Illinois State Water Survey.”
• The 44 counties that are designated as primary disaster areas are Adams, Brown, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Iroquois, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Macon, Marion, Massac, McDonough, McLean, Morgan, Piatt, Pope, Richland, Rock Island, Saline, Shelby, Vermilion, Wabash, Wayne and Williamson counties.
• The 33 counties that are designated as contiguous disaster areas are Bond, Bureau, Cass, Coles, DeWitt, Greene, Henderson, Jackson, Kankakee, Livingston, Logan, Macoupin, Madison, Mason, Mercer, Montgomery, Moultrie, Peoria, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, St. Clair, Stark, Tazewell, Union, Warren, Washington, White, Whiteside and Woodford.
• Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri. The fllowing counties in the neighboring states of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri have also been included in the disaster declaration because the are contiguous.
• Indiana disaster areas:

List of Indiana counties that were declared as contiguous disaster areas. Source: USDA

• Iowa disaster areas: Clinton, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott counties.
• Kentucky disaster areas: Crittenden, Livingston,  McCracken and Union counties.
• Missouri disaster areas: Clark, Lewis and Marionn counties.

Related Links

• Massachusetts Declared Disaster Area
• Connecticut Declared Disaster Area
• East Coast States of Emergency Declared in Pre-Halloween Snowstorm

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 27
• Deadly Earthquake Shakes Eastern Turkey
• Obama Presidency: Thousand Days of Disaster

Massachusetts Declared Disaster Area

WARNING: Many parts of the United States could be devastated by extreme climatic, geophysical and geological episodes over the next 18 months: FIRE-EARTH Forecast

The Disaster President Declares Massachusetts a Disaster Area

The “first stage” federal disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is in response to the emergency conditions resulting from a severe storm that buffeted New England October 29-30, 2011.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 2

[November 2, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,596 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Massachusetts, USA. The White House has declared an emergency exists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts following the emergency conditions resulting from a severe pre-Halloween snowstorm that barreled  through New England October 29-30, 2011.
• The worst hit counties in Massachusetts are Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester.
• “The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe …” according to the Emergency Declaration released by the White House.
• The Disaster President has already declared the state of Connecticut a disaster area [the “first stage” federal emergency declaration.]
• The storm claimed at least 21 lives (20 in five states and one in Canada) , and blanketed communities and towns across New England, reports said.
• The western Massachusetts town of Peru received 32 inches of snow, a record for October,  NWS said.
• About 350,000 homes and businesses in the commonwealth were still without power, as of posting.
• Some 2 million customers in the storm-hit areas are still without power.

Other Disasters

Drought, excessive heat and high winds

• Kansas, USA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 25 counties in Kansas as  Natural Disaster Areas because of losses caused by drought, excessive heat and high winds that began April 1, 2011, and continue.

The above 9 counties in Kansas were declared as Primary Natural Disaster Areas. Source: USDA

The above 16 counties in Kansas were declared as Contiguous Natural Disaster Areas. Source: USDA

• Missouri, USA. The following  3 counties in the state of Missouri were also declared natural disaster areas because they are contiguous: Bates, Cass and Jackson.

Excessive rain, high winds and lightening

• Kansas, USA. USDA has designated nine other counties in Kansas as natural disaster areas because of losses caused by excessive rain, high winds and lightening that occurred Aug. 8-10, 2011.
• The 2 counties declared as natural disaster areas are Cheyenne and Rice.
• The 7 counties declared as contiguous disaster areas are Barton, McPherson, Reno, Stafford,
  Ellsworth, Rawlins and Sherman, USDA reported.

• Colorado and Nebraska. The following bordering counties in Colorado and Nebraska are included in the above disaster designation because they are contiguous:
• Colorado: Kit, Carson and Yuma counties.
• Nebraska: Dundy County.

• Northeastern United States. A deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome has decimated the population of hibernating bats in NE United States.  The counts have declined by about 80 percent.
• Insect-eating bats provide valuable ecological services worth billions of dollars to the agricultural industry.
• “U.S. bat populations have been declining at an alarming rate since the 2006 discovery of white-nose syndrome in New York State. The disease has been found in 16 states and 4 Canadian provinces. The Northeast, where declines have exceeded 80 percent, is the most severely affected region in the United States.”

Little brown bats in a hibernation cave in New York show fungal growth on their muzzles. Bats have been dissappearing at alarming rates due to white-nose syndrome, which scientists now know is caused by a specific fungus. (Photo Credit: Nancy Heaslip, New York Department of Environmental Conservation)

Related Links

• Connecticut Declared Disaster Area
• East Coast States of Emergency Declared in Pre-Halloween Snowstorm

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 27
• Deadly Earthquake Shakes Eastern Turkey
• Obama Presidency: Thousand Days of Disaster

Connecticut Declared Disaster Area

The Disaster President Declares Connecticut a Disaster Area

The “first stage” federal emergency declaration is said to be in response to the emergency conditions resulting from a severe storm that buffeted New England October 29-30, 2011.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 1

[November 1, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,597 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Connecticut, USA. The early nor’easter which dumped heavy snow from the mid-Atlantic to New England most of the weekend, dropped up to 22 inches of snow in parts of Connecticut, knocking down trees,  snapping power lines, and leaving about 825,000 homes and businesses without power as of Sunday evening.
• The state of Connecticut was the worst hit area with about 300 roads fully or partially closed, Governor Malloy said.
• The snowstorm claimed at least 18 lives, as of posting.
• Up to 2 million customers in the region were still without power Monday morning.
• More disasters have hit the United States during Obama’s thousand plus days in office than at any other comparable period in history.

Other Global Disasters

•  Van, Turkey. The death toll in Turkish earthquake has climbed to at least 601, with more than 4,100 injured, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Admin said.
• Turkey’s Kandilli Observatory estimates the final death toll could exceed 1,000.
• The 7.2Mw quake that struck eastern Turkey on October 23, also destroyed/severely damaged about 4,000 buildings in cities of Van, Ercis and the surrounding areas, leaving thousands of people homeless.

Related Links

• East Coast States of Emergency Declared in Pre-Halloween Snowstorm

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 27
• Deadly Earthquake Shakes Eastern Turkey
• Obama Presidency: Thousand Days of Disaster

East Coast States of Emergency Declared in Pre-Halloween Snowstorm

US: Massive changes loom

WARNING: Many parts of the United States could become ‘unrecognizable’ due to extreme climatic, geophysical and geological episodes over the next 18 months: FIRE-EARTH Forecast

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York declare states of emergency because of severe weather conditions

“Freak” pre-Halloween snowstorm wreaks havoc along the heavily populated East Coast, killing at least three people and cutting power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 30

[October 30, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,599 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

Source: SSEC/Wisc-Uni.

• East Coast, USA. An early nor’easter has dumped heavy snow from the mid-Atlantic to New England, killing at least three people, felling trees and power lines, and cutting electricity to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.
• The storm system has dumped record amounts of snow in parts of New England. More than 2 feet (60cm) of snow have been reported in parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
• Meanwhile, as temperatures fell below freezing, NYC fire department, citing safety hazards, confiscated generators used by Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, denying them power to keep warm, use computers or cook food.

Other Disasters

• Louisiana, USA. The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana following the damage caused by Tropical Storm Lee during the period of September 1-5, 2011.
• The worst affected areas were the parishes of East Feliciana, Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, Terrebonne, and West Feliciana.

Related Links

• Weather Chaos Across the U-S
• Snow, Ice, Flood and Fire
• MEGA WHITEOUT COVERS THE U-S

• Another Nor’easter Dumps a Foot of Snow on the East Coast
• Arctic cold hits New England
• Latest of East Coast Snowstorms
• Nor’easter Pummels the U-S East Coast

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

IRENE’s Legacy

USDA Declares Rhode Island Agricultural Disaster Area

The entire state of Rhode Island, which includes five counties, has been  designated as natural disaster areas due to losses caused by Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 26-28, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported.

READ THIS FIRST

Continued hacking and content censorship

In view of the continued hacking and censorship of this blog by the Internet Mafia, the Moderators have decided to maintain only a minimum presence at this site, until further notice.

FIRE-EARTH will continue to update the 2011 Disaster Calendar for the benefit of its readers.

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The Blog Moderators Condemn in the Strongest Possible Terms the Continued Removal of Content and Hacking of FIRE-EARTH and Affiliated Blogs by WordPress!

United States of Censorship

Even Twitter Counters are disabled when Blog posts criticize Obama, or contain “forbidden phrases.”  See also: Google’s Top 10 List of ‘Holy Cows’

Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 7

[October 7, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,622 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Rhode Island, USA. The entire state of Rhode Island, which includes five counties, has been  designated as natural disaster areas due to losses caused by Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 26-28, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported.
• The following counties in Connecticut and Massachusetts were added to the disaster list because they are contiguous:
• Connecticut: New London and Windham counties
• Massachusetts: Bristol, Norfolk and Worcester counties
• Connecticut, USA. Seven counties in the state of Connecticut have been designated as primary and contiguous Natural Disaster Areas by USDA.
• The designation follows losses caused by Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28-29, 2011.
• The following counties in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island weer also declared as natural disaster areas because they are contiguous:
• Massachusetts:  Berkshire, Hampden and Worcester
• New York. Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester
• Rhode Island: Kent, Providence, Washington

Other Disasters

• Listeria Outbreak, USA. At least 21 people have died and 109 others sickened in 23 states in the listeriosis outbreak linked to tainted Colorado cantaloupes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• The deaths have occurred in Colorado (5), New Mexico (5), Kansas (2), Texas(2), and 1 each in Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

• Texas, USA. The following table is a wildfire damage update provided by Texas Forrest Service (TFS)

YTD Texas wildfire stats by TFS as of October 7, 2011. [The acreage  burnt includes about 3.1 million acres of pasture land.]

• Funafuti, Tuvalu (Pacific Ocean). The world’s fourth-smallest nation located  south of the Equator, has declared a state of emergency because it is running out of water.
• Tuvalu, a cluster of small islands about 3,200 km NE of NZ, has a combined land mass of 25 sq km with its highest point rising just 5m above sea level.
• The islands have a population of just over 10,000 on nine sinking atolls.
• Tokelau islands. The 1,400  or so residents of Tokelau islands (colonial name:  The Union Islands) are also left with very little drinking water.
• The islands consist of 3 tropical coral atolls with a total land mass of 10 km², located north of the Samoan Islands and east of Tuvalu.
• The two island nations depend on rain for their drinking water. The ongoing La Nina has caused a severe drought in the past six months.

Related Links

• Out of the sinking pan, into the fire!
• Good Bye, Tuvalu!

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Storms, Flooding Kill Hundreds in Asia

Worst Mekong flooding this century kills at least 150 in Vietnam, Cambodia, affecting millions

Typhoon NESAT kills at least 40 people in China, having left 48 dead and 30 missing in the Philippines earlier,  as powerful Typhoon NALGAE  (Quiel) approaches Luzon island.

READ THIS FIRST

Continued hacking and content censorship

In view of the continued hacking and censorship of this blog by the Internet Mafia, the Moderators have decided to maintain only a minimum presence at this site, until further notice.

FIRE-EARTH will continue to update the 2011 Disaster Calendar for the benefit of its readers.

WordPress is HACKING this blog!

WordPress Continues to Hack Fire-Earth, Affiliated Blogs

The Blog Moderators Condemn in the Strongest Possible Terms the Continued Removal of Content and Hacking of FIRE-EARTH and Affiliated Blogs by WordPress!

United States of Censorship

Even Twitter Counters are disabled when Blog posts criticize Obama, or contain “forbidden phrases.”  See also: Google’s Top 10 List of ‘Holy Cows’

Disaster Calendar 2011 – September 30

[September 30, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,629 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• ASIA. Flooding  in Mekong Delta has killed at least 150 people in Cambodia and Vietnam, destroying or damaging half a million acres of rice paddies.
• Flooding has affected millions in Cambodia and Vietnam displacing at least half a million people, sources said.
• “Flooding across the fertile Mekong Delta helped drive rice prices to a three-year high in Vietnam this week, traders said, which will add to inflation problems. The delta produces more than half of Vietnam’s rice and 90 percent of its exportable grain.” Said a report.
• Two typhoons hit Japan in September month, leaving at least 110 people dead or missing.
• Prolonged monsoon rains, numerous storms and back-to-back typhoons have triggered epic flooding across the continent destroying or damaging millions of acres of crops and leaving large swathes of fertile land in ruins.
• “At least four towns in the rice-growing province of Bulacan, north of Manila, remained submerged two days after Typhoon Nesat had moved on.” AP reported.
• Climate-related disasters have claimed thousands of lives,  left tens of millions displaced and caused billions of dollar worth of damage in Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam this year so far.

Other Disasters

• Wisconsin , USA. The U.S.  Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared agricultural disasters in 16 northern Wisconsin counties hit by extreme weather this year, which included more than 10 inches of snowfall in April.
• The counties designated as primary disaster areas are Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Florence, Forest, Iron, Oneida and Vilas.
• The following counties are contiguous: Burnett, Langlade, Lincoln, Marinette, Oconto, Price, Sawyer and Washburn.
• USA. In line with FIRE-EARTH forecast, some 3,285 counties across the United States have been declared disaster areas in the last 9 months.

Related Links

• Typhoon NESAT Pounds Philippines, Submerges Manila
• 2011/2012 Could Prove the Worst Year Ever for the Philippines: FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• Up to 10 Million People Affected in Pakistan Floods
• Pakistan flood death toll tops 1,000
• Unprecedented flooding in SW China forces 300,000 to evacuate
• Pakistan Floods: 6 Million Affected, 2 Million Sickened, 300 Dead
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• Texas Wildfires Torch 1,100 Homes
• Surprise, Surprise!!

• Unprecedented flooding in SW China forces 300,000 to evacuate

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• Texas Wildfires Torch 1,100 Homes
• Mega Heatwaves Could Kill Tens of Thousands in the U.S.  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• U.S. Disaster Losses Mounting
• 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season: AAA  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• U.S. back-to-back disasters phase has begun

• Pakistan Floods: 6 Million Affected, 2 Million Sickened, 300 Dead
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Climate Forcing: Positive Feedback Mega Loop

Melting Snow and Ice Warm Northern Hemisphere by Allowing Earth to Soak Up More Energy

Click image to enlarge. Source: NASA-EO – Images acquired 1979 – 2008

• Download large Forcing image (601 KB, PDF)
• Download large Change in Forcing image (599 KB, PDF)

Climate Forcing

Mark Flanner of University of Michigan and his colleagues have reportedly been measuring the impact of climate forcing using satellite data collected over  the last 30 years.  “On average, the Northern Hemisphere now absorbs about 100 PetaWatts [10^17 Watts] more solar energy because of changes in snow and ice cover,” according to Flanner. [FIRE-EARTH cannot confirm the accuracy of Flanner’s  calculations. Moderator]

“The left image shows how much energy the Northern Hemisphere’s snow and ice—called the cryosphere—reflected on average between 1979 and 2008. Dark blue indicates more reflected energy, and thus more cooling. The Greenland ice sheet reflects more energy than any other single location in the Northern Hemisphere. The second-largest contributor to cooling is the cap of sea ice over the Arctic Ocean. The right image shows how the energy being reflected from the cryosphere has changed between 1979 and 2008. ” Source: NASA-EO

From: Earth’s Climate: A Solar Powered System

Of the 340 watts per square meter of solar energy that falls on the Earth, 29% is reflected back into space, primarily by clouds, but also by other bright surfaces and the atmosphere itself. About 23% of incoming energy is absorbed in the atmosphere by atmospheric gases, dust, and other particles. The remaining 48% is absorbed at the surface. (NASA illustration by Robert Simmon. Astronaut photograph ISS013-E-8948.)

The surface absorbs about 48% of incoming sunlight. Three processes remove an equivalent amount of energy from the Earth’s surface: evaporation (25%), convection (5%), and thermal infrared radiation, or heat (net 17%). (NASA illustration by Robert Simmon. Photograph ©2006 Cyron.)

The atmosphere radiates the equivalent of 59% of incoming sunlight back to space as thermal infrared energy, or heat. Where does the atmosphere get its energy? The atmosphere directly absorbs about 23% of incoming sunlight, and the remaining energy is transferred from the Earth’s surface by evaporation (25%), convection (5%), and thermal infrared radiation (a net of 5-6%). The remaining thermal infrared energy from the surface (12%) passes through the atmosphere and escapes to space. (NASA illustration by Robert Simmon. Astronaut photograph ISS017-E-13859.)

On average, 340 watts per square meter of solar energy arrives at the top of the atmosphere. Earth returns an equal amount of energy back to space by reflecting some incoming light and by radiating heat (thermal infrared energy). Most solar energy is absorbed at the surface, while most heat is radiated back to space by the atmosphere. Earth’s average surface temperature is maintained by two large, opposing energy fluxes between the atmosphere and the ground (right)—the greenhouse effect. NASA illustration by Robert Simmon, adapted from Trenberth et al. 2009, using CERES flux estimates provided by Norman Loeb.)

Climate Forcings and Global Warming

(Source: Earth’s Energy Budget)

Any changes to the Earth’s climate system that affect how much energy enters or leaves the system alters Earth’s radiative equilibrium and can force temperatures to rise or fall. These destabilizing influences are called climate forcings. Natural climate forcings include changes in the Sun’s brightness, Milankovitch cycles (small variations in the shape of Earth’s orbit and its axis of rotation that occur over thousands of years), and large volcanic eruptions that inject light-reflecting particles as high as the stratosphere. Manmade forcings include particle pollution (aerosols), which absorb and reflect incoming sunlight; deforestation, which changes how the surface reflects and absorbs sunlight; and the rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which decrease heat radiated to space. A forcing can trigger feedbacks that intensify or weaken the original forcing. The loss of ice at the poles, which makes them less reflective, is an example of a feedback.

Things that change the balance between incoming and outgoing energy in the climate system are called forcings. Natural forcings include volcanic eruptions. Manmade forcings include air pollution and greenhouse gases. A climate forcing, such as greenhouse gas increases, may trigger feedbacks like the loss of sunlight-reflecting ice. (Photographs ©2008 antonio, ©2008 haglundc, and courtesy Mike Embree/National Science Foundation.)

For a list of references see original article:

• Climate and Earth’s Energy Budget

Related Blog Links:

• Energy Index
• Earth’s Terminal Energy – ETE

Related Links:

• 14% Less Solar Energy Reflected Back to Space
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING
• Earth’s Climate: A Solar Powered System
• Separate Records Confirm Warming Trend
• 2010 Tied For Warmest Year on Record: NOAA

Mega Disasters:

• Earth: Wounded and Feverish

• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• FEWW DISASTER FORECAST 2011
• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• Megadisasters Loom

• 2010 Disasters
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion