The data collected by Terra Satellite of NASA from 2000 to 2011 shows that the earth’s atmosphere releases more heat into space than predicted by the computers that are programmed for the purpose, reports a new research recorded in Remote Sensing, a science journal.
According to the research of Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Earth System Science Center, considerably lesser global warming will happen in the future than predicted by computer data. It also backs up the previous researches that pointed out that the increased level of atmospheric carbon dioxide will entrap less amount of heat than envisaged.
Dr. Roy Spencer along with Dr. Danny Braswell of UA Huntsville have examined more than half a dozen climate models and their predictions on atmospheric behavior with that of actual happenings confirmed by satellite data for a period of 18 months prior to and after warming occurences between the years 2000 to 2011. They found a lot of inconsistency between the collected satellite data and predicted forecasts and the difference was more over the oceans.
The research found that atmosphere has actually discharged more energy than previously predicted and the satellite data demonstrate that the atmosphere sheds the heat well in advance at least three months before that predicted in a warming cycle. Spencer explained that when the satellite data shows loss of energy, the climate models continue to predict energy gains.
To perform the study the team of researchers from UA Huntsville deployed the collected surface temperature statistics from the Hadley Climate Research Unit in Great Britain. The clouds and earth's radiant energy system (CERES) instruments on board NASA's Terra satellite provided required radiant energy data. For the purpose of comparison the researchers chose six climate models utilized by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of U.N. During the study the team utilized three models that are planned with utmost sensitivity to radiative forcing and three models that react to the least level of sensitivity.
The research when employed to long-term climate changes shows that increase in global warming has no relevance to carbon discharges and in fact more heat escapes into the atmosphere than predicted by climate models.