Increases in greenhouse gases, decreases in aerosols and polar sea-ice, are major factors
A new study by Princeton University and NOAA researchers has found clear evidence of human influence on Earth’s climate in the past two decades of satellite measurements. “Human activity strongly influenced the positive trend in Earth's energy imbalance, causing a significant increase in the heat stored in the planet,” said Shiv Priyam Raghuraman, the lead researcher on the study.
In fact, the study found that there is less than a one percent chance that natural variability is the sole cause of the increase. Raghuraman is a Ph.D. student in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Princeton University and a researcher affiliated with NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in New Jersey. He conducted the study, published in Nature Communications, with GFDL Physical Scientist David Paynter, and GFDL’s Director and Ph.D. advisor Venkatachalam Ramaswamy.
The researchers looked at data from satellite observations to determine the amount of energy received and reflected and emitted by Earth. In a balanced physical system the amount of incoming energy should equal the amount of outgoing energy. Earth’s system, however, isn’t balanced. This imbalance is fundamentally significant because it is driving changes in the climate system such as temperature, sea-level, and several other climatic changes.
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