Satellite Measurements Don’t Support Global Warming Claims

upper atmosphere sky clouds

NASA Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) measurements from satellite data don’t support global warming claims.

Analyst blogger and Principia Scientific contributor, Zoe Phin downloaded and analyzed 10 gigabytes of NASA instrumental data on the earth’s radiation budget (ERB) fully covering the years 2003 to 2019 [site] [data].

The idea is to see the effect of clouds at the surface, especially the so-called Upwelling Longwave Radiation (LW_UP).

High clouds should be warming the planet, and low clouds cooling it, NASA says. Yet 16 years of their own satellite measurements don’t support the claim. Image: NASA.

High clouds supposedly warm the planet

But first, NASA tells us high clouds are much colder than low clouds and the surface and so they radiate less energy to space than low clouds do. And because high clouds absorb energy so efficiently, they have the potential to raise global temperatures.

In a world with high clouds, much of the energy gets captured in the atmosphere. High clouds make the world a warmer place.

If more high clouds were to form, more heat energy radiating from the surface and lower atmosphere toward space would be trapped in the atmosphere, and Earth’s average surface temperature would climb.

Low clouds said to cool the planet

NASA also adds that low stratocumulus clouds – on the other hand – act to cool the Earth system because they are much thicker and not as transparent. This means they do not let as much solar energy reach the Earth’s surface.

Instead, they reflect much of the solar energy back to space (their cloud albedo forcing is large).

NASA adds that stratocumulus clouds radiate at nearly the same intensity as the surface and do not greatly affect the infrared radiation emitted to space (their cloud greenhouse forcing on a planetary scale is small). The net effect of these clouds is to cool the surface.

But 16 years of satellite measurements tell a different story!

Zoe looked at 4 different types of observed LW_UP: All, Clr, AllNoAero, and Pristine. All is normal, observed sky. Clr (clear) is no clouds. AllNoAero is All minus aerosols. Pristine is Clr minus aerosols.

Since clouds are said to play an important role in Earth’s supposed greenhouse effect, and this effect leads to supposed serious warming at the surface, we should see a very large difference between all these four scenarios.

Very little difference

But when looking at the results, Zoe finds there is very little difference. The difference in surface LW_UP between a Pristine sky (no clouds, no aerosols) and All sky is just 0.82 W/m², she finds.

I would even argue it might be ZERO. It’s only not zero because a satellite can’t measure the same scenario in the same place at the same time. They can only measure someplace nearby or same place at another time,” reports Zoe. “Even if I’m wrong on this, this value is still very unimpressive.”

Hardly changes outgoing surface radiation

Next, the former Wall Street analyst looked at downwelling longwave radiation (LW_DN) and longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere (TOA_LW) and compares the averages side-by-side for all 3:

Series               Average

clr_toa_lw_up        262.503
all_toa_lw_up        237.889
pristine_toa_lw_up   262.979
allnoaero_toa_lw_up  238.168

clr_sfc_lw_dn        317.924
all_sfc_lw_dn        347.329
pristine_sfc_lw_dn   316.207
allnoaero_sfc_lw_dn  346.359

clr_sfc_lw_up        397.445
all_sfc_lw_up        398.167
pristine_sfc_lw_up   397.387
allnoaero_sfc_lw_up  398.129

“Clearly not the case”

According to the greenhouse gas theory, infrared absorbing gases are supposed to be preventing radiation from reaching space, thus causing warming at the surface.

Well, we clearly see that’s not the case. If clouds (water vapor + aerosols) hardly changes outgoing surface radiation, then the whole hypothesis is in error,” Zoe concludes. “Less top-of-atmosphere outgoing radiation doesn’t cause surface heating and thus more radiation from the surface, despite the increase in downwelling radiation.

Read the rest at No Tricks Zone

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Comments (5)

  • Avatar

    Brian James

    |

    Dec 11, 2020 The ‘climate cult’ wants to ‘destroy our livelihoods’

    His comment comes as global leaders will speak at a climate summit this weekend to announce ‘ambitious’ new commitments against climate change but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been left off the invite list.

    https://youtu.be/MfFzqp5C1EI

    Reply

  • Avatar

    TL Winslow

    |

    [[But first, NASA tells us high clouds are much colder than low clouds and the surface and so they radiate less energy to space than low clouds do. And because high clouds absorb energy so efficiently, they have the potential to raise global temperatures.]]

    [[If more high clouds were to form, more heat energy radiating from the surface and lower atmosphere toward space would be trapped in the atmosphere, and Earth’s average surface temperature would climb.]]

    This is so zany. High clouds exist in a frigid zone of the atmosphere, and no matter how much heat energy they absorb from the surface, that doesn’t send it back down and rewarm the surface with its own heat. It doesn’t even raise their temperature since the low temperatures swamp faint surface IR out. Look at the lapse rate and show me the big kinks.

    This is the kind of junk science the IPCC is known for.to keep their CO2 warming hoax going. They completely ignore convection as the fuel for the atmosphere’s Carnot heat engine that drives winds and storms, and wastes radiation with entropy. In their sick book radiation is the only energy transfer mechanism and there is no entropy to upset their fake Earth-Sun radiation balance. Every time winds mess up the Earth’s “hair”, throwing trees and houses around along with dirt, a bunch of the original solar radiation has been lost to entropy and can’t return to space.

    But even sicker is the truth that only the Sun’s 5500C radiation can heat the Earth’s surface, and CO2’s puny -80C radiation can’t do anything. In the IPCC hoax, photons don’t have temperature, thus -80C photons can heat the Earth as much as 5500C photons, like trying to find a pony in the manure.

    My, my, what the kept IPCC scientists will do to keep their $150 trillion mass extortion scheme going.

    https://www.quora.com/What-happens-to-the-Suns-radiation-when-it-gets-the-Earth-s-atmosphere/answer/TL-Winslow

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Mervyn

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    Pity no mention of the work being done with the SABER instrument on NASA’s TIMED satellite, the instrument that proved carbon dioxide (and nitric oxide) act as natural atmospheric thermostats, and are efficient atmospheric coolants protecting life on the planet from dangerous solar radiation.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Lit

    |

    Wow, how can NASA or anyone be this stupid. Clouds are not a cause of temperature swings, they´re an effect of surface temperature swings. As the surface warms, more water evaporates and carry the energy to colder altitudes where it dumps the heat away from the heat source(the surface). When evaporating both the water surface/ground cools, evaporative cooling. When condensing into clouds it blocks sunlight from entering the system, and then the rain that falls cools the surface even more. It´s a self regulating water cooled system contained by gravity. It´s the most basic physics, and NASA doesn´t get it. What the f*ck is wrong with them?

    “In a world with high clouds, much of the energy gets captured in the atmosphere. High clouds make the world a warmer place.”

    They´re actually saying that colder clouds warm the earth. They´re saying that cold warms. It´s a travesty.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Jerry Krause

    |

    Hi Lit,

    As you criticize NASA and others, you wrote: “When condensing into clouds it blocks sunlight from entering the system, and then the rain that falls cools the surface even more. It´s a self regulating water cooled system contained by gravity.”

    You have just made the same mistake that those you criticize generally make. Which is ignoring the influence of clouds upon the longer wavelength IR radiation being emitted from all the Earth’s surfaces toward space.

    Have a good day, Jerry

    Reply

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