SATELLITES AND SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING | Earth's Radiation Budget

This article discusses the Earth's radiation budget and its role within the climate system. A brief summary of how Earth's radiation budget is determined from satellite observations is provided and the geographical, diurnal, and seasonal variations in its components are shown. The relationship between interannual variations in Earth's radiation budget and their relationship to natural fluctuations in the climate system such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation are explored, as are the regional patterns of change during the past 12 years. This article also discusses the important role of clouds in modulating Earth's radiation budget at the top-of-atmosphere, surface, and within the atmosphere.