Please go to EARTH'S CHANGING CLIMATE 132 Melting Ice Sim.
Let's take a second look at the sim. This time, pay attention to the data on the top left of your screen. Watch:
Global Average Temperature
Energy Entered
Energy Exited
We've learned previously that energy travels from the sun to Earth and is absorbed, or taken in, when it reaches Earth’s surface. This energy is transferred to the air just above the surface, affecting the temperature. This Sim shows a large-scale view of the atmosphere, so it does not show details about how the surface warms the air just above it, but looking at the temperature will give us evidence of when energy is transferred to air.
What could be causing ice to melt and temperatures to increase on Earth?
You should notice that the energy absorbed by the surface increased when the ice melted. Absorbed energy is represented by the glow on the surface—more absorbed energy has a brighter glow; less absorbed energy means the glow is dimmer.
We don’t know the whole story yet, but from what we’ve seen today, we can say that if ice is melting and temperatures are increasing, Earth’s surface must be absorbing more energy.
