Striking a Solar Balance

NASA, nasa.gov/multimedia

This NASA video reviews the role of the sun in driving the climate system. It uses colorful animations to illustrate Earth's energy balance and how increased greenhouse gases are creating an imbalance in the energy budget, leading to warming. The video also reviews how the NASA satellite program collects data on the sun.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Can be embedded into units dealing with the greenhouse effect and Earth's energy budget. Nice intro to a module on the energy budget and why the sun is important in the climate system. The related URL ([http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/solar_variability.html]) provides helpful background info for the instructor and/or students to put the video in better context.
Earth's radiation budget and use of satellites to measure solar energy is discussed. Comments from expert scientist: Scientific strengths: The resource discusses longwave radiation vs. shortwave radiation, however, it does not specify. It clearly summarizes our knowledge of the Sun and Earth's relationship. Suggestions: Because the video brings up the energy budget, I would suggest a class discussion after viewing the video.