Source of heat (energy) in ocean-atmosphere system
Primary source is radiation from sun, called insolation
Next most important source, geothermal heat, contributes about 1/5000th of the amount of energy reaching Earth from the sun
Insolation is a mix of wavelengths & frequencies of EM radiation, corresponding to radiation from a black-body with a temperature of ~6000�C
- Maximum intensity of radiation has a wavelength of 0.5 micrometers (0.5 x 10-6 m = 5,000 �), corresponding to visible red light
- Visible light + near infrared radiation + near ultraviolet radiation together account for more than 90% of energy from sun
Use the term �short wave radiation� to refer to the mix of EM radiation that makes up insolation because this radiation has wavelengths on the order thousands of angstroms