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NAL Agricultural Thesaurus
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Concept Breadcrumbs

Fields of Study > atmospheric sciences > radiative forcing
Natural Resources, Conservation, Environment > atmospheric sciences > radiative forcing
Fields of Study > Earth system science > radiative forcing
Preferred Term:

radiative forcing

Definition:
A change in the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation. Without any radiative forcing, solar radiation coming to the Earth would continue to be approximately equal to the infrared radiation emitted from the Earth. The addition of greenhouse gases traps an increased fraction of the infrared radiation, radiating it back toward the surface and creating a warming influence (i.e., positive radiative forcing because incoming solar radiation will exceed outgoing infrared radiation).
Concept Schemes:
NALT Full
Broader Concept:
Earth system science, atmospheric sciences
Related Concepts:
Entry Terms:
  • greenhouse forcing
  • climate forcing
URI:
https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/281696
Download this Concept:
RDF/XMLCreated 2016-06-20, last modified 2016-11-14