Response to: Atlantic Ocean key to global-warming pause.

  Now, before everyone goes off the deep end and right into the arms of climate change denial, there are a few key components mentioned in the article which I am sure no one read all the way to the end.

   "Tung says that his results show that global warming hasn’t halted. Comparing the long-term warming trend to a grand staircase, in which rapid rises are interspersed with plateaus, “we are now on the flat part of the staircase,” he says."

  In spite of this development, this is not deterring climatologists and their original assumptions about global warming. If anything, they are skeptical of the study until someone else can confirm the findings presented. Scientific research is not only about ground-breaking research but the confirmation of those original thoughts by several other agencies. Science must be repeatable and it is in this process that we can rely on newer models. 

  But what principle, exactly, are the models based on? Well, you will be surprised at how simple the concept is, called the Energy Balance Budget which is based on the Laws of Thermodynamics. 

Energy into system = Energy out of System

The graphic from NASA below should help clarify what this means. 

All the values are in Watts-area and described as an energy flux, starting from the left of the infographic we can see how much the energy flux is received by the sun and how much is absorbed and reflected. As we move to the right of the graphic, we can see how much energy the surface of the Earth emits versus absorption by back radiation or reflection from greenhouse gases. Plus, there is the transfer of energy by conduction, convection, and evapotranspiration. Even then, this is an oversimplification of all the processes that occur and the balance is very delicate within so many degrees. 
  So what is a Watt? It is a unit of power based on the International System of Units. Yes, I know how much Americans love SI units. All we need to know is that we are looking at power over a specific area. In this case, averaged over the surface of the Earth for the past 10 years. 
  This is what makes studying the climate so interesting, it is taking into account all the natural processes and interactions that not only happen between land-air and sea-air but even between molecules and that is what makes modeling very challenging, yet rewarding.