Secondly, after accumulating enough energy in the ground, 113 of them will be radiated from the surface with 107 absorbed by the atmosphere. 97 units out of the 107 units will become counter-radiation and it would be reflected back to the ground. As a result, the net gain in longwave radiation in the atmosphere would be 10 units.
On the other hand, 22 units of latent heat would be transferred from the surface when water evaporates, together with the 10 units of sensible heat transfer, energy gain from the ground to the atmosphere would be 32 units altogether. While 21 units of shortwave radiation would be added to the atmosphere, the total energy gain of the atmosphere would be 53 units as reflected in the diagram.
Together with the 10 units of net longwave gain, the 63 units of energy would be radiated back to space with the direct loss of energy from the ground (6 units). After the whole process, the atmospheric energy budget could achieve an equilibrium without any surplus or deficit.
However, energy budget in different areas of the earth might vary a lot, where surplus or deficit might result. For example, there is always a surplus in the Equator while deficits are often observed towards the pole. Therefore, the atmospheric energy budget of the Erath would also be affected by the horizontal heat transfer. Energy would be transferred from the Equator poleward through wind and ocean current. Therefore, deficits towards the pole would equal to the surplus in the Equator, contributing to the ultimate balance of energy budget.
Energy budget can influence the different climates in different areas by its components, for example, the climate of the deserts could also be affected.
In the desert area, the short way radiation received is much higher. This is because in the desert areas, there are fewer clouds for reflection, scattering and absorption. As a result, the short way radiation after entering the atmosphere can reach the ground much easier. Therefore, the climate in desert is usually hot.
In addition, with the lack of cloud, there was limited counter-radiation in the desert area. The lack of counter-radiation makes it difficult for the ground to store heat when the ground is already sandy and bare. Therefore, the ground is quickly cooled when night falls and this is also another characteristic of desert climate.
Apart from this, absorption of radiation from the ground to the atmosphere is also limited in the desert area because of limited molecules or dust, which also contributed to the rapid cooling at night. The direct loss of heat in deserts is much bigger and so the heat cannot be retained in the atmosphere.
Fourthly, with the lack of moisture, the amount of latent heat transfer is also minimal. Without sufficient moisture, no water can bring the heat away from the ground as latent heat. Thus, the units of latent heat transfer would be very small in the desert area, making the climate of deserts hot and dry.
It is obvious that the energy budget can influence the climates of different places and its effects are significant. The different processes during heat or radiation transfer contributed to such differences. Nevertheless, with the constant horizontal and vertical energy transfer, the temperature of the earth in general was managed to be kept more or less the same without getting any warmer or colder.
