The half-order energy balance equation – Part 1: The homogeneous HEBE and long memories

Abstract

The original Budyko–Sellers type of 1D energy balance models (EBMs) consider the Earth system averaged over long times and apply the continuum mechanics heat equation. When these and the more phenomenological box models are extended to include time-varying anomalies, they have a key weakness: neither model explicitly nor realistically treats the conductive–radiative surface boundary condition that is necessary for a correct treatment of energy storage. In this first of a two-part series, I apply standard Laplace and Fourier techniques to the continuum mechanics heat equation, solving it with the correct radiative–conductive boundary conditions and obtaining an equation directly for the surface temperature anomalies in terms of the anomalous forcing. Although classical, this equation is half-ordered and not integer-ordered: the half-order energy balance equation (HEBE). A quite general consequence is that although Newton's law of cooling holds, the heat flux across surfaces is proportional to a half-ordered (not first-ordered) time derivative of the surface temperature. This implies that the surface heat flux has a long memory, that it depends on the entire previous history of the forcing, and that the temperature–heat flux relationship is no longer instantaneous. I then consider the case in which the Earth is periodically forced. The classical case is diurnal heat forcing; I extend this to annual conductive–radiative forcing and show that the surface thermal impedance is a complex valued quantity equal to the (complex) climate sensitivity. Using a simple semi-empirical model of the forcing, I show how the HEBE can account for the phase lag between the summer maximum forcing and maximum surface temperature Earth response. In Part 2, I extend all these results to spatially inhomogeneous forcing and to the full horizontally inhomogeneous problem with spatially varying specific heats, diffusivities, advection velocities, and climate sensitivities. I consider the consequences for macroweather (monthly, seasonal, interannual) forecasting and climate projections.