Further, we are key players in an effort to transform and update our understanding of
land surface air temperatures through the International Surface Temperature Initiative [described in a recent paper, «Guiding the creation of a comprehensive surface temperature resource for twenty - first - century climate science.»
Without atmosphere the
surface of the ocean or
land would lose o (T ^ 4 — Ts ^ 4)(1) where Ts is the
temperature of the space (about 4K) while in the presence of the atmosphere the heat losses are hc * (T — Tl)(2) and o (T ^ 4 — Tl ^ 4)(3) where (2) represents the heat transfer by convection (inclusive conduction)
through the
air layer and (3) corresponds to the net flow due to the heat exchange by radiation, Tl being the mean
temperature of the
air layer.