Author Archives: Robert I. Ellison

To understand the multiply coupled Earth system requires tracing the flow of energy through the relevant physical mechanisms.  Over decadal to millennial scales much climate variability emerges from polar regions in changing patterns of meridional (north/south) and zonal (east/west) wind … Continue reading →

Stocks and flows exist at the cellular to planetary scales.  Stocks are an accumulation of some sort.  It may be water, heat or biological.  Water, heat and populations ebb and flow.   Mass and energy are conserved.  Water and heat can … Continue reading →

My guess is that there is not enough energy – geopotential or heat – in the western Pacific for another even moderate El Niño to emerge.  A large El Niño needs time to recharge as warm surface water is piled up … Continue reading →

Where the atmosphere meets space – all energy is electromagnetic.  Incoming from the Sun and outgoing from reflected light and emitted heat.  At most times incoming and outgoing energy at the top of atmosphere (TOA) are not equal and Earth … Continue reading →

Markets need fair, transparent and accessible laws – including on open and equal markets, labor laws, environmental planning and management, consumer protection and whatever else is arrived at in the democratic arena. Optimal tax take is some 23% of GDP … Continue reading →