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The Earth is absorbing more energy from the Sun than it is giving back into
space, according to a new study by climate scientists in the US.
They base their findings on computer models of climate, and on measurements of
temperature in the oceans.
The group describes its results as "the smoking gun that we were looking for",
removing any doubt that human activities are warming the planet.
The results are published in the journal Science this week.
The study attempts to calculate the Earth's "energy imbalance" - the difference
between the amount of energy received at the top of the atmosphere from solar
radiation, and the amount that is given back into space.
Rather than measuring the imbalance directly, the researchers draw on data from
the oceans, in particular from the growing global flotilla of scientific buoys
and floats, now numbered in the thousands, which ...