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Emergy baseline for the Earth: A historical review of the science and a new calculation

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  • Campbell, Daniel E.
Abstract
Quantifying the emergy baseline of the Earth is a practical necessity for emergy evaluations, because it serves as a unified basis for determining transformities of the available energy storages and flows of the geobiosphere. The current debate over the value and significance of the planetary baseline has been in progress since 1998, when the author first brought new data on geopotential energy formation in the world oceans to H.T. Odum's attention. In this paper, past studies of the baseline were reviewed and errors in data translation and model formulation were found to be sufficient to justify a new calculation. A fundamental epistemological obstacle to establishing a unified planetary baseline (i.e., the production functions for deep Earth heat and tide as a function of solar radiation are unknown) is overcome by using the transitive property of equalities to estimate equivalences between solar radiation and Earth's deep heat exergy flows (4200solar equivalent joules per joule, seJJ−1) and between the exergy of solar radiation and the tidal exergy dissipated in the oceans (35,400seJJ−1). At present, the planetary baseline for the Earth with its ice-covered, polar oceans is approximately 1.16×1025seJy−1 and the distribution of the emergy or the organizing power of the inputs is: 1/3 solar radiation, 1/3 deep Earth heat and 1/3 tidal geopotential energy. In addition, the planetary baseline has been remarkably stable over the past 555,000,000y (1.00×1025±1.13×1024seJy−1 or within ±11%). The tidal exergy dissipated in the world oceans over this time varies from 31% to 155% of its present value largely due to the changing efficiency of the Earth as a “machine” for generating tidal exergy. Close correspondence of the value and properties of this new baseline with the principles of Energy Systems Theory indicates that it should be preferred over prior determinations.

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  • Campbell, Daniel E., 2016. "Emergy baseline for the Earth: A historical review of the science and a new calculation," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 96-125.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:339:y:2016:i:c:p:96-125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.12.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Tilley, David, 2015. "Transformity dynamics related to maximum power for improved emergy yield estimations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 96-107.
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    6. Le Corre, O. & Truffet, L., 2012. "Exact computation of emergy based on a mathematical reinterpretation of the rules of emergy algebra," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 101-113.
    7. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Assessing the global environmental sources driving the geobiosphere: A revised emergy baseline," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 126-132.
    8. Li, Linjun & Lu, Hongfang & Campbell, Daniel E. & Ren, Hai, 2010. "Emergy algebra: Improving matrix methods for calculating transformities," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(3), pages 411-422.
    9. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2010. "Updated evaluation of exergy and emergy driving the geobiosphere: A review and refinement of the emergy baseline," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(20), pages 2501-2508.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Lu, Hongfang & Campbell, Elliott T. & Campbell, Daniel E. & Wang, Changwei & Ren, Hai, 2017. "Dynamics of ecosystem services provided by subtropical forests in Southeast China during succession as measured by donor and receiver value," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 248-258.
    4. Du, Hailong & Yang, Liu & Wang, Wenzhong & Lu, Lunhui & Li, Zhe, 2022. "Emergy theory to quantify the sustainability of large cascade hydropower projects in the upper Yangtze," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 468(C).
    5. Patterson, Murray & McDonald, Garry & Hardy, Derrylea, 2017. "Is there more in common than we think? Convergence of ecological footprinting, emergy analysis, life cycle assessment and other methods of environmental accounting," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 362(C), pages 19-36.
    6. Hong Lv & Xinjian Guan & Yu Meng, 2021. "Study on economic value of urban land resources based on emergy and econometric theories," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1019-1042, January.
    7. Brown, Mark T. & Campbell, Daniel E. & De Vilbiss, Christopher & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "The geobiosphere emergy baseline: A synthesis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 92-95.
    8. Xu, Zihan & Wei, Hejie & Fan, Weiguo & Wang, Xuechao & Huang, Bingling & Lu, Nachuan & Ren, Jiahui & Dong, Xiaobin, 2018. "Energy modeling simulation of changes in ecosystem services before and after the implementation of a Grain-for-Green program on the Loess Plateau—A case study of the Zhifanggou valley in Ansai County,," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PA), pages 32-43.
    9. Siegel, Eric & Brown, Mark T. & De Vilbiss, Chris & Arden, Sam, 2016. "Calculating solar equivalence ratios of the four major heat-producing radiogenic isotopes in the Earth's crust and mantle," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 140-147.
    10. Ren, Siyue & Feng, Xiao, 2021. "Emergy evaluation of ladder hydropower generation systems in the middle and lower reaches of the Lancang River," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1038-1050.
    11. He Zhang & Ashish T. Asutosh & Junxue Zhang, 2022. "A quantitative sustainable comparative study of two biogas systems based on energy, emergy and entropy methods in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13583-13609, December.
    12. Berrios, Fernando & Campbell, Daniel E. & Ortiz, Marco, 2017. "Emergy evaluation of benthic ecosystems influenced by upwelling in northern Chile: Contributions of the ecosystems to the regional economy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 359(C), pages 146-164.
    13. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Emergy assessment of global renewable sources," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 148-156.
    14. Fonseca, Ana Margarida P. & Marques, Carlos A.F. & Pinto-Correia, Teresa & Guiomar, Nuno & Campbell, Daniel E., 2019. "Emergy evaluation for decision-making in complex multifunctional farming systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1-12.

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