Table 1.
Examples of environmental and ecological systems for the three different cases of MEP given in figure 3.
| case | system | Fin | Fout | Fab |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (i) | mantle | heat generation in the interior | heat flux to surface | heat transport by mantle convection |
| ecosystems | productivity | heat | ecosystem metabolism | |
| (ii) | atmosphere | difference in radiative heating between tropics and poles | radiative cooling | pole-ward heat transport |
| ocean sediment | detrital flux | heat and inorganic matter | ecosystem metabolism | |
| (iii) | atmosphere and surface | difference in radiative heating between tropics and poles | radiative cooling | pole-ward heat transport |
| biosphere | solar radiation | heat released | biospheric metabolism |