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Related Concept Videos

Energy Balance01:19

Energy Balance

The human body gets energy from the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Energy is released when the chemical bonds in the organic compounds present in the food are broken down. The energy content of food is measured in kilocalories (kcal), defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. This value is determined by measuring the temperature change of the water surrounding a calorimeter after the complete...
Energy Budgets and Reproductive Strategies00:51

Energy Budgets and Reproductive Strategies

Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance, and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species reproduce only once in their lifetime, often investing most available resources into that single reproductive event. Iteroparous species, by contrast, reproduce multiple times over their lifetimes, typically allocating fewer resources to any single...
Energy Diagrams - II01:10

Energy Diagrams - II

Energy diagrams are important to understand the dynamics of a system. The topology of an energy diagram helps illustrate the equilibrium points of the system.
The point in the energy diagram at which the system’s potential energy is the lowest is known as the local minima. The system tends to stay in this position indefinitely unless acted upon by a net force. The slope of the potential energy diagram at the local minima is zero, indicating that zero net force is acting on the system. The slope...
Conservation of Energy: Application01:12

Conservation of Energy: Application

When solving problems using the energy conservation law, the object (system) to be studied should first be identified. Often, in applications of energy conservation, we study more than one body at the same time. Second, identify all forces acting on the object and determine whether each force doing work is conservative. If a non-conservative force (e.g., friction) is doing work, then mechanical energy is not conserved. The system must then be analyzed with non-conservative work. Third, for...
Conservation of Energy in Control Volume01:14

Conservation of Energy in Control Volume

Consider a turbine operating under steady-flow conditions. The control volume is drawn around the turbine, with fluid entering at one point and exiting at another. The turbine extracts energy from the fluid, which performs mechanical work (shaft work).
For steady flow systems, the time derivative of the stored energy becomes zero since there is no energy accumulation within the control volume. This simplifies the energy equation to:
Non-equilibrium in the Cell01:16

Non-equilibrium in the Cell

An important concept in studying metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium. Most chemical reactions are reversible. They can proceed in both directions, releasing energy into their environment in one direction, and absorbing it from the environment in the other direction. The same is true for the chemical reactions involved in cell metabolism, such as the breaking down and building up of proteins into and from individual amino acids, respectively. Reactants within a closed system...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Determining Basal Energy Expenditure and the Capacity of Thermogenic Adipocytes to Expend Energy in Obese Mice
06:57

Determining Basal Energy Expenditure and the Capacity of Thermogenic Adipocytes to Expend Energy in Obese Mice

Published on: November 11, 2021

The energy balance closure problem: an overview.

Thomas Foken1

  • 1Department of Micrometeorology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany. Thomas.foken@uni-bayreuth.de

Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America
|September 5, 2008
PubMed
Summary

The energy balance closure problem persists due to scale issues, not just measurement errors. Including larger landscape-scale fluxes helps close the energy balance, impacting turbulent flux research.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental science
  • Atmospheric science
  • Geophysics

Background:

  • The energy balance closure problem has been studied for 20 years.
  • Traditional explanations involving measurement errors or storage terms are insufficient.
  • Even with calibrated instruments and documented methods, energy balance remains unclosed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the reasons behind the persistent energy balance closure problem.
  • To evaluate the role of larger-scale exchange processes in energy balance closure.
  • To highlight the implications for turbulent flux measurement and modeling.

Main Methods:

  • Review of 20 years of research on the energy balance closure problem.
  • Analysis of turbulent fluxes, net radiation, and ground heat fluxes.

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Body Composition and Metabolic Caging Analysis in High Fat Fed Mice
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Body Composition and Metabolic Caging Analysis in High Fat Fed Mice

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Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Determining Basal Energy Expenditure and the Capacity of Thermogenic Adipocytes to Expend Energy in Obese Mice
06:57

Determining Basal Energy Expenditure and the Capacity of Thermogenic Adipocytes to Expend Energy in Obese Mice

Published on: November 11, 2021

Body Composition and Metabolic Caging Analysis in High Fat Fed Mice
10:28

Body Composition and Metabolic Caging Analysis in High Fat Fed Mice

Published on: May 24, 2018

  • Inclusion of larger-scale landscape exchange processes in the energy balance equation.

    • Main Results:

    • Measurement errors and storage terms alone do not explain the unclosed energy balance.
    • Turbulent fluxes, net radiation, and ground heat fluxes are insufficient to close the energy balance.
    • Larger-scale exchange processes significantly influence energy balance closure.

    Conclusions:

    • The energy balance closure problem is fundamentally a scale problem.
    • Incorporating larger-scale fluxes allows for approximate energy balance closure.
    • Accurate measurement and modeling of turbulent fluxes require consideration of landscape scales.