(21-22) Unit 4A- The Atmosphere

The ability of a surface to reflect light. Higher for snow, lower for dark soil or pavement.

1. Surfaces with a higher amount reflect more light, and absorb less (ice/snow) 1a. Absorb less heat

2. Surfaces with low albedo reflect less light and absorb more (water) 2a. Absorb more heat

A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth; mainly nitrogen and oxygen.

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time (at least 30 years).

a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid

The effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents, causing them to turn left in the southern hemisphere and right in the northern hemisphere.

A periodic change of climate conditions that occurs in the equatorial Pacific, when trade winds weaken causing less upwelling.

The height above sea level; altitude.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation, the combined effects of El Niño and La Niña climate conditions.

Imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

The two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun; once in March and once in September.

The outer layer of the atmosphere extending into outer space that is the thinnest layer with molecules far apart.

Electromagnetic waves with wavelengths that are longer than visible light but shorter than microwaves.

Incoming solar radiation from the sun.

A periodic change of climate conditions that occurs in the equatorial Pacific, with stronger tradewinds and increased upwelling.

Distance north or south of the equator.

The middle and coldest layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up, between the stratosphere andthermosphere

1. Temp. decreases because density decreases, leaving fewer molecules to absorb the sun 1a. The coldest place on earth (-150oF)

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface; including rain, snow, and hail.

The predominant direction of the movement of air in a particular place or season.

Low precipitation on the leeward side of a mountain when prevailing winds flow up and over a high mountain or range of high mountains.

The two days of the year on which the sun is farthest north or south of the equator leading to the longest day in one hemisphere and the shortest in the other; occurs in June and December.

The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere; is where the ozone layer is found.

1. Thickest O3 layer is found here; absorbs UV-B & UV-C rays which can mutate the DNA of animals (cancer) 1a. temp. increases because the top layer (of this sphere) is warmed by UV rays (like pool surface)

The region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the exosphere, where temperature increases as altitude increases, Northern Lights occur here.

1. hottest temp

2. absorbs harmful X-rays & UV radiation

3. charged gas molecules glow under intense solar radiation 4. producing northern lights (aurora borealis)

4a. Temp. Increases due to the absorption of highly energetic solar radiation The hottest place on earth (3,100 Degrees Fahrenheit)

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere; the densest layer of air; is where weather occurs.

1. Change (weather occurs here) - 0-16 km, most dense due to pressure of other layers above it. Most of the atmosphere’s gas molecules are found here. Ozone (O3) in the troposphere is harmful to humans (respiratory irritant) & damages plant stomata and forms smog 1a. Temp. decreases as air gets further from the warmth of the earth’s surface

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface.

The conditions of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

The movement of air from an area of high pressure to one of low pressure.

A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity

Cell that moves air form 30 degrees to 60 degrees latitude

Natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases

A warm ocean current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northward through the Atlantic Ocean

Convection Currents that cycle between the equator, 30 degrees North and South.

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees

An ocean gyre is a large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth's rotation.

A layer in the stratosphere that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun

A convection current in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60 degrees N and 60 degrees S and sinks at the poles, 90 degrees N and 90 degrees S

1. Water circulation is produced by differences in temperature and/or salinity (and therefore density), As ocean water freezes at the poles it concentrates salt, and the colder, denser water sinks.

2. Connects all of the world’s oceans, mixing salt, nutrients, and temperature throughout

3. Warm water from Gulf of Mexico moves toward North Pole

4. Cools & evaporates as it moves toward poles

5. Saltier & colder water @ poles, is more dense, making it sink

6. Spreads along ocean floor

7. Rises back up into shallow warm ocean current @ upwelling zones

A colorful, glowing display in the Thermosphere caused when particles from the sun strike oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the ionosphere; also called the Northern Lights

Mostly in the form of N2 (unuseable to plants without being fixed)

Inert, noble gas

1. Most important GHG; leads to global warming

2. Removed from atm. by photosynthesis

Produced by photosynthesis in plants & needed for human/animal respiration

1. Varies by region & conditions; acts as a temporary GHG, but less concerning than CO2

2. Quickly cycles through atm

1. Warm air rises

2. Warm air holds more moisture than cold

3. Rising air expands & cools

4. Cool air can’t hold as much H2O vapor (condenses → rain)

5. After cooling & expanding, air sinks

(1) More direct sunlight @ equator warms air (2) Warm air rises, cools, and expands H2O vapor condenses into rain (3) Air continues to rise, cool, and expand (4) Cooling, expanding air spreads out (5) cool, dry air sinks back down to earth @ 30o N & S Deserts form here due to lack of moisture in air

1. Deflection of objects traveling through atm. due to spin of earth

2. Air @ 30 degrees moves back to L pressure of equator

3. Wind between 0 - 30 degrees moves from E→ W 3a. b/c earth is spinning W→ E

4. Wind between 30 degrees - 60 degrees moves W→ E 4a. b/c earth spins faster @ 30 degrees than 60 degrees

Rising mid-latitude air divides, flowing to the poles and the equator forming these cells. These mid-latitudinal cells produce westerly winds.

1. In the tropics, wind blowing towards the equator as part of these cells is deflected (by the Coriolis effect) and forms the northeasterly and southeasterly trade winds.

2. Air within these cells rises moist at the equator and subsides dry at the tropics.

1. Air moves out from 30 degrees to 0 degrees and 60 degrees due to H pressure @ 300 & L pressure @ O & 60 1a. Air rising @ equator = low pressure, air sinking down @ 300 = high pressure

2. 0 degrees - 30 degree winds blow E → W (Eastern trade) 2a. Drives ocean current clockwise in N hemisphere, counterclockwise in S hem.

3. 30 degrees - 60 degrees: winds blow W→ E (Westerlies) 3a. Drives weather patterns of N America

the amount of solar radiation (energy from sun’s rays) reaching an area (Measured in Watts/m^2)

1. Solar intensity of insolation (W/m^2) depends on: 1a. Angle: how directly rays strike earth’s surface 1b. The amount of atmosphere sun’s rays pass through

2. Equator = higher insolation than higher latitudes

Equator

1. High concentration

2. Little Reflection

3. High Temperature

Closer to Poles

1. Low concentration

2. Higher Reflection

3. Low Temperature

1. Orbit of earth around sun & tilt on axis changes angle of sun’s rays

2. This causes varying insolation, varying length of day, and seasons

3. Tilt of earth’s axis stays fixed during orbit 3a. June & December Solstices: N or S hemisphere is maximally tilted toward sun (summer/winter) 3b. March & Sept. Equinox: N & S hemispheres equally facing sun

1. Angle of Insolation (which changes intensity)

2. Length of day

3. Season

1. Surface temperature is affected by albedo

2. When sunlight is absorbed by a surface, it gives off infrared radiation (heat)

3. Areas w/lower albedo, absorb more sunlight light (heat)

1. Urban areas are hotter than surrounding rural area due to low albedo of blacktop 1a. Polar regions are colder due to higher albedo

1. Largely determined by insolation (latitude → angle of insolation & atmosphere) 1a. Higher latitudes receive less insolation: cooler, less precipitation (especially 30o) 1b. Equator receives most intense insolation: higher temp, air rises, high precipitation

2. Geography also plays a role 2a. Mountains: disrupt wind & produce rain shadow effect 2b. Oceans: moderate temperature & add moisture to the air

1. Throughout the oceans, there is a constant circulation of water, both across the surface and at depth.

2. Surface circulation, much of which is in the form of circular gyres, is driven by winds.

3. The polar oceans differ from other oceans in having vast amounts of ice, in various forms, floating in them.

4. This ice coverage has an important stabilizing effect on global climate, insulating large areas of the oceans from solar radiation in summer and preventing heat loss in winter.

1. The deep-water ocean currents (the thermohaline circulation) is driven by the cooling and sinking of water masses in polar and subpolar regions.

2. Cold water circulates through the Atlantic, penetrating the Indian and Pacific oceans, before returning as warm upper ocean currents to the South Atlantic.

1. The world ocean absorbs and stores energy from sunlight which regulates temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere.

2. The ocean absorbs and releases heat slower than land, so the temperature of the atmosphere changes slowly.

3. If the ocean did not regulate atmospheric and surface temperatures, temperatures would be too extreme for life to exist on Earth.

1. Local temperatures in different areas of the planet are also regulated by the world ocean.

2. Currents circulate warm water causing land areas they flow past to have warmer climates.

1. Connects all of the world’s oceans, mixing salt, nutrients, and temperature throughout

2. Warm water from Gulf of Mexico moves toward North Pole Cools & evaporates as it moves toward poles

3. Saltier & colder water @ poles, is more dense, making it sink

4. Spreads along ocean floor

5. Rises back up into shallow warm ocean current @ upwelling zones

1. Warm, moist air from ocean hits the “windward” side of the mtn, rises, cools (condensing H2O vapor & causing rain) → lush, green vegetation

2. Dry air descends down “leeward” side of mtn, warming as it sinks

3. Leads to arid (dry) desert conditions

Large ocean circ. patterns due to global wind (clockwise in N hem, counterclockwise in S hem.)

E→ W trade winds between 0-30 degrees push eq. current E → W Westerlies between 30-60 degrees push mid lat. currents W→ E

1. Areas of ocean where winds blow warm surface water away from a land mass, drawing up colder, deeper water to replace it 1a. Brings O2 & nutrients to surface → productive fishing

Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away.

1. Pattern of shifting atmospheric pressure & ocean currents in the pacific ocean between South America and Australia/Southeast Asia 1a. Oscillates, or shifts regularly from El nino (warmer, rannier) to La Nina (cooler, drier) conditions along coast of South America

2. El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of what is known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.

3. The ENSO cycle is a scientific term that describes the fluctuations in temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the east-central Equatorial Pacific.

4. La Niña is sometimes referred to as the cold phase of ENSO and El Niño as the warm phase of ENSO.

1. El Niño and La Niña episodes typically last nine to 12 months, but some prolonged events may last for years.

2. El Niño and La Niña events occur on average every two to seven years.

3. El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña.

4.These deviations from normal surface temperatures can have large-scale impacts on global weather and climate.

1. Suppressed upwelling & less productive fisheries in SA

2. Warmer winter in much of N America

3. Increased precip & flooding in Americas (W coast especially)

4. Drought in SE Asia & Australia

5. Decreased hurricane activity in Atlantic ocean

6. Weakened monsoon activity in India & SE Asia

1. Stronger upwelling & better fisheries in SA than normal

2. Worse tornado activity in US & Hurricane activity in Atlantic

3. Cooler, drier weather in Americas

4. Rannier, warmer, increased monsoons in SE Asia