GEOG 1403 exam 1

Axial Parallelism

Tilt of Earth's axis does not change (23.5°)

Solar energy varies by \_______ and \_______

latitude and season

Factors that control climate at a given location

•Latitude and Earth/Sun relationships

•Circulation Factors

•Ocean Currents

•Distance to bodies of water

•Elevation

•Topography

•Local features

Troposphere

75% of total atmospheric mass

Tropopause

point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry.

Stratosphere

20% total atmospheric mass

Atmosphere Composition

78% N2

21% O2

Wavelength and Color

Red = longer/lower wavelengths

Green = Medium/middle wavelengths

Blue = Shorter/higher wavelengths

Shortwave Radiation reflected by clouds, atmospheric particulates, and earth's surface

29%

Shortwave Radiation absorbed by atmospheric water vapor, dust, ozone

23%

Shortwave Radiation absorbed at earth's surface

48%

Total radiation absorbed by earth's atmosphere & surface

71%

Convection

5% - combined process of conduction and advection. Earth's surface heats the adjacent and is longwave radiation.

Evaporation

25% - heat loss involves the phase change of water from liquid state to gas state. Heat energy is stored in the random motions of water vapor molecules in the process known as latent heat flux

Longwave radiation

18% - energy released from earth

Greenhouse Effect

shortwave energy from the sun an longwave energy from the earth's surface are absorbed by "greenhouse" gasses in the atmosphere

Keeling Curve

Upward trend of CO2 particles in the atmosphere. Has seasonal changes because most of biomass is in boreal atmosphere

Lifting

•Convection

•Convergence

•Frontal Lifting

•Orographics

Convergence

Low pressure meets and moves upward

Frontal Lifting

Cold and hot air meet and cold air sinks and hot air rises

Orographics

wind off warm ocean cools as it goes over mountain before warming as it comes down the other side dry

Hadley Cell

Moves warm air up from equator and cools and depends around +-30°

Saltwater % and Freshwater %

Saltwater 97.2%

Freshwater 2.8%

Needles advantages and disadvantages

•Advantage

Losing a few needles doesn't hamper photosynthesis

Needles last several years

•Disadvantage

Each needle has little surface area

Needles cause the tree to lose water throughout the year

Leaves advantages and disadvantages

○ Advantage

Losing leaves allows trees to conserve water during dormant

Having no leaves for part of year makes the tree more resistant to browsing by animals

○ Disadvantages

Must regrow leaves

Grass

•Most of biomass is underground

•No stem

•No leaves

•Resistant to grazing

•Fire are a big problem

Trees

allocate more carbon to stems and leaves, but requires abundant water

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

•chemical energy produced by autotrophs that remains after the costs of reparation.

•NPP = GPP - Respiration

Biomass Pyramid

•Primary Producers (100%)

•Primary Consumers (10%)

•Axen Predators (1%)

Specific Heat

Heat needed to raise temperature of 1 gram of substance by 1 degree Celsius.

Tree Line

Location where temp is too cold to support tree growth

Albedo

Measure of % of energy reflected

Shortwave

energy from the sun that peaks in visible wavelengths, and has greater intensity

Earth's Albedo

29%

Convection

Convective heat transfer by combined conduction and advection. Through contact, earth's surface heats the adjacent atmosphere in the process known as sensible heat flux.

Absorption Bands

Wavelengths where specific molecules absorb radiation

Gyre

Any large system of rotating ocean currents associated with large wind movements (Anti cyclone)

Boundary Currents

Ocean Currents with dynamics determined by the presence to a coastline

Physiognomy

Apparent characteristics, features, appearance of ecological communities or species

Virga

Observable precipitation that evaporates before it hits the ground

Biome

Large Terrestrial ecosystem characterized by specific plant communities and formations

Ecological Equivalents

Vegetation formations that share physiognomy and structural characteristics that are widely separated in space and comprised by distinct species

Latitudinal Heat Gradient

Earth's Heat Engine

Rain Shadow

Dry area on leeward (far) side of a mountain range, which acts as a physical barrier to the transport of moisture

Ways solar radiation interacts with the Earth's atmosphere

1. Reflection
2. Scattering
3. Absorption
4. Transmission

Longwave

energy from earth that peaks in thermal wavelengths, and has a lesser intensity

Earth's Energy Budget

Describes the balance between shortwave radiation received from the Sun and infrared (Longwave) radiation transferred back into space.

Incoming shortwave radiation

(peaks in visible wavelengths) includes albedo, absorption, transmission

Outgoing Longwave radiation

(peaks in thermal wavelengths) includes convection, evaporation, re-radiation, and the greenhouse effect

Law of Mass Continuity

Empty spaces are not tolerated in fluids

Shrubs

have multiple stems but are not trees

Low-pressure Area

Region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations

High-pressure Area

Region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment

Autotrophs (primary producer)

convert energy from sun to produce complex organic compounds

Respiration

•process of metabolizing ("burning") sugars to produce energy for growth, reproduction, and other life processes

•Sugar + oxygen > carbon dioxide + water

Carrying Capacity ("K")

estimates how many individuals of a particular organism can be supported by a specific habitat

Ecological efficiency

rate at which energy or biomass is transferred from one trophic level to the next is

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

amount of energy created by autotrophs (without accounting for losses due to respiration)

Photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide + water +sunlight \> oxygen + water + sugar

Coriolis Effect

Describes apparent deflection of objects moving in straight path relative to earth's surface

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Region near the equator where the trade winds of Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together

Groundwater recharge

describes the downward motion of rain and snowmelt from the surface into underground aquifers.

Transpiration

Process of water movement through plants. It leads to evaporation

Stomata

Water is transpired through these small pores in leaves that must open to take up CO2

Evapotranspiration

Hydrologic cycle term used to describe the sum of evaporation + transpiration

Residence Time

Describes the average time a water molecule will spend in a specific reservoir within the hydrological cycle.

Weather

What's happening in the atmosphere on any given

day, in a specific place.

Includes temp, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation, CO2 Concentration

Insolation Intensity

Maximum energy found at the point where the sun's rays are perpendicular to the surface, the subsolar point. Intensity of energy decreases with increasing latitude

Solstice

End member of the seasonal calendar, the shortest day or shortest night.

Summer occurs on June 21

Winter occurs on December 21

Equinox

Mid period of solar calendar, when day & night are the same duration

Spring occurs on March 21

Autumn occurs on September 23

Photoperiodism

Physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night

Continentality

Influence of land mass and distance from the ocean results in the diurnal (from night to day) range of temperatures, as well as the difference in temperature between summer and winter.

Attenuation

Depletion of solar rays, this occurs when the solar rays interact with more atmospheric particles before reaching the Earth at a lower angle (Closer to 0 degrees)

Circle of Illumination

The line, where as viewed from space, that separates the illuminated and dark halves of Earth.

Tundra

To cold to support trees

Temperate Forest

Scale leaves that perform similar functions to the needles of conifers in the north

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Abundant of moisture in the atmosphere. Seasonally dry forests

Tropical Savanna (Dry Tropical Forests)

Stable temp with seasonality in precipitation

Tropical Rainforests

•Stable temp with a lot of precipitation

•Food is well spaced out

Deserts

Little to no precipitation

Rain shadow

refers to a dry area on the leeward (far) side of the mountain range

Grasslands

•Wide range of temperatures and more moisture than desert

•Most of plants are located underground

Ecological equivalents

vegetation formations that share physiognomy and structural characteristics but are widely separated in space and comprised by distinct species

Taiga

Cold and can be wet or dry

Thermohaline circulation

Slow energy transportation system that greatly affects global climatic conditions

Northern Hemisphere

Where Coriolis Effect deflects objects moving in a straight path to the right

Southern Hemisphere

Where Coriolis Effect deflects objects moving in a straight path to the left

Eastern boundary currents

Relatively shallow, broad and slow-flowing currents on the eastern side of ocean basins (along continental West Coasts). They flow equatorward, transporting cold water from higher latitudes to lower latitudes.

Western boundary currents

Warm, deep, narrow, and fast flowing currents that form on the west side of ocean basins. They carry warm water from the tropics poleward

Upwelling

A mechanism that involves along-shore currents and the the Coriolis effect that brings cooler, nutrient-rich water from depths to the ocean surface.

Subpolar Lows

Forms a continuous zone of low pressure in the Southern Hemisphere at a latitude of between 50 and 70°

Subtropical High Pressure Zone

Surface zone of atmospheric high pressure located at about 30° North and South latitude. These high pressure systems produced by vertically descending air currents from the Hadley cell.

Electromagnetic radiation

radiant energy traveling at the speed of light and manifesting as waves in electric and magnetic fields

Stefan Boltzmann Law

the warmer the object is, the more intense its emitted radiation

Wien's Law

warmer an object, the maximum radiation occurs at shorter wavelengths

Ozone Hole

depletion of O3 related to atmospheric chemistry

Photo dissociation

breakdown of O3 from ultraviolet rays. This process gives off heat and is why the stratosphere warms up.

Ozone Layer

•Located in Stratosphere

•region in earth's stratosphere with a relatively high concentration of O3

Law of mass continuity

empty spaces are not tolerated in fluids

Specific heat

heat capacity of a unit mass of a substance or heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance 1° Celsius