Intro to Earth Science (Part 2)

What were the continents made from?

Formed from solidified magma that floated up from the Mantle

Right after the creation of the Earth, what was its thin atmosphere made out of?

Helium and Hydrogen

Who created the first oxygen in our atmosphere?

Cyanobacteria

What is a stromatolite?

Layered sedimentary formations primarily built by photosynthetic microorganisms like cyanobacteria

What is the Earth’s atmospheric composition?

-Nitrogen (78%)
-Oxygen (21%)
-Others (1%)

What is nebula Latin for?

Cloud

What is the formula for density?

Mass/Volume

What is the air density value?

1.2 kg/m³

What is the liquid water density value?

1000 kg/m³

What are noctilucent clouds?

Tenuous, cloud-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere of Earth;
Consist of ice crystals and are only visible during astronomical twilight

Describe the ionosphere.

-50km outwards
-Absorbs cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays, and some UV rays

Describe the ozonosphere.

-19km to 50km
-Part of stratosphere
-Ozone absorbs UV energy and converts it to heat energy

What are some of the ways energy travels through the Earth’s atmosphere?

-Transmission
-Scattering
-Refraction
-Albedo and Reflection

What is reflection?

Occurs when incoming radiation is redirected by a non-transparent surface

What is reflectance?

-Or reflection factor
-The ratio of total reflected radiation divided by the total incoming radiation

What is atmospheric scattering?

Changing direction of light’s movements without altering its wavelengths

What is the Rayleigh scattering rule?

-The shorter the wavelength, the greater the scattering
-The longer the wavelength, the less the scattering
-Occurs when the particles are lesser than 1/10th the wavelength

What is Mie scattering?

When particles are greater than 1/10th of the wavelength

What is atmospheric refraction?

Change in speed and direction of light as light passes from one medium to another

What are the ways by which heat energy can be transferred?

-Conduction
-Convection

What is conduction?

Molecule-to-molecule transfer

What is convection?

Energy transferred by movement

What is advection?

Horizontally dominant movement

What is radiation?

Energy traveling through air or space

What is heat capacity?

A physical property of a substance that describes how much heat energy is needed to raise its temperature by a certain amount

What is the main component defining the layers of the atmosphere?

Temperature

What is the average temperature of the Earth?

59 degrees Fahrenheit

What is humidity?

A quantity representing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

What types of airs hold what types of moisture?

Warm air = holds higher moisture
Cold air = holds less moisture

What is relative humidity?

The amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage (%RH) of the amount needed to achieve saturation at the same temperature

What is a dew point?

The temperature to which air must be cooled for water vapor in it to condense into liquid water

What is air pressure?

The pressure exerted by the weight of air

What is the device used for measuring air pressure?

Barometer

What is the Coriolis Effect?

How Earth’s rotation affects moving objects

How does friction affect wind?

Acts to slow air movement, which changes wind direction

What are cyclones?

Are centers of low pressure

What are anticyclones?

Are centers of high pressure

What are the trade winds (or Easternlies)?

Are two belts of winds that blow almost constantly from easterly directions and are located on the north and south sides of the subtropical highs

What are the Westerlies?

Dominant winds moving in a west-to-east motion

What are jet streams?

Are fast-moving rivers of air that travel between 120 and 240 km/hr in a west-to-east direction

What are monsoons?

Are the seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents, especially in Asia

What is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)?

Is a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth generally near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together

What is an anemometer?

An instrument that resembles a cup and is commonly used to measure wind speed

What is El Nino?

Is the name given to the periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern Pacific

What is a map projection?

How we represent a three dimensional Earth on a two dimensional surface

What are the four errors projections will always suffer from?

-Shape (Conformal)
-Distance (Equidistant)
-Area (Equal Area)
-Direction (Azimuthal)

What is geodesy?

The science of determining the size and shape of the Earth and the precise location of points on its surface

What is the origin of the word “geodesy”?

Geos - Earth
Daein - To divide

What is a coordinate system?

Any set of numbers, usually in two or three, used to determine location relative to other locations in two or three dimensions