Ecology lecture 1

ecology

 science of complex interactions

30 degrees North

hot deserts

30 degrees south

tropical deserts

Above 0 degrees Kelvin emits?

electromagnetic radiation

^_max = 2897000/T 

Wien’s Law

shorter wavelength (greater or lower energy)

greater energy

0-3000 nm

short wavelength

3000 - 100,000 nm

long wavelength

6000 degrees, wavelength max: 480 nm

the sun

288 degrees (255 w/o atmosphere); wavelength max: 10200 nm

the earth

CO2 (greenhouse gas)

carbon dioxide

CH4 (greenhouse gas)

methane

CFCs (greenhouse gas)

chlorofluorocarbons

N2O (greenhouse gas)

nitrous oxide

O3 (greenhouse gas)

ozone

the earth is..? (degrees celcius)

15 degrees C

what would the Earth’s temp be without greenhouse gases?

-18 degrees C

a = 1

complete absorption at a given wavelength

does the earth primarily take in short or long waves?

short

does the earth primarily emit long or short waves?

long

what causes differential heating?

At higher latitudes, light strikes the Earth’s surface at a lower angle and gets spread over a greater area. At the equator, the sun is closer to what is perpendicular from it so its shining directly on the earth’s surface.

adiabatic lapse rate

The rate at which an air parcel changes temperature as it rises or sinks in the atmosphere without gaining or losing heat to its surroundings.

adiabatic cooling (4-7 degrees C of cooling for every 1KM of altitude)

As air is pushed upwards the pressure decreases and it

expands

which two months are equinox?

march and septemeber

which two months are solstice?

december and june

characteristics of water

high specific heat, amount of energy required for phase change, less dense when solid, high tensile/surface strength, an excellent solvent, an abundant greenhouse gas

e_a

the ambient partial pressure of water in air (how much gaseous water is in the air right now)

e_a/e_sat x 100

relative humidity

what does the ITCZ stand for

intertropical convergence zone

what is the ITCZ?

a belt around the Earth near the equator where the winds from the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere meet.

hadley cell

a giant loop of moving air: hot air rises at the equator, moves away, sinks at 30°, and returns back to the equator.

does the northern hemisphere have low or high pressure?

higher pressure

does the southern hemisphere have low or high pressure?

lower pressure

Water climate diagrams

left y axis: mean monthly temp

water climate diagrams

right y axis: mean monthly precipitation

what is always in the middle for water climate diagrams?

summer

water climate diagrams (blue means?)

precipitation

water climate diagrams (red means?)

temperature

water climate diagrams (dots means?)

potential evaporation exceeds preciptation

water climate diagrams (straight vertical lines mean?)

precipitation exceeds