Climate 10IB

Define an OPEN system

Matter and energy can enter and exit

Define a CLOSED system

Only energy can enter and exit

What kind of system is Earth?

Closed

Define biosphere

-"living globe"

-The layer around Earth with all land, air, and water

What is the lithosphere?

All the land

What is the hydrosphere?

All the water, including clouds

What are the two main gases in the atmosphere?

nitrogen and oxygen

What are clouds made of?

Small water droplets or ice crystals

Define weather

The condition of temperature, air pressure, humidity, and precipitation at a particular time and place

Define climate

Weather over a long period of time

What is Earth's "radiation budget"?

The energy entering, reflected, absorbed and emitted by the Earth.

What proportion of the Sun’s radiation id absorbed and reflected?

69% absorbed

31% reflected

What kind of energy does the Earth recieve from the Sun?

All wavelengths of energy are from the Sun

As the Earth warms, what kind of radiation does it emit?

Infrared(heat)

Define albedo

How well materials REFLECT solar radiation

List some examples of materials with a LOW albedo

-water

-grass

List some examples of materials with a HIGH albedo

-snow

-clouds

-ice

What is greenhouse gas?

Gas in the troposphere that traps heat the earth reflects

List some exmaples of greenhouse gases

CO2, CH4, H2O, NO2

Why is the greenhouse effect essential to life on Earth?

Keeps the average global temperatures for life to survive

Define the term “angle of inclination”

Tilt of the earth’s axis

What is the angle of inclination?

23.5 degrees

Why do all regions on Earth get 12h of light at the Equinox?

The tilt in Earth’s axis is not facing toward or away from the sun

What are the three major climate zones?

-polar

-temperate

-tropical

Define specific heat capacity.

The amount of energy required to heat 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree celsius

What are the unique properties of water?

-High surface tension

-Can exist in all three states at the same times

-High melting and boiling points

-Less dense as a solid

-High specific heat capacity

What are the three types of thermal energy transfer?

-Radiation

-Convection

-Conduction

Define RADIATION energy transfer.

Transfer of hear by waves of radiant energy from the sunn

Define CONDUCTION energy transfer.

-Transfer of heat by direct contact, usually in solids

-Faster moving energy particles transfer energy to slower moving particles

Define CONVECTION energy transfer.

-Transfer of heat by movement of particles from one place to another, usually in fluids

-less dense particles rise(warm), more dense sink(cold)

What is the Coriolis Effect?

-Caused by the rotation of the Earth

-Earth spins toward the east and this spinning causes a deflection in the motion of winds

-Northern Hemisphere deflects right(east)

-Southern Hemisphere deflects left(west)

What is a climatograph?

A summary of the precipitation and temperature for each month of the year for a given location

Define sublimation.

-State change from solid to gas

-Example: dry ice

Define heat of vapourization.

The amount of heat energy required to convert one mole of a liquid into it’s vapour form with no change in temperature

Define heat of fusion.

The amount of heat energy required to conert one mole of a solid into it’s liquid form with no change in temperature

Define carbon source.

Any process that releases CO2 into the atmosphere

-Example: combustion, respiration

Define carbon sink.

Any process that removes CO2 from the atmosphere

-Example: photosynthesis, dissolving in oceans

What are some exmaples of observed signs of climate change?

-Global warming

-Rising sea levels

-Retreat of glaciers

-Frequency of severe storms

-Earlier flowering of plants

-Decline of fish stocks as ocean temperatures rise

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?

The change in Earth’s net radiation budget caused by the increase in human-generated greenhouse gases

List the order of biomes from Poles to Equator

-Tundra

-Taiga

-Grassland

-Deciduous rainforest

-Desert

-Tropical rainforest

What are the two main factors that determine the climate of a region?

Temperature and precipitation

Define biome.

The largest geographical unit

List six major terrestrial biomes.

-Taiga

-Tundra

-Tropical rainforest

-Desert

-Grassland

-Temperate deciduous forest

Define ecosystem.

The middle geographical unit

Define habitat.

The smalleset geographical unit

What are the three types of adaptations, define.

-Physiological → occur inside organism

-Structural → physical

-Behavioral → changes in behavior

What are prevailing winds?

-Winds that blow from a single direction over a specific area on earth

-Named by the direction they come, example: easterlies, westerlies

-EWWE

What is a jet stream?

Strong winds that bloe from east to west in the upper levels of the atmosphere

Describe sea breeeze.

During the day, the land is warmer than the water

-cold air coming from the water, toward the land

Describe land breeze.

-At night, the water is warmer than the land because it was warming during the day

-Cold air coming from the land, towards the water