APES Unit 4.4-4.9

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33 Terms

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List five gases that Earth’s atmosphere is comprised of from most to least abundant

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Water Vapor, Argon, Carbon Dioxide

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What are the five layers of the atmosphere from closest to farthest?

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere

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What are characteristics of the troposhere?

First layer, where weather occurs, most dense, Ozone (O3) is most harmful here

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What are characteristics of the stratosphere?

Second layer, less dense, thickest O3 layer needed to absorb UV rays

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What are characteristics of the mesosphere?

Middle layer, coldest temperatures, even less dense, vaporizes foreign objects

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What are characteristics of the thermosphere?

Hottest temperatures, absorbs X-rays and UV radiation, where Aurora Borealis occurs due to charged gas molecules from solar radiation

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What are characteristics of the exosphere?

Outermost layer, merges with space, least dense

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Describe the temperatures of each atmospheric layer based on the temperature gradient

Troposphere: temperature decrease (further from earth)
Stratosphere: temperature increase (uv rays)
Mesosphere: temperature decrease (least dense)
Thermosphere: temperature increase (radiation absorbed)

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What is the coriolis effect?

The deflection of objects traveling through the atmosphere due to Earth’s spin

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Which tropic is 30 degrees North?

Tropic of Cancer

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Which tropic is 30 degrees South?

Tropic of Capricorn

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Describe what happens in a Hadley Cell

Equator receives direct sunlight, which makes warm air rise and condense
The warm air expands and cools, then rains to create a tropical climate below it
The now dry air cools down more and sinks at 30°N and 30°S, creating deserts around the equator

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What is Insolation?

The amount of exposure to sun rays

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What does the solar intensity of insolation depend on?

The angle that Earth is tilted at, the amount of atmosphere that sun rays have to pass through

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Which part of the Earth has the highest insolation?

Equator

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What occurs during solstices? When do they occur?

In June and December, the N/S hemispheres is most tilted towards the sun

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What occurs during equinoxes? When do they occur?

In March and September, the N/S hemispheres are equally facing the sun

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What is Albedo?

The proportion of light that is reflected by a surface

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How does albedo affect surface temperature?

Some places will have different surface temperatures due to their ground having higher/lower albedo

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What is an Urban Heat Island?

Where Urban areas will be hotter because asphalt has a lower albedo

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How does geography affect climate?

Mountains block wind and create rain shadows, oceans moderate temperature and add moisture into the air

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What are rain shadows?

A phenomenon that creates desert conditions on one side of a mountain and temperature conditions on the other

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How do rain shadows occur?

Warm, moist air from the ocean travels up the windward side of a mountain, creating temperate conditions. Dry air then travels down the leeward side of the mountain and creates desert conditions.

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What are Geysers?

Large ocean circulation patterns caused by global wind

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What are upwelling zones?

Areas of the ocean where winds blow warm surface water away from land, replacing it with colder water

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What are the benefits of upwelling?

By replacing warm water with colder water, it replenishes O2 and nutrients, which benefits fisheries

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What is Thermohaline circulation?

The circulation of water that connects all of the world’s oceans and mixes salt/nutrient/temperature throughout

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What is the El Nino Southern Oscillation?

A pattern of shifting atmospheric pressure/ocean currents between South America and Australia/Southeast Asia

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What happens to the trade winds during El Nino?

Trade winds weak and reverse directions going from West to East

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What happens to the climate during El Nino?

Suppresses upwelling on the West South American coast and creates warmer climates that harm fisheries, creates cooler climates in Australia/Southeast Asia

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What happens to the trade winds during La Nina?

Trade winds blowing from East to West are stronger than normal

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What happens to the climate during La Nina?

Increases upwelling and creates cooler than normal climates on the West South American Coast that benefit fisheries, creates warmer climates in Australia/Southeast Asia

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What do warmer climates do?

Increases raining, flooding, pressure