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There are 4 distinct layers of the Atmosphere:
Troposphere (closest to the Earth’s Surface), Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Thermosphere (furthest from the Earth’s Surface).
These layers are separated by 3 boundaries:
Tropopause, Stratopause, and Mesopause.
The Sun’s rays are most concentrated when they are
perpendicular to the Earth’s surface (at the equator).
Greenhouse gases block heat from transmitting back to space. Four important greenhouse gases are
water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide
On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of
cyclonic weather systems.
Winds form partly because of
air along the equator absorbing solar radiation and rising.
Wind is the movement of the molecules in the air. Winds in our atmosphere are driven by
heat energy from the Sun.
The names given to the three distinct convection cells that form over each hemisphere include the .
trade winds, easterlies, and polar easterlies
As wind passes over the water’s surface the top layer moves away from the wind at a 45 degree angle, the microlayers below continue to move at a 45 degree angle resulting in a spiral effect called .
Ekman Spiral
what contributes to the Ekman spiral?
Global winds and the Coriolis effect
When winds blow along the coast surface waters (Ekman layer) are moved offshore. This layer moves at ... from the wind. This is known as
90 degrees. Ekman Transport.
This makes room for water to move from the bottom to the surface, this is known as
upwelling
Upwelling cycles nutrients from ... along the ocean floor to ... in surface waters.
decomposers & producers
There are three types of upwelling ... upwelling, ... upwelling, and ... upwelling. Equatorial upwelling is greater in the ... Ocean.
coastal, Antarctic & equatorial. Pacific
... occurs if surface water gets cold enough during the winter, it becomes ... than the deeper water and sinks.
Downwelling. denser
... follows a regular seasonal pattern in ... & ... regions, usually occurring in the winter when surface water cools.
Overturn. temperate & polar
Under the influence of the Coriolis effect, the wind-driven surface currents combine into huge, circular systems called ...
gyres
The currents on the ... side of the gyre are ... because the water is leaving the equator going towards the poles
western. warmer.
The currents on the ... of the gyre are ... because the water is leaving the poles and headed towards the lower latitudes.
eastern side. colder
In terms of density, the ... layer of the ocean is the least dense and the ...layer is the densest.
top. bottom
The surface layer is known as the ... layer, this is also known as the ... layer because it is mixed by wind, waves, and current.
Epipelagic. mixed
The permanent ... exists in the ... layer.
thermocline. intermediate
... circulation is the name given to the concept of ocean circulation driven by difference in ...
Thermohaline. density, temperature, & salinity
The ... plays a major role in Earth’s climate and weather.
Great Ocean Conveyor
influences the Coriolis effect.
Uneven heating & rotational pattern
Note 
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