ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 1C03 EXAM

Atmosphere

it's the thin layer around the earth that has gasses, small particles and precipitation.

- blend into space

- facilities the water cycle.

hydrosphere

includes all of earths water

- oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and even any moisture in the air.

lithosphere

earths outer shell, the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.

- forms the continents and ocean floors.

- has ben broken into tectonic plates over time.

biosphere

it encompasses all life on earth.

humans, animals, plants.

sustainability

ability of system to survive over a period of time.

variable gases

gasses that are small and variable amounts which have a great control over the environment

- water vapour, co2, and methane.

Aerosois

any solid/liquid particle other than water that are present in the atmosphere and are like particles.

- dust, salt particles etc.

environmental lapse rate

the rate where air temperature decreases with increasing altitude in the earths atmosphere

troposphere

lowest/thinest layer which contains 80% of atmospheres mass and temperature decreases with elevation.

- where all the weather processes occur and where the temperature stops cooling

stratosphere

The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

- area of little weather where temperature increases with elevation. due to absorption of uv radiation by ozone.

mesosphere

coldest atmospheric layer

- decreasing temperature with elevation.

* little ozone in this area to absorb radiation.

thermosphere

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases.

GIS (geographic information system)

a platform/digital tool that allows users to collect, store, analyze, and visualize geographic data on a map.

- helps to understand spatial patterns, relationships, and trends by displaying different types of information as layers on a map.

google maps and uber use this.

climate

the average conditions of atmosphere in a region

- over long periods of time

microclimate

small area with distinct weather conditions differing from surrounding larger climates.

Meso-climate

intermediate sized area climate

- few kilometers to tens of kilometers in size.

macroclimate

large-scale climate of a region or continent, covers hundreds to thousands of kilometers

Annual change

short term fluctuations in climate over a year

- seasonal variations

- earths tilt

decadal change

climate variations over a period of 10 years

- due to natural climate

centennial change

climate changes occuring over a period of 100 years

- influences such as solar variations, volcanic activity, or human induced factors.

millennial change

climate changes over 1,000 years - long term natural processes

tectonic changes

happen over millions of years - driven by the movement of earths tectonic plates.

El nino event

when the ocean near the equator in the pacific gets warmer than usual

- happens because the regular winds get weaker or change direction.

- can last a few months every few years.

weight

= mass x gravity

- meaning the atmospheric pressure gets higher as the closeness to the surface increases.

pressure

= force/area

air density

mass/volume

air quality health index

is a scale that measures air pollution levels and helps people understand the potential health risks associated with poor air quality

industrial smog

type of air pollution resulting from gas emissions and particulate matter.

- burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

photochemical smog

type of air pollution that occurs when sunlight reacts with certain chemical

- nitrogen oxides and organic compounds.

- this is released from cars, industrial processes.

- harmful secondary pollutants.

why is LA smog getting worse

sub tropical high pressure systems - stable sinking air meaning more sun and less light so this intensifies the photochemical reactions

cool air aloft: La, there is cooler air at higher altitudes from the cool ocean air and the distance from equator - leading to temperature inversions.

inversion layer: occurs when warm air traps cool air beneath it - preventing the normal mixing. - mountains do this and trap the pollutants.

cool sea: pacific ocean cool water affects La climate and temperature.

thermal air inversion

when a layer of warm air forms above a layer of cooler air, reversing the usual temperature pattern where air temperature decreases with increasing altitude.

rayleigh scattering

air molecules scatter shorter blue wavelengths more effectively than red that is why our sky is blue.

insolation

incoming solar radiation and based of it's angle

- stronger insolation = low latitudes

- weaker insolation = high latitudes.

annual: average radiation in a year.

albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect sunlight.

- its comparing the percentage of shortwave radiation compared to the radiation initially striking.

cloud: 60%

snow = 95 %

transmission

radiation that passes the air and absorbed at earths surface.

sensible heat

heat transferred by conduction or convection, resulting from molecular motion.

- can be felt and measured.

latent heat

this is the energy needed for phase changes covering long distances.

- water vapour becoming visible when changed to liquid or solid.

daily energy balance

earth gains heart from the sun and loses it to space.

- warmest time of day = 3 and 5pm due to convention.

Evapotranspiration

water transferred from land to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration.

combined process of water evaporation from soil, water surfaces and plants.

poleward heat transfer

heat movement from the equator to poles.

- drive by atmospheric and oceanic patterns.

- balances earths temperature gradient.

hydrologic cycle

the continous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth.

urban heat island

urban areas have higher temperatures due to human activities and infrastructure.

- the cities have concreter and asphalt and buildings which take on more heat than natural vegetation.

- more heat in daytime and summer.

less vegetation = less albedo

June Solstice

june 21

- beginning of summer in northern hemisphere (highest solar intensity) and beginning of winter in southern hemisphere

longest day and 24 hour sunlight in arctic circle.

December Solstice

december 22

- beginning of winter for northern hemisphere and beginning of summer in southern hemisphere (highest solar intensity).

shortest day of the year and 24 hour night in arctic circle.

circle of illumination

The imaginary line that separates light from the darkness and day from the night

equinoxes

the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length (about September 22 and March 20).

cycle of seasons

driven by earths tilt and annual orbit around the sun.

spring and fall: earths axis not tilted towards or away the sun.

summer: titled towards

winter: titled away

annual cycles of air temperature

the earths seasons are controlled by solar energy which strikes our tilted earth as it orbits the sun.

equatorial zone

equator used to divide the globe into broad latitude zones. corresponds to major climatic zones.

- zone is home to the worlds rainforests producing warm temperatures throughout the year.

tropical zone: some of the world's driest deserts.

mid latitude zone: experiences significant seasonal changes in sunlight and day.

- strong contrast between summer and winter.

subarctic zone: evergreen forests and largest variation in day length

Maritime Effect

effect of the oceans located near land.

- land away from oceans tend to experience more extreme temperature variations.

due to high specific heat capacity

Paris Agreement (2015)

Agreement made between the United Nations countries to cut down on the emissions of greenhouse gases in an attempt to slow down global warming. More wealthy and producing countries have to cut down more

adiabatic processes

process where there is no exchange of heat between a system and its surroundings.

- all energy comes from work being done on or by the system.

adiabatic lapse rate

the rate at which the temperature of a parcel of air changes as it rises or sinks in the atmosphere without surrounding environment.

Dry adiabtic lapse rate

unsaturated air only

- refers to rate at which the temperature of the air parcel changes as it moves vertically.

- the temperature of the air parcel decreases as it moved higher in the atmosphere.

-- specific to the movement of the air parcel

moist adiabatic lapse rate

a saturated air parcel

- refers to rate at which that air parcel temperature will change as it moves vertically without surrounding.

-- cooling rate slower than dry adiabatic.

level of free convection

this is the altitude in the atmosphere where the temperature of the environment is lower than that of the rising air parcel.

- at this point condensation happens and releases latent heat.

absolutely stable air

occurs when environmental lapse rate is less than the saturated adiabatic lapse rate.

absolutely unstable air

occurs when the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic lapse rate - then force acts on the air parcel moving it upwards.

conditional instability

happens when unsaturated air can be lifted to a level where it becomes saturated.

- resulting in a environmental lapse rate between the saturated adiabatic lapse rate and the dry one.

absolute humidity

mass of water vapour per volume of air.

- higher amount of water vapour = higher absolute humidity

specific humidity

Given mass of water vapour in a given mass of air

- mass of water vapour/ mass of total air.

vapour pressure

amount of pressure exerted on the atmosphere by water vapour in an air parcel.

saturated vs. unsaturated air

the relative humidity of saturated air is considered to be 100% while unsaturated air is much less than 100%.

- unsaturated: contains less amount of water vapour.

saturation specific humidity

specific humidity of atmosphere when it's saturated.

dew point temperature

temperature at which saturation occurs in the air, dependent upon the amount of water vapour present.

relative humidity

amount of water vapour in the air relative to the maximum that can exist if air was saturated at particular temperature.

Percipitation

any form of water that falls from the cloud reaching ground.

acidification

increases the concentration of H+ ions in water and soil.

acid buffering process

neutralization of acids by non basic compounds (Buffers)

- helps maintain pH close to normal environments subject to acidification.

interaction between acid rain, soil and water. then the soil and water contain natural substances like calcium carbonate which can neutralize.

formation in warm clouds

warm clouds have an overall temperature profile more than 0 degrees.

- when saturated air rises rapidly and cools which forces condensation and creates droplets.

formation of cold clouds

ice crystals form and grow.

cold clouds: temperature below 0 and consist of ice crystals

cool clouds: temperatures above 0 in the lower range and subfreezing in higher regions.

- liquid water, supercooled water and ice.

Bergeron Process

ice crystal process that states all raindrops begin as ice crystals.

accretion

ice crystals grow through accretion where falling ice crystals may freeze supercooled water droplets on contact and produce large ice particles.

aggregation

process of ice crystals colliding and sticking together,

- producing snowflake.

evaporation

process where liquid water changes into water vapour and enters the atmosphere.

- occurs when heat energy applied to water causing molecules to be more energetic.

potential evapotranspiration

occurs in the interior of the continent and at the lowest latitudes in North America.

maximum amount of water that could be evapotranspired with non-limiting water.

Deficit/Surplus

deficit occurs when the PE cannot be satisfied through P.

- prolonged can lead to drought.

surplus occurs when PE is satisfied.

- surplus occurs due to water retention on the ground surface.

soil storage and PE

below wilted point: soil water is inaccessible and unable to meet demand of PE.

above field capacity: water is in surplus

field capacity: water is held by soil grains and is specific to each soil type.

run off

the movement of water over the surface of the land into the bodies of water.

- occurs when precipitation exceeds the capacity of the soil to absorb water the excess water flows across surface .

- this can be bad as it can carry pollutants and nutrients.

watershed

total land area that drains surface water at a common point.

soil water

capillary water returns to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration held in micropores in soil.

gravitational water: becomes groundwater - is not retained within pores.

hygroscopic water: tightly bound to soil particles.

agricultural drought

occur when there is shortage of moisture in soil - leading to decrease in crop yield and quality.

- defined based on the amount of water available and ability of the soil to retain moisture.

meteorological drought

occurs when there is a prolonged period of time with below average precipitation.

- leading to deficit in water supply, having impacts on natural ecosystems, water availability, and other sectors that rely on precipitation.

hydrological drought

deficit in water supply in surface water and ground water system.

- leading to decreased streamflow, reduced water storage, and other impacts on water resources.

- defined based on measures indicators of water supply.

long range transport

movement of air masses, pollutants, and other atmospheric constituents over large distances.

- this happens due to large scale atmospheric circulation patterns.

hadley cells

air at equator gets more sunlight so it gets warm and rises up, creating a low pressure area near the equator.

- then as the warm air rises it cools down and forms clouds leading to a lot of rainfall.

- the rising air also travels away from the equator towards the poles: cooling and becoming denser. then it sinks back into the surface in the subtropical areas forming high pressure areas.

trade winds: sinking air moves back towards equator .

intertropical convergence zone

belt of low pressure near the equator where the trade winds from the northern and southern hemisphere converge.

when they converge the air rises and creates high amount of precipitation.

- important in heat distribution across planet.

Coriolis effect

turning of the air due to earths spin.

- pulls to the right in north

- pulls to the left in the south

- no impact on speed

subtropical high pressure belts

areas of high pressure occur around 30 degrees north and south of the equator.

- created by the sinking air from hadley cells.

- prevents clouds from forming and creating dry conditions.

jet streams

highways of windows blowing up into the atmosphere. created by differences in temp and pressure.

- from from west to east.

mostly see winds blowing from west to east in the middle and higher altitudes.

polar jet stream

jet stream that can bring down cold weather conditions from the north.

- stronger jet stream.

- moves in wavy pattern.

subtropical jet stream

associated with the subtropical high pressure belts and can be seen as a band of clouds over regions such as nile river.

geostrophic wind

ground surface area, at rest but then accelerates until flows parallel to isobar at steady speed with pressure gradient force balanced by coriolis force.

El Nino

warm water in western pacific moves eastwards towards south america.

- changes normal ocean temperatures. affecting normal wind patterns and weather conditions.

La nina

the pool of warm water gets even warmer in western pacific.

- while eastern pacific gets colder than usual.

Gulf Stream

A warm ocean current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northward through the Atlantic Ocean

- releases heat in atmosphere, turning the air around warm.

- this process helps keep the climate of the western europe relatively mild.

if this stream was weakened a lot of areas in the glove would have cooler temperatures.

gyres

large systems of rotating ocean currents, particularly in the subtropical regions of the world's oceans.

- driven by wind patterns, earths rotations and other positions.

contribute to regulating earths temperature.

thermohaline circulation

an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water

sinking of cold water at high latitudes bringing it to the deep ocean where it transports heat and nutrients around the world.

- as it moves to the equator it gets warmer and comes to the surface.

- and then again they can be taken back to poles where the cycle begins again.

weakening of this could result in less transport of o2 and co2 from the surface to deep water decreasing oceans carbon sink ability leaving more co2 in the atmosphere.

conveyer belt circulation

simplified description of the global thermohaline circulation.

- driven by differences in temperature and salinity in ocean.

Upwelling

when deep cold waters rise to the surface replacing the warmer surface water.

- this process brings nutrients from the ocean to the floor surface supporting marine life.