climate 10-1 unit exam

Climate: the average weather conditions over a long period of time, It refers to the conditions of a specific location over a long span, ex. 30 years.

Weather: refers to the conditions of the sun, precipitation, etc., at a specific location at a specific time.

Ex. The temperature today.

Biosphere:

A Thin layer that surrounds earth and supports life. It’s composed of all the living things and physical environment that supports them.

It includes:

Atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere.

atmosphere:

Surrounds the entire earth it is mainly composed of different gases, (air), it holds atmospheric dust.

Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. Oxygen is 2nd, becsude organisms need it for cellular respiration. It also helps combustion.

Hydrosphere:

Accounts for all water on earth, 97% equals (salt water in oceans), 3% is fresh water (lakes, streams, and frozen water). It has mainly living organisms. Most living organisms rely on hydrosphere to maintain life.

Hydrologic cycle is when suns energy moves water around earth.

Lithosphere:

Solid portion of the Earth above the semi fluid portion of the upper mantle. Contains many forms of life, includes oceans,

Warmed by the sun mostly and also from earths mantle.

4 LAYERS OF ATMOSPHERE

Trophosphere:

0 to 10 km above earth surface

15°C to -60°C

Contains 80% of earths gases by weight

Only layer that can support most living organisms

Contains almost all atmospheric dust

Weather occurs in a layer

Stratosphere:

10 to 50 km

60°C to 0°C

Ozone layer : molecule made of three oxygen atoms, absorbs UV radiation energy, (which causes increase in temperature as we get closer to the sun),

Clumps of cells have been found, but no other life

Mesosphere :

50 to 90 km

0°C to -100°C

Little known about the mesosphere

Very little gases found here

Thermosphere :

90+ kilometres

100°C to 1500°C

Little known about the thermosphere

Very Little gases found found here

SOLSTICE, EQUINOX, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE:

Equinox:

One of two points in earths orbit when the number of daylight hours is equal to the number of hours of night.

Solstice:

One of two points in earths orbit at which the poles are the most titled toward or away from the sun. The solstice occurs on the day that has the most hours of daylight in north latitudes, but least in southern latitudes.

Latitudes:

Lines that run parallel le to the equator. The poles are at latitudes 90 N and 90S.

ANGLE OF INCLINATION/INCIDENCE

Angle of inclination:

The amount that the polls are titled from the perpendicular of the plane of its orbit earth has an angle of inclination of 23.5°C.

One pole is always towards sun and the other is angled away.

Therefore Angle of inclination causes seasonal changes

Summer months in the northern hemisphere is further away from the sun than in the winter months.

An angle of incidence:

The angle between a ray falling on the Earth surface and the line of the perpendicular to that surface the greater of the angle in the incidents the last solar energy can reach the Earth surface.

the angle of incidence increases distance from equator, therefore solar energy is distributed amount larger surfaces. The angle of incidents affects the climate of particular regions on the Earth.

INSOLATION/ALBEDO

Insolation:

The amount of solar energy received by a region of the Earth surface. It depends on latitude in the characteristics of the lithosphere atmosphere and hydrosphere of that particular region.

Albedo:

The amount of solar radiation that an object reflects white, shiny materials have a greater albedo than dark dull objects. Albedo in a region can change with the seasons.

-High albedo=snow, ice, water, clouds, wind

-Low albedo= dark, rocks, forests, dust.

EARTHS SOURCE OF ENERGY

AND RADIATION BUDGET

earths source of energy is from mainly solar energy, (sun) that is then converted into thermal energy. High temp = more thermal energy.

Low temp = less thermal energy.

Thermal energy can also be measured as temperature

Regions near equator are warmer cuz they have more energy

Radiation budget:

The difference between the amount of incoming radiation and the amount of outgoing radiation remitted from the earth surface and the atmosphere incoming radiation is equal to outgoing for the planet as a whole.

Net radiation and latitude:

The greater the difference from the equator, the greater the angle of incident in the greater the albedo therefore these places tend to have a negative net radiation budget or net radiation loss. The place is closer to the equator tend to absorb more energy and have a net radiation gain.

Surplus = summer

Deficit = winter

thermal energy is transfers to atmosphere by wind. Wind carries from areas of net radiation surplus to areas of net radiation deficit.

GREENHOUSE STUFF

Natural greenhouse effect : (good)

This is caused by the absorption of thermal energy and atmosphere without the absorption earth would get too hot and not be able to support life.

greenhouse gases: (bad)

are gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The main contributor is water vapour.

Other contributors are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide.

These all keep the temperature 25°.

enhanced greenhouse effect: (bad)

the change in the earth’s net radiation budget caused by the increase in human generated greenhouse gases.

This has caused global temperature to increase by 0.6°C over just 220 years.

ALTITUDES AND TEMPERATURES

-altitude increases and the temperature of the air decreases.

-temperature inversion = when cool air is trapped close to the ground by a layer of warmer air. Temperature increases as elevations increases.

ABSORPTION AND REFLECTION

reflection is the change of direction of the suns rays.

Absorption is the conversion of suns radiation into another form of energy.

THERMAL ENERGY TRANSFER:

movement of thermal energy from higher to lower temperature, can happen either by conduction or convection.

CONDUCTION AND CONVECTION / HEAT TRANSFERS

convection is when particles move places they can emit energy if there’s a temp difference.

-usually occurs in conduction.

Conduction is when objects touch and are different temps, the higher temp will transfer to the lower.

radiation

particles at high temps will emit thermal energy. Higher temp object gives its energy to a lower temp object through conduction.

EFFECTS OF ENERGY TRANSFER IN ATMOSPHERE:

warm air at equator rises while cookie air at poles sinks. This causes convection.

Then atmospheric pressure is exerted of earths surface. Wind is the movement of cool air from higher to low pressure areas.

WIND PATTERNS, JET SCREAM, CORIOLIS EFFECT:

Coriolis effect

deflection causes wind to turn right in northern hemisphere, and left in southern hemisphere.

Westerlies/ easterlies (types of wind patterns)

westerlies: brings warmer water down to the poles

Easterlies: Brings cooler water to equatorial

Wind patterns

Trade winds

caused by Coriolis effect which deflects rising currents of air to the right in northern and left in sourthern hemisphere.

Jet screams

fast moving air in the upper atmosphere. Jet screams don’t have friction therefore are faster than wind. They’re formed by convection current, big changes in jet scram cause severe weather changes like storms.

PROTOCOLS

Kyoto protocol 1998

-reducing emission of greenhouse gases

-reducing carbon

Montreal protocol -1987

agreement to eliminate CFCS,

CFCS destroy ozone which increases uv rays causing skin cancer.

FREE BEE ANSWER

What month does south pole get 24hr of daylight?

=December summer in southern hemisphere.

DEFORESTATION AFFORESTATION

Bad- deforestation = co2

Good- forestation = planting trees

BIOMES

most to least precipitation:

rainforest (>200cm),

taiga (boreal forest) (40-100cm),

deciduous forest (75-150cm),

grassland (25-57),

tundra (>20cm),

desert (<25cm).

Hottest to coldest:

rainforest (25-30),

desert (12-27),

deciduous forest (14-27),

Taiga (4-14)

Tundra (-15-5)