2.1 Diurnal Energy Budgets Flashcards
What is the Troposphere?
The zone where the most weather processes take place
How high up is the troposphere?
2Km High up from sea level
What do weather and climate have in common?
Weather and Climate are both a measure (over 30 years) of the condition of the atmosphere.
What separate weather and climate?
- Weather is a in the short term
- Climate is in the long term
What does diurnal mean?
Day and Night, an 24 hour period
What does energy budgets mean?
Reference to the amount of energy entering and leaving
What are the 6 components of the daytime energy budget?
- Incoming solar radiation (insolation)
- Reflected solar radiation
- Surface absorption
- Sensible heat transfer
- Long wave radiation
- Latent heat transfer
Define incoming solar radiation (Insolation)
The amount of solar energy reaching Earth’s surface
How does incoming solar radiation (Insolation) vary from place to place?
- Sun’s angle
- time of day, season
- latitude
- atmospheric conditions
Define reflected solar radiation?
The portion of incoming solar energy that bounces off Earth’s surface or atmosphere rather than being absorbed
How does reflected solar radiation vary from place to place?
The colour of material
Define surface absorption
Reference to the amount of solar radiation that is absorbed by a surface after it has been reflected
How does surface absorption vary from place to place?
- Conductivity
- Albedo percentage
Define sensible heat transfer
Reference to the exchange of heat between a surface and air or another medium that results in a temperature change
How does sensible heat transfer vary from place to place?
- Climate and temperature
- Surface type
Define long wave radiation
Reference to infrared radiation emitted by Earth’s surface into the atmosphere
How does long wave radiation vary from place to place?
- Land use
- Humidity
- Cloud cover
- Surface temperature
Define latent heat transfer
The energy exchanged during the phase changes of a substance
How does latent heat transfer vary from place to place?
- Temperature
- Humidity
What are the 4 component of the night time energy budget? (3 less than during the day)
- Long wave radiation
- Latent heat transfer
- Absorbed energy returned to Earth
- Sensible heat transfer
What is albedo?
A measure of the reflectivity of a surface?
How do light and dark colours affect albedo?
- Light colours means high albedo
- dark colours means low albedo
In general, what is the albedo of water compared to land
The albedo of water is lower than solid land
Why does water have different albedo at different times?
The reflectivity of the water can change
Why does calm water have a higher albedo than rough water?
With rough water the light rays are reflected in all directions, including back into the water.
How does the presence and absence of clouds affect the diurnal temperature range in each? (rainforest and desert)
In a desert with less clouds, the diurnal range is larger however in a rainforest with lots of clouds the diurnal range is smaller
Why does the presence and absence of clouds affect the diurnal temperature range in each?
Clouds trap long-wave radiation during the night, leading to warmer nights. During the day, clear skies allow more heat to escape at night, resulting in cooler nights
