Air-Sea Interaction Flashcards
How and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by wind.
Physical Oceanography
Heat that causes a change in temperature in an object
Sensible Heat
Heat that causes change in state with no change in temperature.
Latent Heat
Atmosphere and ocean one ____ system
Interconnected
____ is hot ball of glowing gases.
_____ heats the earth surface and creates atmospheric winds, which drive most of surface currents and waves.
Sun, Solar Energy
Average solar radiation received per unit area on the Earth’s surface is ____? Also called ___?
342 Wm^-2, Solar Irradiance
Energy flux at surface of the sun:
63 x 106 Watts/m^2
Surface temperature of Sun
5780K or 5507C
____ passes through the atmosphere as incoming ____. Part of this is reflected by the atmosphere and earth’s surface as reflected solar radiation. A larger part is absorbed by the earth’s surface and warms it and is converted into heat causing the emission of _____ or _____ radiation back to the atmosphere.
Solar Radiation, Solar Radiation, Longwave Radiation or Infrared Radiation
Equatorial regions ____ heat.
Polar regions ____ heat
More, Less
_____ in the high latitudes creates a large “solar footprint” (solar energy is dispersed across a wide area). On the other hand, _____ in the low latitudes creates a small “solar footprint” (solar energy is focused on a narrow area of Earth’s surface)
Low Angle of Incidence, High Angle of Incidence
% of incident light reflected back to space. The average ___ of earth is?
Albedo, 30%
More _____ is reflected back to space at high latitudes because ice has a much _____ albedo than soil, vegetation, or water.
Radiation, Higher
High density of incident rays is also called the _________ and the ______ while Low Density of Incident Rays is also called the _______ and the ______ depending on the date or time of year.
Northern Summer, Southern Winter, Northern Winter, Southern Summer
Earth is most inclined towards the sun, longest day. It is either of the two times in the year, the _____ and the ______, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.
Solstice (Summer and Winter Solstice)
The time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length.
Equinox
Causes of variation in Solar Radiation:
- Daytime, nightime cycle
- Change in season
Less dense, so it rises (heat rises). On the other hand, this is more dense, so it sinks.
Warm air, Cold air
Air contains H2O (molecular wt is 18) = _____, Air contains no H2O, just N2 (mol wt is 28) and O2 (mol wt is 32) = _______
Moist Air, Dry Air
Depends on the weight of the column of air above. _____ at sea level; declines with altitude.
Atmospheric Pressure, 1 Atm
Air always moves from regions of ____ pressure to ____. Cool Dense Air, _____ surface pressure. Warm less dense air, ____ surface pressure.
High, Low, Higher, Lower
Air (wind) always moves from regions of high pressure to low with a North-South flow. This is called a?
Convection or Circulation Cell
Apparent force acting on freely moving objects due to the rotation of the earth. Causes deflection of motion to the right (left) in the northern (southern) hemisphere. Can act on large scale motion such as ocean currents and atmospheric winds
Coriolis Force
Coriolis maximized at _____ latitudes; weak at ____ latitudes.
High, Low
