APES - Ch 2 The Atmosphere Flashcards
Layers (bottom to top)
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere(Ionosphere)
Atmospheric Composition
78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
0-4% Water Vapor
>1% trace gases
Convection
-energy transferred from hotter to colder regions
Albedo
- reflectivity
- higher albedo = lower temperatures
Rain Shadow
-warm air forced up over mountains, cools and drops moisture as rain, so on the other side of the mountain, there is little rain
Volcanoes (affect weather)
-ash clouds can block sunlight which lowers the temperature
Precession
-wobble of Earth on its axis
Coriolis Effect
-spin of the earth deflects wind
Trade Winds
-prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds near the equator
Hadley Cells
- air at the equator rises and falls back at 30 north and south
- air at equator is humid, rains a lot there
- air very dry at 30 north and south
Ferrel Cells
- between 30 and 60 north and south
- dry air is pushed towards 60 where it rises as humid air
Polar Cells
-cold dry air mixes with humid air from mid-latitudes and descends, suppressing precipitation
Monsoon
-strong winds carry moisture from ocean and drop it on land
Normal State (not El Niño)
- wind moves warm air and water west
- cold water rises up in the east
El Niño
- trade winds weaken which results in less water movement
- less upwelling of cold, nutrient rich water results in fish kills
