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Geology > Atmosphere > Flashcards

Atmosphere Flashcards

1
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A

Gaseous outer layer of a planet (gases include greenhouse and non-greenhouse gases)

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2
Q

The atmosphere has _____

A

Layers

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3
Q

What is the exosphere?

A

Layer of the atmosphere where gas molecules (H and He) escape into space

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4
Q

What can be found in the thermosphere?

A
  • Auroras, which are caused by charged solar particles (primarily electrons and protons) interacting with oxygen and nitrogen molecules.
  • Solar particles (AKA solar wind), which are concentrated near the poles due to Earth’s magnetic field.
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5
Q

What can be found in the mesosphere?

A

Meteors (from microscopic to life-ending) falling to Earth which compress the atmospheric gases enough to cause meteors to heat up and glow.

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6
Q

What is in the stratosphere?

A

The ozone layer, which protects against ultraviolet radiation

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7
Q

What is in the troposphere?

A
  • People!! We are in the troposphere

- Mostly nitrogen, oxygen is second most prevalent

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8
Q

How was Earth’s early atmosphere formed?

A

By outgassing of mantle and asteroid and comet impacts.

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9
Q

How did oceans form?

A

Condensation of water vapor in atmosphere (clouds) and rainfall

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10
Q

By about 4 billion years ago, low areas of Earth’s surface had become ________

A

Oceans of water

-This water was acidic

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11
Q

What did acid rain cause?

A

Rapid weathering and erosion of land

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12
Q

By about 3.5 million years ago, there was life in the oceans that survived on _____, ____, and ______ _____ ____ ____.

A

H20, CO2, and energy from the Sun

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13
Q

Photosynthesis produces complex carbon molecules and a waste product: _______.

A

Oxygen (02)

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14
Q

How are banded iron formations (the source of much of the world’s iron ore) formed?

A

O2 produced by bacteria oxidizes iron that was dissolved in seawater, forming an insoluble iron oxide.

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15
Q

What are the three variable components of the atmosphere?

A

Water vapor, dust particles, and ozone.

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16
Q

A water molecule has _____ bonds that bind each hydrogen atom to the lone oxygen atom.

A

Covalent

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17
Q

A covalent bond occurs when:

A

Electrons are being shared by the ions

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18
Q

What kind of intermolecular attraction gives water many of its unique properties?

A

A hydrogen bond

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19
Q

Which is stronger, an intramolecular bond or an intermolecular bond?

A

Intramolecular bonds are stronger

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20
Q

What are the unique properties of water?

A
  1. Specific heat capacity: it takes lots of energy to change the temperature of water
  2. Density: unlike other substances, solid water is less dense than liquid water
  3. Capillarity: these strong H bonds are critical to the capillary action of water
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21
Q

Water vapor varies from ___ to ___% of gases in the atmosphere.

A

0, 4

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22
Q

Water is the source of all ____.

A

Clouds

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23
Q

Water is a ________ gas.

A

Greenhouse

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24
Q

Water enters atmosphere via ______ and leaves via _______.

A

Evaporation, precipitation

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25
Q

Evaporation ______ heat from the environment.

A

Removes

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26
Q

Condensation _____ heat from the environment.

A

Adds

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27
Q

What is sensible heat?

A

Heating that imparts a change in temperature (an increase in bond vibrations).

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28
Q

What is latent heat?

A

Heating that does not impart a change in temperature, it changes the phase of a substance.

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29
Q

Ice is only stable at ___ degrees or colder.

A

0

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30
Q

Water is only stable ____ to ___ degrees.

A

0, 100

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31
Q

Changes between ice, liquid, and water vapor are important for ______ ______.

A

Global temperatures

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32
Q

What is humidity?

A

The amount of water vapor in the air

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33
Q

What is dew point?

A

The temperature at which air is saturated with water vapor

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34
Q

What is relative humidity?

A

Ratio of water vapor in the air relative to the amount of water vapor that WOULD be in the air if it were saturated

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35
Q

What is saturated air?

A

Air that holds all the water vapor it can

-Is at the dew-point temperature and is at 100% relative humidity

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36
Q

Which holds more water vapor: warmer air or cooler air?

A

Warmer air!

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37
Q

As warm humid air cools, water vapor will:

A

Condense (or deposit)

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38
Q

Psychrometers are used to measure:

A

Relative humidity and dew point temperature

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39
Q

What does the dew point tell us that relative humidity does not?

A

Exactly how much water vapor is in the air

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40
Q

Dew point is solely a function of _____.

A

Humidity

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41
Q

Relative humidity is a function of ______ and ________.

A

Humidity and temperature

42
Q

Relative humidity cannot exceed _____.

A

100%

43
Q

When and why does dew occur?

A

It occurs overnight because the ground cools more quickly than the air

44
Q

As the temperature drops, relative humidity ______ until it gets to 100% and then water vapor _____ on the grass.

A

Increases, condenses

45
Q

A cloud that is in contact with the ground is _____.

A

Fog

46
Q

What are clouds made of?

A

LOTS of tiny droplets of water or ice crystals

47
Q

Condensation (and deposition) of water generally requires a __________ ________.

A

Condensation nuclei

48
Q

What could serve as condensation nuclei?

A

Dust, smoke particles, salt particles, bacteria, dead skin

49
Q

Cooler air holds _____ (less/more) water vapor (gas) then warmer air.

A

Less

50
Q

The density of gas molecules _______ (decreases/increases) with rising elevation.

A

Decreases

51
Q

Rising air will:

A

Expand

52
Q

As air expands it ____ (cools/warms), as air is compressed it ______ (cools/warms).

A

Cools, warms

53
Q

What are adiabatic temperature changes?

A

Changes in the temperature of air that occur without heat being added or subtracted from the air.

54
Q

What does it really mean when air expands? What is happening?

A

The space between gas molecules increases

55
Q

What is adiabatic cooling?

A

Cooling that results from expansion

56
Q

What is the dry adiabatic rate?

A

Temperature of rising air drops at 10 degrees C/1000 m

57
Q

What is the wet adiabatic rate?

A

Temperature of rising air drops at 5 degrees C/1000 m

58
Q

What causes air to rise? (5 things)

A
  1. Differential heating of Earth’s surface
  2. Orographic lifting: wind blows up over the mountains
  3. Convergence
  4. Localized air lifting
  5. Cold air and warm air interactions caused by low pressure areas
59
Q

What are the three primary factors of Earth’s energy budget?

A
  1. Amount of solar radiation that Earth receives
  2. Amount of incoming solar radiation that is reflected back into space (albedo effect)
  3. Greenhouse effect: amount of infrared radiation NOT transmitted from Earth to space
60
Q

Why does the amount of solar radiation that the Earth receives change? (3 main reasons)

A
  • Changes in solar luminosity, which varies over time
  • Orbital forcing, variations in Earth’s orbit around the Sun
  • Most of the Sun’s energy that makes it through the atmosphere is in the form of visible light
61
Q

Orbital forcing has three causes. What are they?

A
  1. Precession (like the wobble of a spinning top)
  2. Obliquity (axil tilt)
  3. Eccentricity (changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit)
62
Q

What is albedo?

A

The amount of light reflected by an object

63
Q

What reflects the most light (high albedo)?

A

Clouds and snow

64
Q

What are the six warning signs of a tornado?

A
  1. Wall cloud and/or funnel cloud
  2. Dark, often greenish sky
  3. Large hail (not just hail, large hail)
  4. Loud roar, like a freight train
  5. Warning siren
  6. A “hook echo” on Doppler radar
65
Q

What are aerosols and what needs them to form?

A

They are solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere which affect temperatures AND are necessary for clouds to form.

66
Q

What is 03?

A

Ozone, an oxygen molecule

67
Q

Is there a high or low concentration of ozone (O3) in the atmosphere?

A

Very low

68
Q

Weather is the product of a combination of _____ parameters and ______ parameters.

A

Fixed, variable

69
Q

What are examples of fixed parameters?

A

Elevation and location, such as near a coastline or in the middle of a continent

70
Q

What are examples of variable parameters?

A

Temperature, air pressure, humidity, etc.

71
Q

Air pressure data is in units of ______.

A

millibars

72
Q

Winds blow from _____ pressure to _____ pressure.

A

High, low

73
Q

Water flows from _____ to _____ elevations.

A

High, low

74
Q

Areas with air pressure over ______ millibars are considered to be high pressure. Below that is low pressure.

A

1,013

75
Q

As air near the equator is ______ (cooled/heated), it rises.

A

Heated

76
Q

What is the Coriolis Effect?

A

The deflective force acting on a free-moving object.

77
Q

In the north hemisphere, all free-moving objects (including the wind) are deflected to the ____(right/left) of their path of motion.

A

Right

78
Q

Free-moving objects in the Southern Hemisphere are deflected to the _____(right/left).

A

Left

79
Q

In areas of high pressure, wind moves ______(clockwise/counterclockwise). In areas of low pressure, wind moves _____ (clockwise/counterclockwise).

A

Clockwise, counterclockwise

80
Q

What is a greenhouse gas (GHG)?

A

A gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect.

81
Q

What would Earth’s average surface temperature be without GHGs in our atmosphere?

A

-18 degrees C, 0 degrees F

82
Q

Would Earth be able to sustain life as we know it without GHGs in our atmosphere?

A

Earth could maybe sustain life, but not life as we know it. Without GHGs, we wouldn’t have the amount of heat needed to grow plants.

83
Q

What does it mean that a GHG absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range?

A

CO2 molecule vibrates as a result of absorbed infrared energy.

84
Q

What are the two most prevalent non-GHGs in Earth’s atmosphere?

A

Nitrogen and oxygen

85
Q

What are the five most abundant GHGs?

A
  1. Water vapor (H20)
  2. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  3. Methane (CH4)
  4. Nitrous oxide (N2O)
  5. Ozone (03)
86
Q

Atmospheric concentrations of GHGs are determined by the balance between ______ (emissions of the gas from human activities and natural systems) and _____ (i.e., removal of the gas from the atmosphere by conversion to a different chemical compound or absorption into bodies of water).

A

Sources, sinks

87
Q

What four properties determine a GHGs overall contribution to the greenhouse effect?

A
  1. Effectiveness of the gas at absorbing and re-emitting infrared radiation
  2. Abundance of the GHG
  3. Atmospheric lifetime of the GHG
  4. Indirect radiative effects (such as CH4 contributing to the formation of ozone)
88
Q

What is the major non-gas contributor to the greenhouse effect?

A

Clouds

89
Q

What four GHGs DIRECTLY contribute the most to the greenhouse effect? Include percentages.

A
  1. Water vapor and clouds (36-72%)
  2. Carbon dioxide (9-26%)
  3. Methane (4-9%)
  4. Ozone (3-7%)
90
Q

Why is nitrous oxide the 4th most abundant GHG, but it doesn’t have a very high contribution to the greenhouse effect?

A

It has a short atmospheric lifetime

91
Q

What is the average residence time of a water molecule in the atmosphere? (days)

A

9 days

92
Q

What does the term residence time mean?

A

The average length of time during which a substance is in a given location or condition.

93
Q

Earth’s surface temperature depends on a balance between ______ and _______ energy.

A

Incoming, outgoing

94
Q

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of a gas depends on what two things?

A
  1. Efficiency of a molecule as a greenhouse gas

2. Atmospheric lifetime

95
Q

What is the definition of Global Warming Potential (GWP)?

A

Measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).

96
Q

The GWP is relative to _____.

A

CO2

97
Q

On a molecule for molecule basis, which is a more potent gas: CH4 or CO2?

A

CH4

98
Q

Which molecule has a longer residence time in the atmosphere: CH4 or CO2?

A

CO2

99
Q

What does ppm stand for?

A

Parts-per-million

100
Q

What does ppb stand for?

A

Parts-per-billion

101
Q

What does ppt stand for?

A

Parts-per-trillion

102
Q

What are the products and reactants of photosynthesis?

A

Reactants: 6 H20 + 6 CO2
Products: C6H12O6 + 6 O2

Geology (1 decks)

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