ATMOSPHERIC & OCEAN CIRCULATION Flashcards
what percentage of N and O makes up the atmosphere
78% nitrogen
21% oxygen
how close is 99% of the atmosphere to the earths surface
30km
what is pressure
weight of air per unit area
what happened to the weight of air the higher you go
decreases
The higher you go, the less air is above
what happens to pressure with increasing height
decreases
what happens to temperature with increasing height
does not always decrease with height – starts to increases when reaches the stratosphere + thermosphere
is dry or humid air more dense
dry
what happens to air temp as its compressed and expanded
increases as its compressed, decreases as it expands
what is sensible heat
The heat we can feel and measure with a thermometer
what is heat capacity
the heat energy absorbed to raise a substance to a given temperature
what does a HIGH specific heat indicate
that its slow warming
whats latent heat
the energy involved in the change of state between solid, gas, liquid
3 ways to transfer energy
- Conduction: transfer heat from one molecule to another in a SUBSTANCE
- Convection: transfer of heat by the mass movement of FLUID (water or air)
- Radiation = the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves
what determines the radiation wavelength that object emit
temperature
- hot objects -> shorter wavelengths - more energy
- cooler objects -> longer wavelengths
do shorter or longer wavelengths have more energy
shorter
what kind of radiation is emitted from the sun and earth
Shortwave radiation (high energy) from the Sun
Longwave radiation (low energy) from the Earth
how does the atmosphere absorb radiation
the gases in the atmosphere absorbs different wavelengths
- No atmosphere : incoming energy quickly exits—we are cold
- With atmosphere : Atmosphere absorbs outgoing Earth (terrestrial) energy—slowing down the exit and keeping us warm -> greenhouse effect
**Greenhouse gases are = highly absorbative
what is all the gases combined called
Atmospheric window
when is solar energy at its highest
noon - but hottest time of day = 4/5pm - this is cause it takes time to warm to ground which then warms the air around us (daily variation in air temp aka diurnal cycle)
what also warms the atmosphere other than gas absorption
Latent heat - vapour to liquid
what 2 factors affect the solar energy input
Latitude and seasons
other than being absorbed, what also happens to solar light
reflected (albedo)
scattered (blue light is scattered much more during the day)
what 3 things effects how much an object deflects (Coriolis effect)
Rotation of Earth
Latitude - zero at equator, maximum at poles
Object’s speed – Larger for stronger winds
which way does an object deflect in the north and south hemisphere (to an observer on earth)
right in Northern Hemisphere, left in Southern Hemisphere
how does the Coriolis effect influence the global air circulation
air doesn’t make it all the way to the poles
- Rotation of the earth means that there are multiple cells
