ch. 28 Flashcards
28.1
troposphere
a layer extending an average of 12 km above Earths surface and thisis where our wh
temperature inversion
occurs when air temperature increases with altitude and the air becomes stable
greenhouse effect
is a natural process in which certain gases in the atmosphere warm a planet as they absorb and emit infrared radiation
how are the atmosphere glares divided
composition and temperature
what is the majority of the troposphere made up of
nitrogen 78%
what is the second biggest gas that makes up the trposphere
oxygen 21%
what is the remaining 1% made up of
trace gases
majority argon
does the temperature increase or decrease
decrease
how many layers are in the Earths atmosphere
five
what are the names of the layers from closest to earth to farthest from earth
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
which layer is the ozone layer found in
stratosphere
does the temperature increase or decrease in the stratosphere
increases
what percentage ia absorbed by earths surface
50%
what percent of solar radiation gets reflected off of earths surface
5%
what percent of solar radiation is absorbed by particles in the atmosphere
20%
what percent is reflected back by clouds and other particles in the atmosphere
25%
what are the three basic cloud types
stratus, cumulus, and cirrus
explain what a stratus cloud looks like
their layered sheet like clouds
explain cumulus clouds
puffy in fair weather
explain cirrus clouds
wispy high altitude clouds
what is it called when water is brought from the land taken to the atmosphere and brought back to the land
water cycle
what are the stages of the water cycle
evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, run-off, infiltration
28.2
jet stream
a narrow band of fast-moving, high-altitude air
Coriolis effect
apparent deflection of an object due to earths rotation
air mass
large volume of air with uniform moisture and temperature throughout
weather fonts
air masses interact in zones
is there only one jet stream in the world?
no there are four
how many pressure systems are there
two low and high pressure
what is the low pressure system also known as
alow
which way does the air flow in a low pressure system
counterclockwise
what is a result of a low pressure system
causes air to rise which causes cloud formation and precipitation
what is a high pressure system also known as
High
which direction does a high pressure system flow
clockwise
what are some results of a high pressure system
air sinks, causes clear skies
the four weather fronts are…
- cold front
- warm front
- stationary front
- occluded front
what happened through a cold front
forces warm air upward
what is a cold front represented by on the news
blue triangles moving upward
what would present a warm front on the news
red circles
what represents a stationary front on the news
alternating triangles and half circles
what can a occluded front cause
thunderstorms and strong wind
what represents
purple alternating triangles and half circles
28.3
maritime climate
a climate that is strongly affected by the ocean
continental climate
a climate that is not directly affected by the ocean
sea breeze
blows from over the water toward land in the afternoon, when the land is warmer than water
what is climate
long term average of weather conditions
what is weather
day to day outside condition
what are the five sphere that make up earths system
atmosphere cryosphere lithosphere hydrosphere biosphere
what is the atmosphere
includes the air around us
what is biosphere
anything that is organic
what is hydrosphere
anything that includes water
what is cryosphere
anything with frozen water (snow, ice, glaciers, etc.)
what is lithosphere
earths outermost layer
what is the primary factor that influences climate at a given location
latitude
where is the greatest amount of solar radiation received on earth
at the eguater
at a tropical zone what degrees does the sun rays hit earth
90 degrees
at what degrees do sun rays hit earths surface at the temperature zone
45
at what degrees do the sun rays hit earths surface at a polar zone
30
which zone would we fall in
temperature zone
what factors determine climate
precipitation
water
mountains
what are some specifics on the windward side of a mountain
air is cool and wet with lots of vegetation
what happens on the leeward side of a mountain
air is warm and dry with little vegetation
what climate zone and vegetation does
Lamar have
warm semi-arid and grassland
28.4
global warming
increase in the average temperatures of Earths near-surface air and oceans
El Nino
the warming of the Pacific ocean off the coast of western south america that occurs every 3 to 10 years
la nina
occurs when trade winds in the pacific are unusually strong and surface water is colder than normal
what are the earths climate undergoes
seasonal and long-term
how do seasonal changes occur
as earth revolves around the sun
which hemisphere is tilted toward the sun
summer
what was the period called when earths surface is covered with ice sheets
ice age
how long ago did earths climate reach its current patterns
3000 years ago
what are the changes related to earths orbit
tilt of earths axis, shape of the orbit, timing of the seasons
how do humans impact the climate
energy consumption, deforestation, industrial and agricultural practice
what is deforestation
clearing large areas of forest land
how does deforestation impact the climate
trees remove carbon dioxide
what are the two ways the carbon cycle is affected
deforestation and loss of vegetation
