Climate Flashcards
What is weather?
Atmospheric conditions of a specific place at a specific time.
What is climate?
Average weather conditions in a region over a period of several years (minimum 30 years)
What is anecdotal evidence?
Things we see/experience
What is scientific evidence?
Fasts/dta using numbers or measurements
What is narrow climate?
Doesn’t vary much
What is wide climate?
varies a lot
What is moderate climate?
mild; not too cold or hot
What is severe climate?
extreme; hot or cold
What is the biosphere?
narrow zone around Earth that can support life
What is the atmosphere?
All the air
What is the hydrosphere?
all the water
What is the lithosphere?
all the land
What are the four layers of the atmosphere? (lowest to highest)
Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
What is the troposphere?
surface -> 10km
temp is 15 to -60
contains 80% of atmospheric gases, and most living organisms
What is the stratosphere?
10km -> 50km
temp is -60 to 0
contains the ozone layer (O3)
What is the mesosphere?
50km -> 80km
temp is 0 to -100
contains trace water vapour
What is the thermosphere?
80km -> 300km
temp is -100 to +1500
contains very little gas
What is inversion?
reversal of temperature change with altitude (expected to get colder with height, but in the stratosphere and thermosphere it gets hotter)
What is the sun to the Earth?
Source of all energy
What are the waves on the electromagnetic spectrum? (fastest to slowest)
gamma rays, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwaves, radiowaves
What are gamma rays used for?
used in chemo therapy to kill cancer cells
What are ultraviolet rays used for?
Absorbed by the skin, this is why we need sunscreen
What is visible light for?
what we see; each colour is a different wavelength
What are infrared rays used for?
they transmit heat
What is the angle of inclination?
The angle of the axis between the North and South Pole (23.5)
What is a solstice?
points in Earth’s orbit where the poles are pointed most towards or away from the sun
What is an equinox?
days where the number of daylight hours is exactly equal to the number of nighttime hours