Climate and energy (T1) Flashcards
when was the formation of the Earth?
4550 Ma
when was the formation of the Moon?
4527 Ma
when was photosynthesis first starting?
3200 Ma
when was the atmosphere oxygen rich?
2300 Ma
when was the first vertebrate land animals?
380 Ma
when was the first Non-avian dinosaurs?
230-66Ma
when was the first hornminins?
2 Ma
what is space like?
no atmosphere
no heat
no light
how does the intensity of solar radiation received by Mercury compare with that a Venus?
intestenisty of radiation form the sun at mercury is 4 tines that at Venus
why is Venus hotter than mercury?
mercury has no atmosphere the surface gets very hot during the day but then cools down quickly at night because there is no atmosphere to ‘keep the heat in’
why does not Venus ‘cool down’ at night?
day = +465 night = +465
Venus has a very dense thick atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This traps a substantial part of the thermal energy causing the surface temperature to exceed that of mercury. Effectively that at night-time temperature is the same as the day.
radiation intensity
proportional to 1/R^2
what does climate depend on?
atmosphere
solar radiation
what is the solar constant?
the total flux of solar energy received at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere on a plane perpendicular to the beam
1,360W/m2
How energy is received by the Earth
21% scattered and reflected by clouds 6% scattered from atmosphere 19% absorbed by atmosphere and clouds 51 % absorbed by the Earth's surface 4% reflected from surface
(70% is absorbed by surface and atmosphere)
what’s the flux of absorbed solar radiation on averse that is Earth’s energy budget
solar constant = 1,360 W/m2
70% of the solar flux is absorbed
area of the sphere is 4 times the area of a disk
average solar flux is 340 W/m2
answer = 240 W/m2
where does energy go that is absorbed by the Earth?
less than 2% of the solar energy is converted to biomass by photosynthesis (fossil fuels)
rest is ultimately radiated away into space as long wave radiation- the processes involved in the transport of this energy ‘drives’ the Earth’s climate system
the flux of geothermal energy?
0.087 W/m2 of geothermal energy
definition of climate
- region considers with regard to prevailing weather conditions
- characteristic weather conditions of a country or region, the prevalent patterns of weather in a region throughout the year, in respect of variation of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a “shadow” of dryness behind them.
measure rainfall
length/time
mm/day
measure temperature
degrees in temperature or kelvin
measure wind speed and direction
distance / time
direction degrees from north
measure of pressure
barometer
force / area
measure of humidity
% humidity
absolute and relative
measure cloud cover
okras
measure of sunlight
radiant power / area
irradiance
(tracking dervice = 6 degrees)
resources and energy
material resource exploitation depends on the availability and controlled use of energy
