Climate Quiz 1 Flashcards
what is the difference between weather and climate?
weather looks at a particular place or time and uses meteorological terms whereas climate exists consistently over a long period of
what is the biosphere
the layer of earth that has the conditions to support life
what is the hydrosphere
component of the biosphere that contains water in all forms
what is the atmosphere
component of the biosphere that is composed primarily of gases
what is the lithosphere
- component of the biosphere that makes up the outer layer of earth and extends 100 km below the surface
- made of rocks, minerals, and solid elements
- home to microorganisms, plants and animals
- warmed by the sun
what is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, and what does it do
nitrogen which is required for plant growth via bacteria conversion but does not support combustion
what is the second most abundant gas in the atmosphere and what is it used for
oxygen which is used in chemical reactions and creates/releases fuel
what are the two other main gases that makeup the atmosphere
carbon dioxide and argon, plus other gases
how many atmospheric layers are there
4
what determines these layers
average air temperature
what are the atmospheric layers from greatest to least altitude
thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere
whats the thermosphere
layer farthest from the earths surface that cannot support life
whats the mesosphere
third layer above earths surface that cannot support life
whats the stratosphere
second closest layer to earth’s surface that contains the ozone layer along with most of the ozone in the atmosphere
what’s the purpose of the ozone layer
it absorbs UV rays from the sun, heats up the stratosphere and protects living organisms from UV rays
whats the troposphere
the layer of atmospheric gases 0-10 km from the earth’s surface that has oxygen levels and temperature conditions to support life
what happens to temperature in the troposphere as the altitude increases
it decreases
what does it mean in the troposphere if the temperature is increasing
you are decreasing in altitude
whats an inversion
a reversal of normal temperature patterns seen in the troposphere that may trap unusually cold air close to the ground due to less air circulation
how do living things deal with climate
through adaptation
whats an adaptation
any change an organism makes to become more suited to its environment
whats dormancy
period where growth in an organism becomes very slow
whats anecdotal evidence
evidence that relies on reports from people about certain events and how they interpret them over time. it has not been tested for bias and has also not been tested to see if it applies to situations other than the particular events reported
whats scientific evidence
facts that rely on collected evidence, which ensures it is as unbiased as possible. it reflects general situations instead of just particular events and is usually collected by trained scientists and is checked by other scientists.
whats insolation
amount of solar energy received by a region on earth
where does almost all the energy come from
the sun
what is most energy converted to
solar energy
whats solar energy
radiant energy generated from the sun
what does insolation depend on
the latitude and characteristics of lithosphere
what’s the angle of inclination
degree by which the earth’s poles are tilted from the plane of its orbit
what are latitudes
parallel lines around the earth also known as the equator
whats a solstice
a point in earths orbit where the poles are the most tilted towards or away from the sun
what’s the angle of incidence
angle between a ray falling to earth’s surface and the line perpendicular to the earth’s surface
whats albedo
measure of reflectivity that shows the percent of solar radiation that the earth reflects
whats the greenhouse effect
the absorption of thermal energy by the atmospheric gases
what are the two types of the greenhouse effect
natural and human enhanced
why is natural greenhouse effect a good thing
allows for enough insulation to sustain life and keeps earth warm
whats a net radiation budget
difference between the amount of incoming radiation and outgoing radiation reemitted from earth’s surface and atmosphere
whats a balanced net radiation budget
0
what do you have if the incoming radiation is greater than the outgoing radiation
a surplus, which causes air temperature to increase
what do you have if outgoing radiation is higher than incoming radiation
a deficit, which causes temperatures to decrease
whats radiation
emission of heat through electromagnetic radiation that travels in all directions directly to point of absorption at the speed of light
whats conduction
when a particle with high kinetic energy makes contact with a particle with a lower kinetic energy and a transfer of energy occurs
whats convection
when a warmer particle moves towards a colder particle
what causes wind
the rising and sinking masses of ain in convection currents that cause changes in atmospheric pressure
whats the coriolis effct
the idea that the earth is spinning deflecting any object from a straight path due to the rotation
what do global wind patterns do
transfer thermal energy from areas of net radiation budget surplus to areas of net radiation budget deficit
what would happen without the occurrence of global wind patterns
areas at or near the equator would grow very how while the rest of the earth would become much colder
what causes trade winds
the action of the Coriolis effect which deflects the rising currents of air to the northeast in the northern hemisphere and the southeast in the southern hemisphere
what are jet streams
bands of fast moving air in the stratosphere
what do changes in jet streams affect
the formation of severe weather events
how does the hydrosphere transfer thermal energy
vertically through the oceans and other bodies of water via convection currents
what also affects the direction of currents
earths continents
what do convection currents do
transfer thermal energy between the upper and lower depths of the oceans
can large bodies of water affect climate
yes, they can have a profound effect
