Final 2024 Flashcards
TOA energy balance is:
a radiative balance
Rs:
net radiative flux into the surface (positive downward)
LE:
latent heat flux into the air (positive upward)
SH:
sensiblee heat flux into the air (positive upward)
G:
movement of heat down to greater depths (positive downward, away)
Delta Feo
Horizontal flux of energy away from the ocean column
Sdown =
downward solar radiation
Sup =
upward (reflected) solar radiation
F down=
downward longwave (infared) radiation
F up =
upward longwave (invarend) radiation
Highest albedo at the surface:
Fresh snow
Lowest albedo at the surface:
Fresh asphalt
When are there strong latent heat fluxes?
Winter
How is heat transported during the winter?
via ocean currents and then lost to atmosphere, heat that was already stored below the surface is lost to the atmo
The largest latent heat fluxes (evaporation) is along?
western boundary currents
Where do latent heat fluxes driven by dry sinking air and evaporation?
subtropics
What happens molecularly with warm water?
water molecules have greater energy and are able to escape from the liquid in the form of vapor
High cloud tops are:
very cold and have a relatively low energy emission
Outgoing longwave radiation depends on:
the average temperature of the surface from which the radiation emanates
Most water resides in these reservoirs:
Oceans, seas and Bays
Rate of precipitation =
rate of evaporation
negative numbers on a e-p map:
indicates precipitation onto that location is greater than the evaporation from that location
negative numbers on divergence of moisture of transport:
where winds import more water vapor than they export (convergence)
high sea surface salinity =
high evaporation rates and or low precipitation rates
high sea surface salinity is found in:
subtropical oceans and the Mediterranean Sea
Where does precipitation peak?
the equator/ subtropics
secondary precipitation peaks:
over the midlatitudes
Precipitation Recycling Ratio:
fraction of continental precipitation that comes from continental evaporation
Photosynthesis:
the coupling of carbon, energy, and evaporation
How is net radiation at any location balanced?
the horizontal transport of energy into and out of that location
Numerically, where does energy fluxes peak at mid-latitude?
5.8 petaWatts
What kind of features are effect at transporting energy vertically?
small scale
What kind of features are effective at transporting energy horizontally?
large scale
What transports energy in the mid-latitudes?
extratropical cyclones
What transports energy at low-latitudes?
meridional overturning cells (Hadley cells)
Vertical transport:
stops at the tropopause (mass and energy)
If a object is moving west-east, in the NH:
the object is going to feel a stronger outward centrifugal force because it is moving faster
Balance between gravitational force and the centrifugal force:
makes the object move towards the low-latitudes (to the right of OG motion)
If a object is moving east to west in NH:
moving in opposite direction of rotation (“slowing down”), the centrifugal force would decrease and object would more polewards
SH an object moving E-W or W-E would curve:
to the left
Salt content increases
density
warmer temperature
decreases density
density is not linear:
when dependent on temperature
Is thermal expansion larger or smaller at higher temperatures?
Larger, if there is a 1C change in temp, water will expand
For fresh water, the maximum density occurs:
at 4 C
If the ocean was fresh water, and therefore density did not depend on salinity, how would ice form?
all the water in the column would need to reach the surface and cool to 4C before ice will form (takes a very long time)
Depth of mixed layer depends on:
rate of buoyancy generation and rate at which kinetic energy is supplied to the surface winds
Mixed Layer:
the region of near uniform water temperature at surface
Why does the ML not become as shallow during the summer in the SH?
winds remain fairly strong, supports turbulent mixing
ML is thin where
Ocean is being heated
ML is thick where
the ocean gives up its energy to the atmosphere
Because of rotation, net mass transport of the Ekman layer:
is to the right, implies vertical motion
What drives the movement of water deep in ocean?
variations in density
Thermohaline circulation:
the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by variations in water density
Water mass:
a body of water with a common formation history and properties that are distinct from surrounding waters
Deep Water:
unsurprisingly, is a example of a water mass located deep in the ocean. Characterized by low temperatures and high salinity
Deep water forms at latitudes during the winter due to:
surface water cooling, brine rejection in ice formation
Wind driven circulation:
Ekman layer
Density-driven circulation:
thermohaline circulation
AMOC:
northward flow of warm salty water in the upper Atlantic and the southward flow of cold/fresh North Atlantic Deep Water in the deep Atlantic
AMOC is a major driver of:
Atlantic heat transport across the equator
Circulation in deep ocean:
Is much faster
Surface currents are more important in:
driving
Internal variability:
natural “unforced” fluctuations, oscillations, that occur within the climate system in the absence of any specific cause
Positive OLR values =
drier conditions
Negative OLR =
El Niño causes precip
Teleconnections:
climate links between geographically separated region (ex. movement of connection towards the east pacific during El Niño causes atmo waves to propagate towards mid-latitude)
3 major limits to accurate climate model predictions:
1.) knowledge of future boundary conditions, aka scenario uncertainty
2.) Knowledge and representation of earth system physics aka model uncertainty
3.) knowledge of unforced variability (internal variability)
Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)
future climate predictions are based off of different possible socio-economic pathways
What do the numbers in a RCP mean?
specifies the radiative forcing of the pathway in the year 2100 relative to the preindustrial period
Global mean temperature change:
is proportional to the radiative forcing
3 reasons for emergence of climate extreme field?
1.) teasing out the role of human-induced global warming
2.) people are more likely to support policies focused on adapting to climate change impacts
3.)evidence from attribution reports could feed into litigation on climate change
Climate disaster risk:
hazard, exposure, vulnerability
Holocene global temperature change is dominated by:
NH extratropical change
Eccentricity:
shape of Earth’s orbit around the sun
Obliquity:
angle of Earth’s axis from a line perpendicular to The orbital plane
Precession:
wobble of Earth’s rotation axis
increase in tilt:
alters amplitude of the seasonal cycle (more in summer)
Periodicity:
41 kyrs
Solstice:
day when Sun’s apparent position in the sky reaches its northernmost or southernmost position
Perihelion:
point in Earth’s orbit where Sun is closest
Aphelion:
point in Earth’s orbit where Sun is most distant
