Heating the Atmosphere Flashcards
By what method of heat transfer does energy from the Sun reach Earth
Radiation
What is radiation?
Transfer of energy by waves. Energy can move through a substance or a vacuum.
What is conduction?
Transfer of energy between substances in contact.
What is convection?
Transfer of energy within a substance because of density differences. Warm, less dense substances rise and cold, more dense substances sink.
What can cause the atmosphere to reflect incoming radiation from the Sun?
Clouds, dust storms, volcanic dust, and certain molecules in the atmosphere.
What absorbs incoming UV radiation, preventing most of it from reaching Earth’s surface?
The Ozone Layer
What happens to the Sun’s radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface?
The land and water absorb the radiation.
What part of the electromagnetic spectrum does the atmosphere block?
Shorter wavelengths like gamma rays, X-rays, and UV radiation.
Most of the radiation that passes through Earth’s atmosphere and reaches the surface is in what part of the electromagnetic spectrum?
Visible light
What part of the electromagnetic spectrum does the Earth radiate back to the atmosphere and out to space?
Infrared radiation
What keeps the Earth’s surface at a temperature that supports life?
Selective absorption by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and radiation back to the surface.
Why is Earth’s surface not too hot to support life?
Radiation eventually moves from the surface and the atmosphere out to colder space.
In what direction does heat transfer?
Heat will move from a warmer substance to a colder substance.
What are the three major greenhouse gases?
Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide and Methane
How does Earth’s atmosphere act like a greenhouse?
The atmosphere allows visible light to reach the surface, but selectively absorbs infrared radiation (heat) leaving the surface towards space.
What is wind?
The horizontal movement of air
What causes wind?
Pressure differences caused by the differential heating of the Earth.
How does temperature create a low pressure area?
Warm, less-dense air rises
How does temperature create a high pressure area?
Cool, more-dense air sinks
What is wind chill?
The effect a person feels when the wind removes body heat.
How can clothing like coats, scarfs, and hats protect against wind chill?
Protective clothing will keep body heat near the skin and prevent it transferring to the air.
How does a sea breeze form?
During the day, the land will change temperature faster than water. Air in contact with the land will rise, and cool air will move horizontally from the water to the land.
How does a land breeze form?
At night, the land has cooled faster than the water. Air in contact with the water will rise, and cool air will move horizontally from the land to the water.
How does the land and water heat the atmosphere?
The surface can radiate energy to the atmosphere. Land in contact with the atmosphere can transfer heat by conduction.
Where do global wind belts start?
They start with rising warm air at the equator.
Why does the Earth form wind belts?
They form because of the differential heating of the Earth due to its spherical shape.
Where are the doldrums?
They are located in a moving band around the equator.
What causes the doldrums?
Air movement is vertical with warm air rising.
Why do the doldrums not stay in the same place throughout the year?
While they are near the equator, they move because of the changing seasonal tilt of the Earth.
How do the Trade Winds form?
The horizontal movement from high pressure near 30 degrees latitude towards low pressure at the equator.
Where are the Horse latitudes?
Around 30 degrees latitude in both hemispheres
What causes the Horse latitudes?
Sinking air moves vertically
How do the Prevailing Westerlies form?
Sinking air around 30 degrees latitude creates a high pressure area. Air will move horizontally from 30 degrees latitude towards 60 degrees latitude.
How do the Polar Easterlies form?
Sinking air at the poles moves horizontally towards lower latitudes?
How does the Coriolis Effect change global wind and ocean current direction?
It takes north-south horizontal winds and currents and curves them.
What is the cause of the Coriolis Effect?
Earth’s rotation
