// lecture 11

Question 1

poleward heat transport

Answer 1

• the equator gets more solar heating than the poles
• but the atmosphere and ocean move heat poleward
• this makes the poles warmer and the equator cooler than they would be

Question 2

poleward transport of energy drives

Answer 2

winds, weather, and ocean currents

Question 3

meridional energy transport

Answer 3

• use conservation of energy

- what comes in top, must go out sides

Question 4

sahara arabian deserts

Answer 4

• energy is lost out of top of atmosphere because of high albedo (so low absorbed solar) and hot surface w/ no clouds, so large outgoing LW
• how? you must bring in high energy air from high altitudes and have it sink over the deserts. this also helps maintain the deserts, since sinking air has low humidity.

Question 5

desert maintenance schematic

Answer 5

• lost energy out top, must come in via sides in atmosphere
• net radiation out at top
• sinking, heating, and drying downward
• high energy air, due mostly to altitude comes in (low moisture)
• low energy air, due mostly to altitude leave (high moisture)

Question 6

atmospheric energy balance

Answer 6

the atmosphere is heated by evaporation and cooled by radiation

Question 7

latent heat

Answer 7

the energy needed to convert solid to liquid or liquid to gas

Question 8

latent vs specific heat

Answer 8

• latent heat: amount of heat to melt 1 kilogram of water is 334,000 J
• specific heat: amount of heat to warm water from 0 C to 1 C is 4218 J

Question 9

latent heats

Answer 9

L = latent heat of vaporization 2.5 x 10^6 Jkg^-1

80 Wm^-2 for one year evaporates one meter of water from the ocean in one year. global mean ~88Wm^-2 of heat released into the atmosphere when the evaporated water condenses

Question 10

when water is evaporated…

Answer 10

latent heat enters the atmosphere, mostly in the tropics. this vapor then condenses to liquid, releasing latent heat.

Question 11

basic atmospheric energy balance is between

Answer 11

release of latent heat during rainfall and cooling by radiation

Question 12

surface energy balance

Answer 12

Radiation (Rs) in

Latent (vapor) (LE) and sensible heat (temp) (SH) out.

Question 13

latitude structure of surface heat balance

Answer 13

radiation balances latent cooling, mostly in tropics

Question 14

radiative heating is biggest over

Answer 14

tropical oceans - in trade winds

Question 15

latent cooling is biggest over

Answer 15

subtropical oceans - in trade winds

Question 16

sensible cooling is small

Answer 16

except over warm land

Question 17

overall energy goes…

Answer 17

into tropical oceans and comes out of extratropical oceans

Question 18

the hydrologic cycle

Answer 18

the movement of water from ocean to air to land to ocean