Module 9 Balancing Temperature - Heat Budget Flashcards
What is the term used to describe the Earth’s system for managing energy?
Earth’s energy budget
Also known as radiation budget or heat budget.
How does the Earth primarily lose heat?
By radiating energy as infrared radiation.
What type of radiation does the Sun emit?
Ultraviolet radiation.
What happens to the speed of solar rays when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere?
They decrease in speed.
What is refraction?
The bending of light as it passes through different densities.
What percentage of incoming solar radiation is typically reflected back to space?
About 30%.
What is the albedo effect?
The ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight.
Which surfaces have high albedo?
Ice and snow.
What gases in the atmosphere absorb long-wave infrared radiation?
Water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs.
True or False: Oxygen and nitrogen absorb infrared radiation.
False.
What happens when solar radiation hits a rough surface?
It scatters in many different directions.
What is the term for the solar energy that reaches the Earth’s surface?
Insolation.
What is the average absorption of incoming solar radiation by the Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and clouds?
About 70%.
Fill in the blank: The Earth emits thermal radiation in the form of _______.
infrared radiation.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The absorption and re-emission of infrared radiation by greenhouse gases.
What is necessary for maintaining the Earth’s energy balance?
Incoming solar radiation must equal outgoing thermal radiation.
If more energy left the Earth’s atmosphere than came into it, what would happen to the Earth?
It would cool down.
If more energy entered the Earth’s atmosphere than left it, what would happen to the Earth?
It would heat up unnaturally.
What role does God play in the Earth’s energy budget according to the text?
He sustains the Earth and maintains its balance.
