Section 1 Flashcards
What is the difference between weather and climate?
weather refers to short term processes and phenomena, climate is long term processes and phenomena
How do we define the structure of the atmosphere?
It has a vertical structure with different temperature profiles to differentiate each
How many layers are there to the atmosphere and what are there names?
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere
What are the 5 vital characteristics of the troposphere?
- Virtually all weather processes happen there
- Steady temperature decrease with increase in height
- 80% of atmospheric mass is here
- Significantly turbulent and lots of movement
- 0-10km in height
What are the atmospheric pauses?
The transition phase from one layer of the atmosphere to the next when the change in temperature pauses or slows down
What are the 4 vital characteristics of the stratosphere?
- Little to no weather processes happen there
- Temperature steadily INCREASES with height
- Calmer and less turbulent than troposphere
- 10-50km in height
What is inversion and what is it caused by?
Inversion is defined by a temperature increase with height and is caused by absorption of ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere by the ozone
What are the 3 vital characteristics of the mesosphere?
- 50-80km in height
- Temperature decreases with height
- Coldest layer
What are the 2 vital characteristics of the thermosphere
- 80-infinte km in height
- increasing temperature with increasing height due to solar radiation
What is the unit of concentration when referring to gases in the atmosphere?
ppm ( part per million )
What are permanent gases and what do they do?
They are gases in the atmosphere that do not change and do not affect weather
What are variable gases, what do they do, and list all of them?
Gases in the atmosphere that change and affect weather, they are :
1. Water vapor
2. Carbon Dioxide
3. Ozone
4. Aerosols
5. Methane
What is the most abundant variable gas?
Water vapor
Which variable gases contribute to the Earth’s energy balance?
Water vapor and carbon dioxide
Why is ozone location important?
Ozone near the surface is a pollutant while in the stratosphere is essential to absorber ultraviolet radiation
What does methane in our atmosphere do?
Effective absorber of terrestrial radiations and plays a role in near-surface warming
What are aerosols?
any solid and/or liquid particle ( other than water ) in the atmosphere
What are the vital facts about aerosols?
They are both natural and anthropogenic, they can remain suspended for weeks, and they serve as a condensation nuclei
When did ozone observations begin?
mid 1950’s
What was the Montreal Protocol and when was it ratified?
It was an international agreement to reduce the production and use of CFC’s to protect the ozone, it was ratified in 1987
What are the necessary ingredients for the Ozone Hole?
- Large concentration of Chlorine
- Cold temperatures ( for the polar stratospheric clouds )
- sunlight to break down the CFC’s
