The Atmosphere Flashcards
1
Q
What is the air comprised of?
A
Permanent and Variable Gases
2
Q
What does Permanent Gas mean, and what permanent gases are in our air?
A
They do not change based on their volume, nitrogen makes up 78%, oxygen 21%.
3
Q
What are variable gases and what variable gases comprise our air?
A
Changing over time or space, or both. Water at 0-4%, and carbon dioxide at 0.0035%.
4
Q
How thick is the atmosphere?
A
It is ~480km from the surface to the top (Thermopause). Beyond that altitude is the “exosphere”.
5
Q
What is the exosphere?
A
The outer sphere, a near vacuum made up of hydrogen and helium atoms, weakly bound by gravity
6
Q
What are the three structures of the atmosphere?
A
Composition, Function, and Temperature.
7
Q
What are the three layers of atmospheric composition?
A
Exosphere, Heterosphere, and Homosphere.
8
Q
__________: outer sphere, a near vacuum made up of hydrogen and helium atoms, weakly bound by gravity, at 180km.
A
Exosphere
9
Q
______________: 80km-480km, distinct layers due to gravity. Helium at the top of the [lightest gases] and nitrogen and oxygen near the base [heavier].
A
Heterosphere
10
Q
_____________: 0-80km, uniformly mixed except for Ozone O3, ozone in the Ozone Layer [19km-50km].
A
Homosphere
11
Q
What gases make up the homosphere? and what are their percentages?
A
N2 78%, O2 21%, and Argon 1%.
12
Q
True or False: Nitrogen is the 4th most abundant gas in the human body; however, we cannot acquire nitrogen through the air.
A
True.
13
Q
What are the variable gases found in the homosphere? what are their percentages?
A
Water Vapour H20 @ 0-4% and Carbon Dioxide CO2 @ 0.004%.
14
Q
True or False: Ice-core data shows how carbon dioxide remained constant until industrialization
A
True.
15
Q
Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere, CO2, is constantly increasing, global carbon dioxide is measured at _______________.
A
Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii.
16
Q
What is air density?
A
Air density is the measure of the amount of mass per unit volume.
17
Q
Density decreases while increasing ________.
A
altitude
18
Q
What is the density of air at mean sea level (one standard atmosphere)?
A
1.2kg of mass per cubic meter.
19
Q
Density= _______x__________
A
Mass x Volume
20
Q
True or False: Gravity accelerates the atmosphere downwards towards the surface; where the atmosphere contacts surfaces, it exerts pressure on those surfaces.
A
True.
21
Q
Define Atmospheric Pressure:
A
The force exerted on a surface by a mass of the atmosphere above that surface.
22
Q
True or False: Pressure therefore increases as we move up through the atmosphere.
A
False, it decreases.
23
Q
Pressure decreases rapidly with height, ____ of the mass is within 30km of the earth’s surface.
A
97%
24
Q
Define Pressure:
A
Pressure is a force per unit of area.
25
Force = _______x_______
Mass x Acceleration
26
A pascal of (Pa) of pressure is equivalent to ____ newton of force exerted over a square meter of an area (m2)
One
27
A _______ is the force required to accelerate a 1kg mass by 1 meter per second per second.
Newton
28
What annotation is given to a newton?
1 newton of force = 1kg *m/s2
29
Good to know!!
Unit of atmospheric pressure: 100 pascals (Pa) = 0.1 kilopascals (kPa) = 1 millibar (mb)
30
What is the Atmospheric Pressure at Sea level (under one standard atmosphere)?
1013.2mb, 101.32 kPa, 101,320 Pa.
31
True or False: The smaller area of dimension has an increased amount of pressure exertion.
True
32
How is pressure measured?
With a barometer
33
What was the name of the first barometer?
Torricelli Barometer
34
How did the original barometer work?
They fill a long test tube with mercury, tip the tube into a dish with mercury, then resulting height of mercury in the test tube indicates the pressure on the dish of mercury.
35
In the original barometer; the level of mercury is equivalent to the _____________.
Air pressure
36
At what depth in water is the pressure equivalent to one standard atmosphere?
10.3m
37
What measurement does Canada report pressure?
kPa
38
What measurement does the US use to measure pressure?
inHg (inches of mercury)
39
_______________: a closed cell gets squeezed by pressure, changing the position of a pen through a system of levers.
Aneroid Barometer
40
__________________: electrical resistance of a wire changes as a diaphragm wrapped around it is squeezed by pressure, resistance in a circuit changes based on pressure, very sensitive.
Digital Barometer
41
What type of pressure is "the raw, unadjusted pressure reading"?
Station Pressure
42
What type of pressure is "adjusted for altitude (and to a lesser degree the air temperature)"?
Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP)
43
What is Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP)?
MSLP is the pressure at a given location that would be read if the barometer were at mean sea level
44
How do we convert atmospheric pressure from kPa to mb?
multiply by 10
45
What is a normal pressure range?
Normal sea level pressure is 1013.20mb
46
True or False: intense storms produce very low pressures
True.
47
True or False; temperature is used to divide the atmosphere into layers, labeled as spheres.
True
48
The spheres of the atmosphere are separated by boundaries called ______.
Pauses
49
How is a 'pause' determine?
A pause is labeled according to the sphere below it.
50
___________: they have some thickness and are often associated with isothermal conditions (meaning the temperature remains relatively constant with height).
Zones of Transition
51
State the levels of the atmosphere from lowest to highest:
Troposphere, Stratosphere (10-50km, Stratopause sits at 50km), Mesosphere (50-375km, Mesopause sitting at 80km), Thermosphere (375-480km), Thermopause (480km).
52
Air Temperature as a Function of Altitude: Moving up from the surface, air temperature: does air temperature drop or raise in the Troposphere?
Drops.
53
Air Temperature as a Function of Altitude: Moving up from the surface, air temperature: does air temperature drop or raise in the Stratosphere?
Rises
54
Air Temperature as a Function of Altitude: Moving up from the surface, air temperature: does air temperature drop or raise in the Mesosphere?
Drops
55
Air Temperature as a Function of Altitude: Moving up from the surface, air temperature: does air temperature drop or raise in the Thermosphere?
Rises.
56
Where do we find the 'pauses' in each level of the atmosphere?
At the top of the troposphere, we find the tropopause. At the top of the stratosphere is the stratopause, at the top of the mesosphere is the mesopause.
57
Where do we find the troposphere?
From surface to 18km
58
True or False: the Troposphere is thinner in the polar (~8km) and mid altitudes (12km).
True
59
True or False: The troposphere is thinner during the cold times of the year and thicker during warmer times.
true.
60
The ‘_______’, containing almost all life
life layer
61
The ‘___________’; almost everything we consider weather is found in this layer.
weather layer
62
What level of the atmosphere has almost all atmospheric water vapor?
the troposphere.
63
What layer of the atmosphere has almost all atmospheric aerosols.
Troposphere.
64
_______ of all atmospheric mass is found in the troposphere.
75-80%
65
The average temperature at the equatorial tropopause is _____ , it is typically warmer in the lower tropopauses.
–57 degrees c
66
True or False: The troposphere is not the same thickness across the globe, approximately 18km in equatorial regions. It is thinner in the polar (~8km) and mid altitudes (~12km).
True
67
At what pause does the Stratosphere begin?
Tropopause.
68
Where does the stratopause begin?
50km in height.
69
Air temperature ____ in the stratosphere from the top of the tropopause (~18km) to the stratopause (~50km).
rises
70
What is the air temperature in the stratopause?
0 degrees.
71
What amount of water vapour does the stratosphere hold?
Very little.
72
Why is the Stratosphere warmer than other spheres?
This area is warm because it contains ozone, in our ‘ozone layer’ which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
73
Where do we find the Mesosphere?
From the stratopause (~50km) to the Mesopause (~80km), the mesosphere is ~ 50km –80km.
74
Air temperature ______ from the stratopause to the mesopause.
decreases
75
What is the air temperature in the mesopause?
The air temperature at the mesopause (80km) is –90 degrees.
76
Which is the coldest region in the atmosphere?
Mesosphere.
77
Define a noctilucent cloud:
Contains dust around which very small amounts of water as ice crystals can collect, visible at night at high latitudes during the summer.
78
Where do we find the Thermosphere?
From the mesopause (~80 km) to the thermopause (~480 km), Thermosphere = approx. 80km – 480km.
79
____________ is roughly same as the Heterosphere.
Thermosphere
80
Air temperature _________ above the mesopause because of direct contact with high energy solar radiation.
increases
81
Even though temperatures are high in the thermosphere, why is there very little heat?
Because there are very few atoms or molecules (the air density is extremely low; almost a vacuum). That is, individual atoms or molecules may be very hot (have very high levels of kinetic energy; perhaps 2500°C), but the total amount of heat in each volume of air is very low.
82
The International Space Station orbits within the ________, at about ___ km.
Thermosphere, 400.
83
Why does the thermosphere shrink and swell?
The thermosphere shrinks and swells based on solar activity (sunspots).
84
______________: where our atmosphere merges into interplanetary space.
Exosphere
85
The __________ is the ionized zone across thermosphere, mesosphere, and exosphere about 60-1,000km.
ionosphere
86
Why is the ionosphere ionized?
Because cosmic rays and high energy solar radiation (x-rays, ultraviolet, etc.) strips electrons from atoms and molecules to make them ionized; positively charged ions.
87
Which part of the atmosphere has very few atoms and molecules?
The ionosphere.
88
What happens to the electrons in the ionosphere because the very few atoms and molecules?
The free electrons don't immediately get captured by positive ions. he electrons can reflect radio waves, which is why you can hear radio signals from stations over the horizon (and the ionosphere generally interferes with radio communication).
89
Where do Auroras generally occur?
Auroras generally occur at 80-500 km within the ionosphere.
90
How does the Aurora occur?
The earth’s magnetic field causes electrons and other particles to accelerate into the ionosphere, where they collide with atoms and molecules. Electrons get bumped to a higher energy state. When they return to their original lower energy state, they give off photons...light.
91
In the aurora borealis, oxygen = _________
yellow/green
92
In the aurora borealis, nitrogen= ___
red.
93
In the aurora borealis, Hydrogen and helium = ___________
Blue or purple; but our eyes are not good at seeing these
94
____________: is the zone within the stratosphere that contains most of Earth’s ozone (O3).
Ozonosphere
95
What is the purpose of the ozonosphere?
This ozone absorbs most of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation that would harm life on the surface. This absorption is why the stratosphere is warm.
96
Where do we find the most ozone in the atmosphere?
Most ozone is about ~20 - 30 km above the surface (varies by latitude and temperature).
97
Ozone is present in the atmosphere, particularly in the ________ and ________.
troposphere and stratosphere.
98
True or False: The vertical extent of thickness of this layer varies by region and with season over the globe. Increases in ozone occur near the surface as a result of pollution from human activities.
True
99
True or False: Air is a simple mixture of gases that is naturally odorless, colorless, tasteless, and formless.
True
100
Both air pressure and air density _______ with _______ altitude.
decrease, increasing
101
Explain which spheres increase or decrease in temperature due to altitude:
troposphere and mesosphere (temperature decreases with increasing altitude); stratosphere and thermosphere (temperature increases with increasing altitude).
102
In short, what are the features of the ionosphere and the ozonosphere?
the ionosphere (80 to 480 km) absorbs cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays, and shorter wavelength of UV radiation; the ozonosphere (18 to 50 km) absorbs UV radiation.
103
Describe Isothermal Conditions:
meaning the temperature remains relatively constant with height.
104
Where does the Equitorial Tropopause sit?
18km
105
True or False: If we reach up to 30km in height, 97% of the atmosphere's mass is below that.
true
106
What kind of temperature is in the tropopause?
Isothermal temperatures in the tropopause.
107
Define the temperature time lapse rate:
Temperature in the troposphere changes at the rate of 6.5 degrees/km
- how much we are either decreasing or increasing at a particular time in the troposphere, decreasing as we move up through the troposphere
108
Temperatures from the tropopause in equatorial regions is often much ________ than other regions.
colder
109
When analyzing figures of temperature in the troposphere, what does it mean when the temperature begins to plateau?
That you have reached the Tropopause (isothermal condition).
110
Although the temperatures are high in the thermosphere, there is not very much heat, why is that?
Heat requires things to transfer between objects, with so few atoms and molecules, there is no opportunity to transfer between them.
