The Atmosphere - Chapter 1: Heating the Atmosphere Flashcards
Only about ___ percent of the solar radiation penetrates directly to the earth’s surface without some form of interference
25
What happens to the radiation that is not penetrating the earth?
Absorbed by atmosphere
Scattered about until it reaches surface
Returns to space
Reflected back to space
Although solar radiation travels in a straight line, the gases and dust particles in the atmosphere can redirect that energy which is called
scattering
The light that reaches the earth’s surface after having its direction changed
Diffused light
What is the culprit for the blue sky and for the lighting of a shaded area?
Scattering
Why would scattering produce a blue sky?
Air molecules are better at scattering the short wavelengths (blue, violet) portion of white sunlight than the longer ones
What two things might make a sunset particularly reddish and yellow
fine dust
smoke particles
What percentage of the solar energy reaching the outer atmosphere is reflected back to space?
30
The fraction of the total radiation encountered that is reflected by a surface
albedo
A lower angle of the sun’s rays means that more ____ must be penetrated
atmosphere
Does a lower angle of the sun’s rays increase or decrease the amount of scattering?
increase
What is the most abundant consistuent in the atmosphere but is a poor absorber of radiation
nitrogen
What are the most efficient absorbers of ultraviolet radiation?
Oxygen (O2)
Ozone (O3)
Where does oxygen remove most of the shorter ultraviolet radiation?
high in the atmosphere
Where does ozone absorb longer wavelength radiation and ultraviolet rays
The stratosphere
Name another significant absorber of incoming solar radiation that (with O2 and O3) accounts for the radiation absorption
water vapor
True or false: the atmosphere acquires the bulk of its energy from the sun
False; it is from the re-radiation more-so from earth’s surface
Without the ___ in our atmosphere, the earth would not be a suitable place to live
gases
Describe the greenhouse effect
The idea that the earth’s surface is continually being supplied with heat from the atmosphere as well as the sun
What is an important factor that helps greenhouse regulate their temperature
They can prevent a mixing of the air inside with cooler air outside
Valleys are often ___ than mountains
warmer
Maximum temperatures are (often) higher in the ___ regions
arid
Minimum temps tend to be lower in the _______ as opposed to ______
dry southwest
humid east
The difference between max and min temperature
daily temperature range
At night, clouds act as a ___ by absorbing radiation emitted by earth and redirecting it back to earth
blanket
