Prentice Hall

EARTH SCIENCE

Tarbuck

Lutgens

Chapter

The Atmosphere

11

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Composition of the Atmosphere
 Weather: constantly changing, and it refers to the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place  Climate: based on observations of weather that have been collected over many years. - helps describe a place or region

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Composition of the Atmosphere
Air is a mixture of different gases and particles, each with its own physical properties.

Permanent atmospheric gases: -do not change: nitrogen and oxygen:99% -others that have changed through time: helium, methane, and ammonia

Volume of Clean, Dry Air

17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Composition of the Atmosphere
 Variable Components: not as constant, varies
1. Water vapor: gaseous form of water, source of all clouds and precipitation. Like carbon dioxide, water vapor absorbs heat given off by Earth and some solar energy. 2. Ozone is a form of oxygen that combines three oxygen atoms into each molecule (O3). If ozone did not filter most UV radiation and all of the suns UV rays reached the surface of Earth, our planet would be uninhabitable for many living organisms.

Variable Gases, cont.

3. Carbon Dioxide:
-concentration has risen from 0.028% to 0.039% due to greenhouse gas -cycled between the atmosphere, oceans, organisms, and rocks -global warming due to absorption of heat

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Composition of the Atmosphere
 Human Influence
Emissions from transportation vehicles account for nearly half the primary pollutants by weight.

Primary Pollutants

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Height and Structure of the Atmosphere
 The atmosphere rapidly thins as you travel away from Earth until there are too few gas molecules to detect. Air pressure decreases  Pressure Changes
Atmospheric pressure is simply the weight of the air above.

Atmospheric Layers(p. 284-285)

Draw the atmospheric layers in your notes. -describe the key features of each layer

Atmospheric Pressure vs. Altitude In the Troposphere

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Height and Structure of the Atmosphere
 Temperature Changes
The atmosphere can be divided vertically into layers based on temperature. The troposphere is the bottom layer of the atmosphere where temperature decreases with an increase in altitude. The stratosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where temperature remains constant to a height of about 20 kilometers. It then begins a gradual increase until the stratopause.

Snowy Mountaintops Contrast with Warmer Snow-Free Lowlands (troposphere)

17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Height and Structure of the Atmosphere
 Upper Layers
The mesosphere is the layer of the atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere and is characterized by decreasing temperatures with height. The thermosphere is the region of the atmosphere immediately above the mesosphere and is characterized by increasing temperatures due to the absorption of very short-wave solar energy by oxygen.

Exosphere -the uppermost (or outermost) layer -gas molecules can be exchanged between Earths atmosphere and space -satellites orbit in the exosphere

Thermal Structure of the Atmosphere

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Earth-Sun Relationships
 Earths Motions
Earth has two principal motionsrotation and revolution.

 Earths Orientation
Seasonal changes occur because Earths position relative to the sun continually changes as it travels along its orbit.

Tilt of Earths Axis

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Earth-Sun Relationships
 Solstices
summer solstice: occurs on June 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and is the official first day of summer. Longest day of year. winter solstice: occurs on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and is the official first day of winter. Shortest day of year.

11.1 Atmosphere Characteristics

Earth-Sun Relationships
 Equinoxes: 12 hours day, 12 hours night
autumnal equinox :occurs on September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere. spring equinox: occurs on March 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere.

Solstices and Equinoxes

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

Energy Transfer as Heat
 Heat :energy transferred from one object to another because of a difference in the objects temperature.  Temperature :measure of the average kinetic energy of the individual atoms or molecules in a substance.

11.1 Heating the Atmosphere

Energy Transfer as Heat
 Three mechanisms of energy transfer as heat are conduction, convection, and radiation. 1. Conduction
Conduction is the transfer of heat through matter by molecular activity.

2. Convection
Convection is the transfer of heat by mass movement or circulation within a substance.

Energy Transfer as Heat

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

Energy Transfer as Heat
3. Radiation: Electromagnetic Waves
The sun emits light and heat as well as the ultraviolet rays that cause a suntan. These forms of energy are only part of a large array of energy emitted by the sun, called the electromagnetic spectrum.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Visible Light Consists of an Array of Colors

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

Energy Transfer as Heat
 Radiation
Radiation :transfer of energy (heat) through space by electromagnetic waves that travel out in all directions. Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to travel through, radiant energy can travel through the vacuum of space.

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

Energy Transfer as Heat
 Radiation
All objects, at any temperature, emit radiant energy. Hotter objects radiate more total energy per unit area than colder objects do. The hottest radiating bodies produce the shortest wavelengths of maximum radiation. Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good emitters as well.

Pressure, Temperature, and Density Relationship

Open to page 291 Summarize the relationships between these 3 variables using a skit.

Temperature Inversion (p. 292)

Define temperature inversion and give examples

Wind (p. 292)

Describe how wind is created.

Humidity (p. 294)

Humidity: amount of water vapor in the atmosphere Saturation: when the amount of water vapor in the air is at its maximum Relative humidity: amount of water vapor in air relative to the amount of water needed to reach saturation (in %)
If the air is saturated, the relative humidity is 100%

Humidity, cont.
Dew point: temperature that air must be cooled to in order to reach saturation
If the dew point is near the actual temperature, the relative humidity is high

Latent heat: extra thermal energy stored in water vapor compared to liquid water Adiabatic process: temperature changes without the addition or subtraction of thermal energy (pressure is changing-bike tire example)

17.2 Heating the Atmosphere

What Happens to Solar Radiation?
 When radiation strikes an object, there usually are three different results.
1. Some energy is absorbed by the object. 2. Substances such as water and air are transparent to certain wavelengths of radiation. 3. Some radiation may bounce off the object without being absorbed or transmitted.

Solar Radiation

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

What Happens to Solar Radiation?
 Reflection and Scattering
Reflection occurs when light bounces off an object. Reflection radiation has the same intensity as incident radiation. Scattering produces a larger number of weaker rays that travel in different directions.

11.2 Heating the Atmosphere

What Happens to Solar Radiation?
 Absorption
About 50 percent of the solar energy that strikes the top of the atmosphere reaches Earths surface and is absorbed. The greenhouse effect is the heating of Earths surface and atmosphere from solar radiation being absorbed and emitted by the atmosphere, mainly by water vapor and carbon dioxide.

11.3 Temperature Controls

Why Temperatures Vary
 Factors other than latitude that exert a strong influence on temperature include heating of land and water, altitude, geographic position, cloud cover, and ocean currents.

11.3 Temperature Controls

Why Temperatures Vary
 Land and Water
Land heats more rapidly and to higher temperatures than water. Land also cools more rapidly and to lower temperatures than water.

Mean Monthly Temperatures for Vancouver and Winnipeg

11.3 Temperature Controls

Why Temperatures Vary
 Geographic Position
The geographic setting can greatly influence temperatures experienced at a specific location.

Mean Monthly Temperatures for Eureka and New York City

Mean Monthly Temperatures for Seattle and Spokane

11.3 Temperature Controls

Why Temperatures Vary
 Altitude
The altitude can greatly influence temperatures experienced at a specific location.

Mean Monthly Temperatures for Guayaquil and Quito

Clouds Reflect and Absorb Radiation

11.3 Temperature Controls

World Distribution of Temperature
 Isotherms are lines on a weather map that connect points where the temperature is the same.
Isotherms generally trend east and west and show a decrease in temperatures from the tropics toward the poles.

11.3 Clouds and Precipitation (p. 297)

Describe how clouds form using the terms rising, cooling, air mass, warming, denser, condensation nucleus

Atmospheric Stability (p. 298)

Rising air masses become colder similar to the air as you increase altitude, but air masses cool off more quickly It will become cooler than the surrounding air and more dense, so it will sink down When the air mass stops rising and sinking, it is stable If the air mass is moving, it is unstable

Atmospheric Lifting (p. 299)

Mechanical processes can create clouds 1. Orographic lifting: air mass if forced to rise over a topographic barrier like a mountain (thus it cools due to an increase in altitude, creating clouds due to condensation) 2. Convergence: two air masses collide, the warmer air mass rises over the cooler air mass because it is less dense

Types of Clouds (p. 300)

Summarize the types of clouds and their associated weather in a data table.
Low Middle Clouds Clouds Description Weather Type Other Info High Clouds Vertical Development Clouds

Precipitation (p. 302)

Precipitation: all forms of water that fall from clouds to the ground
examples:

Coalescence: cloud droplets join together to make larger droplets

Eventually, get too big to stay in cloud and fall

When does snow, sleet, and hail form?

Water Cycle (p. 303)

Complete the water cycle activity