Unit 2 Atmosphere: APES
Low Pressure System: Atmospheric Circulation - Pressure
A low-pressure system has lower pressure at its center than the areas around it. Winds blow towards the low pressure, and the air rises in the atm where they meet. As the air rises, the water vapor within it condenses, forming clouds and often precipitation, and as a result of Earth's spin and the Coriolis effect, winds of a low-pressure system swirly counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of the equator. Low pressure usually produced cloudy and stormy weather.
Polar Vortex
A polar vortex is a low-pressure zone embedded in a large mass of very cold air that lies atop both poles. The bases of the 2 polar vortices are located in the middle and upper troposphere and extend into the stratosphere. These cold, low-pressure areas strengthen in their respective winters and weaken in their respective summers due to their dependence upon the temperatures difference between the equator and poles.
Stationary Front
A stationary front is a pair of air masses, neither of which is strong enough to replace the other, which tends to remain in essentially the same area for extended periods of time. A wide variety of weather patterns can be found along a stationary front. Where there is a lot of water vapor in the warmer air mass, significant amounts of rain or freezing rain can occur.
Warm Front
A warm front is the boundary between an advancing warm air mass and the cooler one it is replacing. Since warm air is less dense, it moves over the dense, cool air. Because there is less change of uplift, warm fronts often are associated with a lower risk of rainfall.
What physical properties does the unequal heating of Earth's surface by the sun (Weather) influence?
-air pressure -air temp -humidity -precipitation -sunlight reaching Earth affected by cloud cover -wind direction and speed
As oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere, it is thought that two major consequences occurred:
1. The free oxygen oxidized the atmospheric methane (greenhouse warming potential (GWP) of 25) to carbon dioxide (GWP of 1), weakening the greenhouse effect of Earth's atmosphere and causing planetary cooling, which triggered a series of ice ages 2. The increased oxygen concentrations provided an opportunity for biological diversification, as well as major changes in the nature of chemical interactions between Earth's rocks, sand, clay, and other geological substrates with the Earth's atmosphere and oceans
Formation of a Tornado
1. Thunderstorm or hailstorm creates strong winds 2. The strong winds begin to rotate (due to updrafts and downdrafts) and form a column of spinning air called a mesocyclone 3. The mesocyclone meets warm air moving up and cold air moving down and creates a funnel 4. The funnel, made of dust, air, and debris, reaches the ground and a tornado is formed.
Oxygen (O2): Earth's Atmospheric Composition
21% of earth's atm -by mass, the third most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen and helium -the most abundant element by mass in Earth's crust, making up almost half of the crust's mass as silicates -free elemental oxygen (O2) began to accumulate in the atmosphere about 2.5 YA (Earth is 4.5 billion years old) -highly reactive nonmetallic element that readily forms compounds (notably oxides) -product in photosynthesis and reactant in cellular respiration
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Earth's Atmospheric Composition
<<1% in earth's atm -produced during cellular respiration (C6H12O6 + 6O2 -->6CO2 + 6H2O), the combustion of fossil fuels, and the decay of organic matter -required for photosynthesis (6CO2 +6H2O -->C6H12O6 +6O2) -major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming -average lifetime of a CO2 molecule in the atm is ~100 yrs
Cold Front
A cold front is the leading edge of an advancing mass of cold air and is associated with thunderhead clouds, high surface winds, and thunderstorms. Clouds form along a cold front as dense, cold air wedges under less dense, warmer air. The resulting uplift causes cloud formation and precipitation. After a cold front passes, the weather is usually cool with clear skies.
High Pressure System: Atmospheric Circulation - Pressure
A high pressure system has higher pressure at is center than the areas around it, which results in winds blowing away from high pressure. Winds of a high-pressure system swirl in the opp direction as a low-pressure system - clockwise north of the equator and counterclockwise south of the equator, with air from higher in the atm sinking down to fill the spaces left as air blows outward. High-pressure masses contain coo, dense air that descends toward Earth's surface and becomes warmer, and are usually associated with fair weather.
Human Activity: Climate
Climate can also be influenced by human activity. Deforestation; urbanization; heat island effects; release of pollutants, including greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels; and the production of acid rain are examples of how humans have altered climatic patterns. Increased pollutions alone, combined with an increase in convectional uplift in urban areas, tends to increase the amount of rainfall in urban areas as much as 10% when compared with undeveloped areas.
Location: Climate
Climate is influenced by the location of high and low air pressure zones and where landmasses are distributed
What is the primary way energy is transferred from hotter to colder regions in Earth's atmosphere and is the primary determinant of weather patterns?
Convection
Pollution: Climate
Greenhouse gases are emitted from both natural sources (volcanoes) and anthropogenic sources (industry and transportation)
What are the 2 most important layers of the atm?
The atm consists of several different layers. The two most important layers are the troposphere and the stratosphere (the layer that contains stratospheric ozone that serves to absorb harmful UV radiation)
What was the main source of oxygen that lead to the Great Oxidation Event and what did it enable?
The increase in atmospheric oxygen during this time was due to cyanobacteria-photosynthesizing microbes that produced oxygen, which enabled the subsequent development of multicellular forms
With no atmospheric oxygen, what gas stayed in the atmosphere longer and at higher concentrations than today?
Methane stayed in the atm longer + @ higher concentrations than today
Stratosphere: Layers of Atm
The stratosphere is located 6-30 miles (10-50 km) above Earth's surface. In the stratosphere, ozone (O3) absorbs high energy ultraviolet radiation (UVB and UVC) from the sun and is broken down into atomic energy (O) and diatomic energy (O2): O3 --> O2 + O. Temperature increases with altitude in the stratosphere
Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar Cells
The worldwide system of winds, which transports warm air from the equator were solar heating is greatest towa the higher latitudes where solar heating is diminished, gives rise to Earth's climatic zones. Three types of air circulation cells associated with latitude exist - Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar.
How are wind speed and wind direction measured?
Wind speed is measured with an anemometer, and wind direction is measured with a wind vane
Factors that Influence Climate
air mass albedo altitude angle of sunlight carbon cycle clouds distance to oceans fronts greenhouse effect heat human activity land changes landmass distribution latitude location moisture content of air mountain ranges pollution precession rotation solar output volcanoes wind patterns
Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoones are?
all the same weather phenomenon. In the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon and cyclones occur in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans
In a polar vortex, there is relationship between the chemistry of the Antarctic polar vortex and severe ozone depletion (ie. the nitric acid in polar stratospheric clouds reacts with chlorofluorocarbons to form chlorine, which catalyzes the photochemical destruction of ozone). These clouds can only form at temperatures below BLANK ?
below -112 deg F (-80 deg C)
In a polar vortex, there is relationship between the BLANK and BLANK
between the chemistry of the Antarctic polar vortex and severe ozone depletion (ie. the nitric acid in polar stratospheric clouds reacts with chlorofluorocarbons to form chlorine, which catalyzes the photochemical destruction of ozone)
Subtropical regions of the Hadley Cell are characterized by ?
by low relative humidity, little cloud formation, high ocean evaporation due to low humidity, and many of the world's deserts. The climate is characterized by warm to hot summers and mild winters.
In general, climates in the polar domain are characterized by?
by low temperatures, severe winters, and small amounts of precipitation, most of which falls in summer. The annual fluctuation of temperature is greater than the change in temperature occurring in a 24-hour cycle. In this area, where summers are short and temperatures are generally low throughout the year, temperature rather than precipitation is the critical factor in plant distribution and soil development. Two major biomes exist-the tundra and the taiga.
Wind Speeds of Trade Winds determined by?
by pressure differences bw air masses. The greater the pressure difference is, the greater the wind speed
The amount of deflection the air makes in the Coriolis effect is directly related to ?
directly related to both the speed at which the air is moving and its latitude. Therefore, slowly blowing winds will be deflected only a small amount, while stronger winds will be deflected more. Likewise, winds blowing closer to the poles will be deflected more than winds at the same speed closer to the equator. The Coriolis force is zero at the equator.
Tropical wet or dry (or savanna) climate has a what in hadley cells?
has a dry season more than 2 months long. Annual losses of water through evaporation in this region exceed annual water gains from precipitation.
The ingredients for hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons include
include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, atmospheric moisture, and relatively light winds in the upper troposphere. If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce violent winds, very large waves, torrential rains, and floods
Storm Surge
is a rise in sea level that occurs during tropical cyclones, typhoons, or hurricanes. These storms produce strong winds that push the seawater towards the shore, which often leads to flooding. The severity of flooding is affected by the shallowness and orientation of the water body relative to storm path, as well as the timing of tides. This makes storm surges very dangerous for coastal regions
Polar Air Circulation Cells
originate as icy cold dense air that descends from the troposphere to the ground. This air meets with the warm tropical air from the mid-latitudes and then returns to the poles, cooling, and then sinking. Sinking air suppresses precipitation; thus, the polar regions are deserts (deserts are defined by moisture, not temperature). Very little water exists in this area because it is relatively tied up in the frozen state as ice. Furthermore, the amount of snowfall per year is relatively small.
THe stages of hurricane development include:
the presence of separate thunderstorms that have developed over tropical oceans, and cyclonic circulation that begins to cause these thunderstorms to move in a circular motion. This cyclonic circulation allows them to pick up moisture and latent heat energy from the ocean. In the center of the hurricanes the eye, an area of descending air and low pressure. The energy of a hurricane dissipates as it travels over land or moves over cooler bodies of water. Rainfall can be as much as 24 inches (0.6 m) in 24 hours. A storm surge, which results from the increase in the height of the ocean near the eye of a hurricane, can cause extensive flooding
Convection
the primary way energy is transferred from hotter to colder regions in Earth's atmosphere and is the primary determinant of weather patterns
Great Oxidation Event (GOE)
the change of Earth's atmosphere from reducing to oxidizing, brought about by oxygen-generating photosynthesis. It resulted in almost all surviving organisms at that time to go extinct.
How does convection occur?
the movement of the warmer and therefore more energetic molecules in the air and takes place both vertically and horizontally. When air near the ground becomes warmer and therefore less dense than the air above it, the air rises and the pressure differences that develop because of temperature differences result in wind
What is weather caused by? Where does it come from?
the movement or transfer of heat energy, which results from the unequal heating of Earth's surface by the sun
Due to the rotation of Earth on its axis, rotation around the sun, and the tilt of Earth's axis, the sun?
the sun heats the atm unevenly, as air closer to Earth's surface is the warmest and rises
Evidence for changes in the climate can come from?
tree rings, fossilized plants, insect and pollen sample, gas bubbles trapped in glaciers, deep ice core samples, lake sediments, stalactites and stalagmites, marine fossils including coral analysis, sediments including rafted debris, dust analysis, and isotope ratios in fossilized remains. This evidence clearly shows Earth's climate has gone through many cycles of warming and cooling trends
Trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the ?
tropics within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator.
Structure of the atmosphere
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
Global air circulation is also affected by?
uneven heating of Earth's surface, seasons, the Coriolis effect, the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth over log periods of time, convection cells created by warm ocean waters that commonly lead to hurricanes, and ocean currents, which are caused by differences in water densities, winds, and Earth's rotation.
Silicate Rock Weathering
2CO2 + H2O + CaSiO3 --> Ca+2 + 2HCO3- + SiO2 **CARBON DIOXIDE BEING BROKEN DOWN
Earth's atmosphere is composed of BLANK primary gases. What are they?
4 primary gases - Nitrogen, Oxygen, Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide
Hadley Air Circulation Cells
Air heated near equator rises and spreads out north and south. After cooling in upper atmosphere, air sinks back to earth's surface within the subtropical climate zone (between 25 degrees and 49 degrees north and south latitudes). Surface air from subtropical regions returns toward the equator to replace the rising air. The equatorial regions of the Hadley cells are characterized by high humidity, high clouds, and heavy rains. The monthly average temperatures are around 90 deg F (32 deg C) at sea level and there is no winter. The vegetation is tropical rainforest. Temperature variation from day to night (diurnal) is greater than from season to season
Air Mass: Climate
An air mass is a large body of air that has similar temperatures and moisture content. AIr masses can be categorized as equatorial, tropical, polar, Artic, continental, or maritime
Carbonate Rock Weathering
CO2 + H2O + CaCO3 --> Ca+2 + 2HCO3- **CARBON DIOXIDE BEING BROKEN DOWN
Carbonate formation in the oceans
Ca2+ + 2HCO-3 --> CO2 + H2O+ CaCO3 ***CARBON DIOXIDE IS BEING PRODUCED
Heat (Convection): Climate
Climate is influenced by how much heat energy is exchanged between air over the oceans and air over the land.
Land Changes: Climate
Climate is influenced by urbanization and deforestation
Types of fronts (climate)
Cold, Warm, Stationary Fronts
La Nina is also called ?
Cool Phase
Rotation: Climate
Daily temperature cycles are primarily influenced by Earth's rotation on its axis. At night, heat escapes from Earth's surface, and daily minimum temperatures occur just before sunrise.
What causes unequal heating of the Earth's atm?
Due to the rotation of Earth on its axis, rotation around the sun, and the tilt of Earth's axis, the sun heats the atm unevenly, as air closer to Earth's surface is the warmest and rises.
The production of carbon dioxide is what kind of reaction? What does it result in?
Exothermic reaction, which results in warming
Altitude: Climate
For every 1,000 feet rise in elevation, there is a 3 deg F drop in temperature, and every 300 rise in elevation is equivalent to a shift of 62 miles north in latitude and biome similarity
What are the most severe weather phenomenon on the planet?
Hurricanes
When did oxygen become a major component of the atmosphere?
It didn't become a major component until photosynthetic organisms evolved later in Earth's history
Landmass Distribution: Climate
Materials absorb and reflect solar radiation differently; e.g., ocean water absorbs more solar energy than landmasses. Earth receives more solar radiation at low latitudes (near the equator than near the poles).
Distance to Oceans: Climate
Oceans are thermally more stable than landmasses; the specific heat (heat-holding capacity) of water is 5x greater than air. Because of this, changes in temperature are more extreme in the middle of continents than on the coasts.
What regions of the Earth receive more solar energy?
Regions nearer to the equator receive more solar energy than regions near the poles and are consequently much warmer
Seasonal changes in the angle of sunlight is caused by and results in?
Seasonal changes in the angle of sunlight is caused by the tilt of Earth's axis is the basic mechanism that results in warmer weather in summer than in winter. Change in day length is another factor.
Breakdown of Carbonate
SiO2 + CaCo3 --> CO2 + CaSIO3 ***CARBON DIOXIDE IS BEING PRODUCED
Temperature and Altitude Relationship
Temperatures decrease as the altitude increases
Orographic Lifting
Temperatures decrease as the altitude increases. Orographic Lifting occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain (mountain ranges). As the air mass gains altitude, it expands and cools, which can raise the relative humidity, and create clouds, and under the right conditions, precipitation.
What is the direct effect of sun angle on climate?
The amount of heat energy received at any location on the globe is a direct effect of sun angle on climate.
Weather
The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place. "whatever is currently happening outdoors"
Without convection and the transfer of energy, what would happen to the equator and the artic?
The equator would be about 27F (15C) warmed and the Artic would be about 45F (25C) colder than they actually are
Moisture Content of Air (Humidity): Climate
The moisture content of air is a primary determinant of plant growth and distribution and is a major determinant of biome type (e.g. desert vs. tropical forest). Atmospheric water vapor supplies moisture for clouds and rainfall, and plays a significant role in energy exchanges within the atmosphere
Mountain Ranges: Climate
The presence or absence of mountain ranges affects the climate. Mountains influence whether one side of the mountain will receive rain or not (rain shadow effect). The side facing the ocean is the windward side and receives the most rain, while the side of the mountain opposite the ocean is the leeward side and receives little rain.
El Nino is called the?
Warm Phase
How do storm surges form?
Warm air rises from the high tide. A vertical current creates a bulge in the water where the warm air is rising from. Then strong winds will push this bulge toward the land.
Fronts: Climate
When two different air masses meet, the boundary between them forms a front. The air masses can vary in temperature, dew point (the temp below which water droplets begin to condense), or wind direction.
Trade winds are the prevailing pattern of BLANK WINDS found in the tropics within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator.
easterly surface winds
The Coriolis force is zero at?
equator
The trade winds predominantly from the?
from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere (northeast trade winds) and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere (southeast trade winds), strengthening during the winter
The result of the GOE is that it ?
greatly increased the free energy available to living organisms allowing them to evolve greater complexity to inhabit new environments
Monsoons
strong, often violent winds that change direction with the season. Monsoon winds blow from cold to warm regions because cold air takes up more space than warm air. Monsoons blow from the land toward the sea in winter and from the sea toward land in the summer
Due to Earth's rotation, objects deflect to the BLANK in the Southern Hemisphere
to the left
Due to Earth's rotation, objects deflect to the BLANK in the Northern Hemisphere
to the right
Trade winds strengthen during the ?
winter
The steps forming an El Nino are:
-air pressure patterns reverse direction, causing trade winds to decrease in strength -this causes the normal flow of water away from western South America to decrease and "pile up" -as a result, the thermocline off western South America becomes deeper and results in a decrease in the upwelling of nutrients, which causes extensive fish kills -a band of warmer-than-average ocean water temperatures develops off the Pacific coast of South America -effects are strongest during the Northern Hemisphere winter because ocean temperatures worldwide are at their warmest -increased ocean warmth enhances convection, which then alters the jet stream, resulting in: a. enhanced precipitation across the western US (including CA) and the southern US b. winter temperatures that are often cooler than normal in the southeastern US
Tornado and hurricane mitigation can include the following actions
-better weather prediction models and ways to communicate such information to the public -building community shelters and tornado-safe rooms to help people -enforcing stringent building codes, flood-proofing requirements, and wind-bracing requirements -reducing development in flood-prone areas -retrofitting buildings to withstand hurricanes and tornadoes -zoning ordinances that steer development away from areas subject to flooding, storm surges, and/or coastal erosion
The steps of forming a La Nina are
-trade winds that blow west across the tropical Pacific are stronger than normal, which then -results in an increase in the upwelling off of South America, which then -results in cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures off of South American, which then -results in wetter-than-normal conditions across the Pacific Northwest, and both drier-and warmer-than-normal conditions in the southern US, which results in an increase in the number of hurricanes -winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the southeastern US and cooler than normal in the Northwest -this also causes heavier-than-normal monsoons in India and Southeast Asia
Water Vapor (H2O): Earth's Atmospheric Composition
0%-4% in earth's atm -largest amts found near the equator, over oceans, and in tropical regions -polar areas and deserts lack significant amounts of water vapor -besides evaporation, other sources of atmospheric water include combustion, respiration, volcanic eruption, and the transpiration of plants
What altitude are tropical forests, deciduous forests, evergreen forests, and tundra like alpine biomes at?
0-4,000 ft = tropical 4,000-8,000 ft = deciduous 8,000-12,000 ft = evergreen 12,000-16,000 ft = tundra alpine
Nitrogen (N2): Earth's Atmospheric Composition
78% of earth's atm -fundamental nutrient for living organisms -found in all organisms, primarily in amino acids (proteins) and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) -comprises about 3% of the human body by weight -deposits on Earth through nitrogen fixation (primarily by bacteria and fungi) and reactions involving lightning and subsequent precipitation -returns to the atmosphere through combustion of biomass and denitrification
Albedo: Climate
Albedo is reflectivity. Materials like ocean water have low albedo, whereas landmasses have moderate albedo. Snow and ice have the highest albedo. Hence, periods when polar ice is highly extended will promote cooling. This is a positive feedback mechanism. Dust in the atmosphere from periods of dry climates, volcanic eruptions, or meteor impacts has the same effect, as it forms a high albedo "cloud" around Earth so that a significant amount of solar radiation is reflected before it reaches the surface
Angle of Sunlight varies by?
Angle of Sunlight varies by location, time of day, and season due to Earth's orbit around the sun and its rotation around its tilted axis.
Is there is a loss or gain of water in Hadley cells?
Annual losses of water through evaporation in this region exceed annual water gains from precipitation.
In Earth's early atmosphere, what two gases were prevalent? How were they produced? What effect did they have?
Atmospheric CO2 (produced by volcanoes) and methane (produced by early microbes) were present in levels much higher than today. They are both greenhouse gases and likely produced a very strong greenhouse effect. During this time, Earth's earliest life appeared
Carbon Cycle: Climate
Carbonate rock (CaCo3) weathering and Silicate rock (CaSiO3) weathering are endothermic reactions, which result in cooling. The production of carbon dioxide is an exothermic reaction, which results in warming. Both carbonate formation in the oceans and the breakdown of carbonate yield carbon dioxide.
What cause could be responsible for these effects of an ENSO circulation? Effects: -a decrease in rainfall may result in an increase in competition for food resources, reduced agricultural output, changes in migration patterns, starvation, species die-offs, an increase in forest fires, and water shortages -an increase in rainfall may result in an increase in flooding, soil erosion, and leaching of nutrients from the soil
Cause: increase or decrease in the amount of normal rainfall
What cause could be responsible for these effects of an ENSO circulation? Effects: -a decrease in upwelling, resulting in die-offs -a negative impact on coral reefs (eg bleaching) -animal migration patterns may become disrupted -shifts in traditional weather patterns, which may result in an increase in insect-borne diseases -some marine species may not be able to tolerate warmer or cooler water temperatures, resulting in a disruption of marine food webs and biodiversity -the amount of CO2 that warmed ocean water can hold decreases, which directly affects global warming -the strength and frequency of hurricanes and/or tornadoes may increase -warmer ocean temperatures may change the ocean current flows and affect glacial melting
Cause: warmer or cooler ocean temperatures
Ferrel Air Circulation Cells
Develop between 30 and 60 degrees north and south latitudes. The descending winds of the Hadley cells diverge as moist tropical air moves toward the poles known as westerlies. Mid-latitude climates can have severe winters and cool summers due to mid latitude cyclone patterns. The western US is drier in summer than in eastern US due to oceanic high pressures that bring cool, dry air down from the north. The climate of this area is governed by both tropical and polar air masses. Defined seasons are the rule, with strong annual cycles of temperature and precipitation. The seasonal fluctuation of temperature is greater than the change in temperature occurring in a 24-hour cycle. Climates of the middle latitudes have a distinct winter season. The area of Earth controlled by Ferrel cells contains broadleaf deciduous and coniferous evergreen forests.
La Nada (Normal Conditions): El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
During normal conditions, easterly trade winds move water and air toward the west (Walker circulation). The ocean is generally around 24 inches (60 cm) higher in the western Pacific and the water is about 14 degrees warmer. The trade winds, in piling up water in the western Pacific, make a deep warm layer in the west that pushes the thermocline down while it rises in the east. This shallow (90 feet or 30 m) eastern thermocline allows the winds to pull up nutrient-rich water from below, a phenomenon known as upwelling, which increases fishing stocks.
Wind Patterns: Climate
During relatively calm, sunny days, the land warms up faster than the sea, causing the air above it to become less dense, resulting in a sea breeze. A land breeze occurs during relatively calm, clear nights when the land cools down faster than the sea and this results in the air above the land becoming denser than the air over the sea. As a result, air moves from the land toward the coast.
India's climate is dominated by monsoons -
During the Indian winter, which is hot and dry, the monsoon winds blow from the northeast and carry little moisture. The temperature is high because the Himalayas form a barrier that prevents cold air from passing onto the subcontinent. Furthermore, most of India lies beneath the Tropic of Cancer and the equator, so the sun's rays shine directly onto the land. During the summer, the monsoons move onto the subcontinent from the southwest. The winds carry moisture from the Indian Ocean and bring heavy rains from June to September. Farmers in India rely on these torrential summer rainstorms to irrigate their land. Additionally, a large amount of India's electricity is generated by water power provided by the monsoon rains.
Coriolis effect
Earth's rotation on its axis causes winds to not travel straight, a phenomenon known as the Coriolis Effect, which causes prevailing winds in the Northern Hemisphere to spiral clockwise out from high pressure areas and spiral counterclockwise toward low-pressure systems
What are Environmental Effects of ENSO Weather Patterns? Cause: warmer or cooler ocean temperatures
Effects: -a decrease in upwelling, resulting in die-offs -a negative impact on coral reefs (eg bleaching) -animal migration patterns may become disrupted -shifts in traditional weather patterns, which may result in an increase in insect-borne diseases -some marine species may not be able to tolerate warmer or cooler water temperatures, resulting in a disruption of marine food webs and biodiversity -the amount of CO2 that warmed ocean water can hold decreases, which directly affects global warming -the strength and frequency of hurricanes and/or tornadoes may increase -warmer ocean temperatures may change the ocean current flows and affect glacial melting
What are Environmental Effects of ENSO Weather Patterns? Cause: increase or decrease in the amount of normal rainfall
Effects: -a decrease in rainfall may result in an increase in competition for food resources, reduced agricultural output, changes in migration patterns, starvation, species die-offs, an increase in forest fires, and water shortages -an increase in rainfall may result in an increase in flooding, soil erosion, and leaching of nutrients from the soil
Angle of Sunlight
If a sunbeam that is 1 mile wide falls on the ground from directly overhead and another sunbeam hits the ground at a 30 degree angle, the radiant energy hitting the ground at a 30 degree angle diffuses the same amount of radiant energy over twice as much area (the energy is diffused) as it does when the radiant energy is directly overhead (the energy is more concentrated and stronger)
Latitude: Climate
Latitude is the measurement of the distance of a location on Earth from the equator. The farther away from the equator, the less sunlight is available. At the equator, the sun's rays strike Earth at a right angle, which makes the heat more intense and concentrated over a small area. Less heat is lost to the atmosphere, as the rays travel a shorter distance through the atmosphere. At the poles, the sun's rays strike Earth at an acute angle, which spreads the heat over a larger area. More heat is lost to the atmosphere, as the rays travel a longer distance through the atmosphere.
Climate
Overall weather in an area over a long period of time
Volcanoes: Climate
Sulfur-rich volcanic eruptions can eject material into the stratosphere, potentially causing tropospheric cooling and stratospheric warming. Volcanic aerosols exist in the atmosphere for an average of one to three years. Volcanic aerosols injected into the stratosphere can also provide surfaces for ozone-destroying reactions. Over the course of millions of years, large volumes of volcanic ash deposited in the oceans can increase the iron content in seawater and can promote biotic activity, which can lower the CO2 concentration of seawater, and hence atmospheric CO2 levels, resulting in global warming. Over the course of weeks to years, ongoing production of ash from volcanoes may locally change the climate by modifying the local atmosphere.
The air masses in fronts can vary in?
The air masses can vary in temperature, dew point (the temp below which water droplets begin to condense), or wind direction.
Latitude, Biomes, Temperature
The further away from the equator, the lower the temperature
Greenhouse Effect: Climate
The most important greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (N2O). Without this effect, Earth would be cold and inhospitable. If taken too far, however, Earth could evolve into a hot house.
What effect do trade winds have on storms?
The trade winds act as the steering flow for tropical storms that form over the Atlantic, Pacific, and southern Indian oceans and make landfall in North America, Southeast Asia, and India respectively. Trade winds also steer African dust westward across the Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean Sea, as well as portions of southeast North America.
Troposphere: Layers of Atm
The troposphere is the lowest portion of the Earth's atm: 0-6 mi (0-10 km) above Earth's surface. 75% of the atm's mass and almost all of the water vapor on the planet is contained within the troposphere, with weather also occurring in this layer. The atmospheric pressure within the troposphere is highest at the surface and decreases with height, whereas the temperature of the troposphere decreases with height
Carbonate rock weathering and silicate rock weathering are what type of reactions and what do they result in?
They are endothermic reactions, which result in cooling.
How do hurricanes begin?
They begin over warm oceans in areas where the trade winds converge. A subtropical high-pressure zone creates hot daytime temperatures with low humidity that allows for large amounts of evaporation, with the Coriolis effect initiating the cyclonic flow.
What do latitudinal differences in surface temperature create?
They create global-scale flows of energy within the atmosphere, giving rise to the major weather patterns of the world
Air at higher elevations is cooler and, as such, more dense and sinks. What does this set up and what is this the primary cause of?
This sets up convection processes and is the primary cause of winds.
Tornadoes vs. Hurricanes
Tornadoes have diameters of hundreds of meters Hurricanes have diameters of hundreds of kilometers Tornadoes are produced from a single convective storm, eg. a thunderstorm Hurricanes are composed of many convective currents Tornadoes occur primarily over land Hurricanes occur primarily over oceans Tornadoes require substantial vertical shear of the horizontal winds (change of wind speed and/or direction with height) Hurricanes require very low values of vertical shear in order to form an grow Tornadoes typically last less than an hour Hurricanes last for days
What are the are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator?
Trade Winds
For centuries, what have trade winds enabled?
Trade winds have been used by captains of sailing ships to cross the world's oceans; they also enabled European empire expansion in the Americans and helped trade routes to become established across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The amount of atmospheric oxygen was insignificant up until?
Up until around 2.3-2.5 BYA when the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) occured, causing almost all life on Earth to go extinct
Upwellings
Upwellings occur when prevailing winds, produced through the Coriolis effect and moving clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, push warmer, nutrient-poor surface waters away from the coastline. This surface water is then replaced by cooler, nutrient rich deeper waters. The deeper waters contain high levels of nitrates and phosphates, which result from the decomposition and sinking of surface water pollution. When these nutrients are brought together to the surface through upwelling, they supply necessary nutrients for phytoplankton, which form the base of the oceanic food chain
What happens when sunlight shines on Earth at a lower angle?
When sunlight shines on Earth at a lower angle (sun closer to the horizon), the energy of the sunlight spreads out over a larger area and is therefore weaker than if the sun were higher overhead, when its energy is concentrated on a smaller area. At this angle, the sunlight must also pass through more atmosphere, which causes diffraction and a reduction in the amount of sunlight that is able to reach the Earth's surface
Both carbonate formation in the oceans and the breakdown of carbonate yield?
Yield carbon dioxide
Tornadoes
are swirling masses of air with wind speeds close to 300 mph (485 kph). LIke hurricanes, the center of the tornado is an area with low pressure. In the US, tornadoes are frequent from April through July and occur in the center of the US known as "Tornado Alley." Due to advances in weather forecasting, modeling, and warning systems, the death rate due to tornadoes has decreased significantly.
Wind direction is based on?
based on the direction from which it originated. A wind coming from the east is called an easterly, while wind coming from the west is called a westerly.
In a polar vortex, there is relationship between the chemistry of the Antarctic polar vortex and severe ozone depletion (ie. the nitric acid in polar stratospheric clouds reacts with chlorofluorocarbons to form chlorine, which catalyzes the photochemical destruction of ozone). Since these clouds can only form at temperatures below below -112 deg F (-80 deg C), what happens to chlorine concentrations?
chlorine concentrations build up during the polar winter, and consequent ozone destruction is greatest when the sunlight returns in the spring. Since there is a greater air exchange between the Arctic and the midlatitudes, ozone depletion is more pronounced at the South Pole, where air exchange is less.
Land Breeze
movement of air from land to sea at night, created when cooler, denser air from the land forces up warmer air over the sea
Sea Breeze
movement of air from sea to land during the day when cooler air from above the water moves over the land, forcing the heated, less dense air above the land to rise
