sci

what can be found in the exosphere

Containing only the faintest wisps of hydrogen and other atmospheric gases, the exosphere is the topmost layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It begins at the top of the thermosphere, around 500 kilometers (310 miles), and ends where interplanetary space begins -- around 10,000 kilometers (620 miles).

explain why there is a windward amd leeward side of a mountain

In meteorology, leeward and windward are technical names for the directional sides of a mountain. The windward side is that side which faces the prevailing wind (upwind), whereas the leeward, or "lee" side, is the side sheltered from the wind by the mountain's very elevation (downwind)

where and what is the ionosphere

Ionosphere. The ionosphere is a layer of the earth's atmosphere that is weakly ionized, and thus conducts electricity . It is located approximately in the same region as the top half of the mesosphere and the entire thermosphere in the upper atmosphere, from about 40 mi (60 km), continuing upward to the magnetosphere.

why is the mesosphere so cold

It can get down to -90° C (-130° F) there! As you go higher in the mesosphere, the air gets colder. The air is much thinner (less dense) in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere below. There are fewer air molecules to absorb incoming electromagnetic radiation from the Sun.

how do ocean currents affect temperature

Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface.

how ozone created

Stratospheric ozone is formed naturally by chemical reactions involving solar ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) and oxygen molecules, which make up 21% of the atmosphere. In the first step, solar ultraviolet radiation breaks apart one oxygen molecule (O2) to produce two oxygen atoms (2 O) (see Figure Q2-1).

what is ENSO and how does it affect weather on the west coast of the US

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation affects the location of the jet stream, which alters rainfall patterns across the West, Midwest, the Southeast, and throughout the tropics. The shift in the jet stream also leads to shifts in the occurrence of severe weather, and the number of tropical cyclones expected within the tropics in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans affected by changes in the ocean temperature and the subtropical jet stream. The winter will have a negative phase according to the Arctic oscillation (AO).[1]

what is the difference between a warm front and a cold front

The key difference between cold fronts and warm fronts is how they are created. Of course, a cold front is associated with colder weather and a warm front is associated with warmer weather. ... Warm fronts occur when cold fronts are crashed into by a warm air mass, causing it to rise

how are the northern lights formed

The aurora borealis (northern lights) form when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. These collisions result in countless little bursts of light, called photons, which make up the aurora.

why are there seasons

The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis away or toward the sun as it travels through its year-long path around the sun. The Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees relative to the "ecliptic plane" (the imaginary surface formed by it's almost-cicular path around the sun).

why is the pacific ocean cold and the atlantic ocean warm

The temperature of the surface waters in the Atlantic Ocean are maintained by the constant flow of sea-surface currents. ... The current that flows down the West coast line is much colder, because it is traveling from the Arctic Ocean traveling back to the warm waters of the Equator.

why is the thermoshpere so warm (+1500of)

The thermosphere absorbs much of the energy from the sun. It absorbs x rays and ultraviolet radiation from the sun and converts it into heat. The Thermosphere doesn't feel warm even though it is at up to 2500 C because it is so close to being a vacuum. So it absorbs a lot of energy and transfers it to heat and has very few molecules of various gases largely atomic oxygen, atomic nitrogen and helium. The gases are spread out and have different concentrations but are more often found as individual atoms versus the various molecules. The ISS and Hubble travel in orbit through the thermosphere.

what is the difference between a land land breeze and a sea breeze

The wind will blow from the higher pressure over the water to lower pressure over the land causing the sea breeze. The sea breeze strength will vary depending on the temperature difference between the land and the ocean. At night, the roles reverse. The air over the ocean is now warmer than the air over the land.

when you hear the word convection what should come to mind

the transfer of heat by the circulation or movement of the heated parts of a liquid or gas

define climate

the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

at which latitudes we expect to get the least precipitation ?why?

0-5° latitude: wet throught the year (rising zone) 5-20° latitude: wet summer (rising zone), dry winter (sinking zone) 20-30° latitude: dry all year (sinking zone) 30-50° latitude: wet winter (rising zone), dry summer (sinking zone) 50-60° latitude: wet all year (rising zone) 60-70° latitude: wet summer (rising zone), dry winter (sinking zone) 70-90° latitude: dry all year (sinking zone)

what is the albedo effect

Albedo is an expression of the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight (heat from the sun). Light-coloured surfaces return a large part of the sunrays back to the atmosphere (high albedo). Dark surfaces absorb the rays from the sun (low albedo).

what three factors are necessary for a storm to brew

All thunderstorms, severe or not, must have three conditions present in order to develop. The first necessary condition is moisture in the lower and mid levels of the atmosphere. As air rises in a thunderstorm updraft, moisture condenses into small water drop which form clouds (and eventually precipitation). When the moisture condenses, heat is released into the air, making it warmer and less dense than its surroundings. The added heat allows the air in the updraft to continue rising. The second necessary condition is instability. If the airmass is unstable, air which is pushed upward by some force will continue upward. An unstable airmass usually contains relatively warm (and usually moist) air near the surface and relatively cold (and usually dry) air in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere. As the low-level air rises in an updraft, it becomes less dense than the surrounding air and continues to rise. This process is often augmented by added heat due to condensation as discussed above. The air will continue to move upward until it becomes colder and more dense than its surroundings. The third necessary condition is a source of lift. Lift is a mechanism for starting an updraft in a moist, unstable airmass. The lifting source can take on several forms. The most common is differential heating. As the sun heats the earth's surface, portions of the surface (and the air just above it) will warm more readily than the nearby areas. These "warm pockets" are less dense than the surrounding air and will rise. If the air has sufficient moisture and is unstable, a thunderstorm may form.

where does weather happen and why does it happen here

Almost all weather occurs in the Troposphere, basically the lowest layer that goes up to about 10 - 15 kms. Any really big storms that vertically extend past the Tropopause (the boundary layer between the Troposphere and Stratosphere) go into the Stratosphere, but that is usually MCC's or Hurricanes and really big thuderstorms.

explain how the ferrel cell is formed

CMMAP. The Ferrel Cell is the average motion of air in the mid-latitudes. It is characterized by sinking air near 30 deg and rising air farther poleward. At the surface, air flowing poleward is deflected to the east by the coriolis force, resulting in westerly surface winds.

what will happen as you climb down Denali (the tallest mountain peak in the US)

Denali is always covered with snow and many glaciers, some more than 30 miles (48 km) long. The mountain's extreme cold, which can be minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius) with wind chill down to minus 118 F (minus 83 C), can freeze a human in an instant.

where do planes fly

It is also the layer that contains all of our weather. To avoid turbulence and bad weather, larger planes will sometimes fly in the upper boundary of the Troposphere, called the Tropopause, or even into the lower boundary of the next layer, called the Stratosphere.

how does latitude affect temperature

Latitude or distance from the equator. Temperatures drop the further an area is from the equator due to the curvature of the earth. In areas closer to the poles, sunlight has a larger area of atmosphere to pass through and the sun is at a lower angle in the sky.

what are the three determinants of climate

Latitude. The farther north of the equator a place is, the colder its winters are likely to be, and the longer the wintry weather is likely to last. ... Elevation. ... Jet streams. ... Windy or calm conditions. ... Timing and amount of rainfall. ... Location of mountain ranges. ... Influence of water.

Relative Humidity

Relative Humidity. The relative humidity is the amount of water vapor the air is holding right now as a percentage of what it would be holding if it were saturated. ... If you increase the temperature, however, the amount of water vapor the air can hold increases, so the relative humidity decreases.

where is the international space station (iss)

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit

describe waht is happening to the air at the equator and the poles

The gas law that you mentioned applies in a closed container. When you raise the temperature of air, it expands. If it can't expand, then the pressure goes up. In the atmosphere, the hot air is free to expand. As it expands, it gets less dense. So the air above it can sort of slide down the slope from the equator to the pole. That's just a mental image. It doesn't actually work like that in detail. But the gross idea is right. So more air piles up at the poles and it's denser because it's colder. So the column of air weighs more and that means the pressure is higher.

name the main three global wind patterns and their directions

The global wind pattern is also known as the "general circulation" and the surface winds of each hemisphere are divided into three wind belts: Polar Easterlies: From 60-90 degrees latitude. Prevailing Westerlies: From 30-60 degrees latitude (aka Westerlies). Tropical Easterlies: From 0-30 degrees latitude (aka Trade Winds).

what occurs in the mesosphere

The mesosphere is the middle layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. The air is too thin to really absorb the sun's heat in this layer of the atmosphere this is why temperatures can drop as low as -184 degrees Fahrenheit (-120 degrees Celsius). The air in the mesosphere is however thick enough to be where meteorites tend to burn up after entering Earth's atmosphere.

how ozne destroyed

When chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone in the stratosphere, they destroy ozone molecules. ... ODS that release chlorine include chlorofluorocarbons. Since they are not destroyed in the lower atmosphere, CFCs drift into the upper atmosphere where, given suitable conditions, they break down ozone.

why is the equator warmer than the poles

Why is it hotter at the equator than it is at the poles? a. Because the equator is closer to the sun. ... Because the sun's rays hit the earth's surface at a higher angle at the equator