Review Questions Chapter 2 Meteorology – Heating Earth's Surface and Atmosphere
1. Earth-Sun distance will not affect the temperature because in the winter, the earth is closest to the sun, it should be colder. The inclination of the Earth's axis reflects the main factor that influences the variations.
2. It is because the movement of the earth connection to the sun and the changes in the Earth's land surface.
3. Four characteristics of the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere:
The summer solstice of the northern hemisphere occurs on June 21 or June 22, the first “official” day of the summer, it is hot. The sun vertical at Latitude 23 1/2 degrees north latitude, the Tropic of Cancer. It is the highest Sun angle and the longest length
The blue light is scattered before reaching the observer, and the light must travel much longer through the atmosphere, so the sky shows a red or orange tint near sunrise or sunset.
12. The factors are variable depending on the nature of the surface and the angle of the sun's rays, also the amount of cloud and particulate matter in the air.
13. It is because the gases are the selectivity absorbents, that’s mean they are at certain wavelengths with strongly absorption, in other wavelengths with moderate absorption and while at other wavelengths with only slightly absorbs radiation. As the temperature rises, when gas molecules absorb radiation, the energy is converted into internal molecular motion.
Therefore, the main role in heating the atmosphere was the gases are the most effective radiation absorber.
14. The primary heat absorbers in the lower atmosphere are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Water vapor is most influential in weather, because the water vapor absorbs about 60% of the Earth's radiation, it also represents the warm climate of the lower troposphere.
15. In the atmosphere, long-wave infrared radiation that can absorb radiation from the earth's surface, and gases have an insulating effect on the
...re absorbed by atmosphere. The remaining 40 % passes through the layers of the atmosphere and reaches the Earth’s surface. Fifteen percent of the rays are reflected by the Earth’s surface and the rest heat up the land and oceans. The Earth’s surface gives off heat radiation, where it is picked up and held by the greenhouse gases; such as, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases (Andrian09’s Blog). These “greenhouse gases make up only about 1 % of the Earth’s atmosphere; they regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the planet” (West). Without an atmosphere, the Earth’s surface would be colder at night and become hotter during the day. The atmosphere’s main job is to regulate the temperature and secure the heat in Earth; so that the heat does not escape leaving the planet cold (King, 2008).
Methane is also another important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is the resultant of human activities. It is infused in the atmosphere due to-
In summer time, there are 24 hours sunlight a day, which is usually called “the midnight sun” that causes the icebergs/sea ice to melt due to global warming and causing havoc. Although the temperatures there are at the lowest of -50% in the higher latitude until then with the global warming, temperatures has increased.
...tthews, John. The summer solstice: celebrating the journey of the sun from May Day to
Consider for a moment, this planet known as Earth. Picture the change of seasons, the phases of the
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.205). Scientific studies suggest that all these played a role in past global warming and cooling periods. Today, however, there is a lot of conflict on whether humans are causing a global warming that could be disastrous to humans and all species of plants and animals on this earth. This paper will first explain the greenhouse effect, then take a look at both sides argument, and, finally, analyze the effect of global warming on world-wide sustainability
When climate change occurs there are a few major effects that are critical to climate change. First the sun passes through the clear atmosphere with its solar rays which then reach the earth's surface. Then, about 70% of the sun’s solar rays are absorbed by the earth surface making the temperature rise while the rest go back into the atmosphere. Some of the rays escape back out into space, while some are absorbed by gases in the atmosphere. These gases are important because they allow the sun to heat the earth and then the gases get trapped, making the earth warmer. They trap the heat like a big blanket to maintain the planet at a stable temperature.
7.) Solstice - is when the sun is highest in the sky, either in the north or south. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and winter solstice is the shortest .
Earth’s climate is determined by the physics and chemistry of its atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere consists of four layers; troposphere which is closest to earth, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Hardy says, “During the past 100 years we humans, as a result of burning coal, oil, and gas and clearing forests, have greatly changed the chemical composition of the thin atmospheric layer.” There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to burning fossil fuels. The atmosphere is made up of many gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. It also consists of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons and, ozone. The trace gases have the greatest effect on our climate (Hardy 5). Up to a certain level, these gases help to keep the planet warm by absorbing certain infrared wavelengths, so that there can be life on the planet. Thus, they trap heat in the troposphere and stop it from escaping to space (Hardy 7). Therefore, the greater amount of greenhouse gases, the more heat trapped in the atmosphere. Earth’s temperature is increasing due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide released into the air from burning fossil fuels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 report projects “global average surface temperature increases ranging from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees
As Americans, we must realize the responsibility to reduce the emissions. Gore, Albert. Water Vapor is eighty percent of greenhouse warming. The last twenty percent results from other gases that are in very little amounts. A huge absorber of the sun’s heat rays is carbon dioxide.
Still at times, the sky will have a pale blue color. This is because the scattered blue colors have to go through other gas molecules, and in turn get scattered more. It is like dividing a particular mass into many pieces, and the final results will be just tiny masses. This is how blue color gets divided before it reaches our eyes.
Climate change is evidenced through shifts in the weather patterns such as winds, humidity and temperatures over certain durations. Natural climate changes occur less frequently and they are triggered by factors related to geographical aspects as well as solar radiation. The earth’s movement on the orbit triggers changes in climate, causing some areas to have higher temperatures than usual, while others are significantly cold depending on the position of the earth on the orbit. The heat from the sun causes changes in the stratospheric ozone and it increases the amount of greenhouse gases. Heat from the oceanic crust also contributes to warming as a result of episodic hydrothermal venting (Liao & Sandeberg, 2012).
...e sun, this is of a longer wavelength and is absorbed by the atmosphere. The Earths atmosphere, thus acts like the glass of a green house, hence the 'greenhouse effect'.
water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. If there were no greenhouse gasses, very few rays