Air, Weather and Climate
Weather is the day to day fluctuations in the atmosphere while __________ describes temperature and humidity changes over long periods of time. ___________ are not static- they cycle through yearly, centurial and millennial patterns. Initially the climate on Earth was a deadly mixture of Hydrogen, Helium and ___________ from the outgassing of molten rock. 3 billion years ago __________ was added to our atmosphere with the evolution of photosynthetic organisms. Milankovitch cycles- animation
Air pressure at sea level is _________ lbs per square inch known as one Atmoshere. Air pressure ___________ with altitude. The surface of the Earth also experiences low pressure when warm air masses rises due to low density.
Air composition
The Atmosphere has four distinct layers. ________________ (roughly 10 km up)
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Global Energy Transfer- before _____________ global energy was in ____________.
Convection- the transfer of energy of a warm fluid (like gas or water) upwards into a ___________ zone. The cycle of air upwards around and down is called Convection Currents. Why it rains in a rain forest: The sun's energy is concentrated near the __________. Rising hot air expands and cools (called __________ cooling). Colder air _______ hold as much moisture so after a certain altitude, the air dumps out its water vapor in the form of water droplets- the stuff of clouds. Rising air creates low pressure and lots of nasty weather, unless you are a tropical plant in which case you are very happy. As the water vapor condenses it gives up ________ __________ energy- this helps large cloud formations rise higher, cool more and build energy to form large storm systems like hurricanes. Why it is dry in a desert: At ______ degrees North and South latitude the air is cooling, becoming more dense and sinking. Sinking air creates _______ pressure. High pressure days are cloudless great tanning weather kind of days, unless you are thirsty.
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION Global winds are caused by the constant balancing act going on in our atmosphere as moist, warm air travels upward from the Equator and then cools and sinks at the 30 degree latitude belt. The air rises again at the _______ latitude and sinks at the poles. When the air moves laterally across the Earth's surface from belt to belt (High to Low pressure) it creates ________- we live in the ____________ wind belt which is why all of our weather comes from West to East. Below us are the ________ winds which blow towards the ___________. All wind belts are curved to the rotation of the Earth knows as the _________ __________. In the Northern hemisphere the air curves to the ________. In the south it curves to the_______. These curving winds are also partially responsible for the direction of the major ocean currents of the world. The Coriolis effect also spins __________ and __________.
Hurricanes (or ___________ in the Pacific Ocean) are a hundred mile wide cyclones that last several weeks. Despite their relatively puny wind speeds (75- _____ mph) hurricanes are much more deadly than tornadoes. Between the heavy rain fall, mud slides and storm surges, people lose their lives by ___________.
Tornadoes- a mini cyclone that begin when the jet streams shear off the top of an especially large _____________ cloud (cool, huh?). The cloud tightens as it sinks downward and spins faster due to angular __________. The fastest tornado winds have been clocked at 318 mph. Most lives are lost in a tornado due to being struck by something that has no business flying.
Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions Ocean currents are in part driven by global winds. ____________- seasonal rains and droughts caused by the differential temperatures of land and oceans. In the ________, the land heats up faster than the sea, so a low pressure center develops on land. Moist air from the ocean rush in to "fill" in the pressure void and __________ rains last for four months or more. Then, during the winter, the ocean, which has a higher heat capacity, is now warmer than the land and winds tend to move towards the sea. A long term __________ ensues.
La Nina- The "normal" state of affairs with relatively cool ocean temperatures on the Equatorial Pacific Ocean.
El Nino- ENSO: El Nino Southern Oscillation, occurs every 3-5 years. Used to last 2 weeks to a month, now last _____ to _____ years!!!
These greenhouse gases trap infrared heat energy trying to exit the planet and the Earth is heated up- already we've noticed a ______ degree F change. That doesn't sound like much but it only took a reduction of _____ degrees to trigger an ice age. Scientists think that even a 2 degree Celius increase in temperature will cause floods, droughts and extreme weather events. 2011 was one of the most extreme weather years in history. Effects of Global Warming include:
REDUCING CLIMATE CHANGE _________ Protocol In 1997, 162 countries gathered together in Japan to figure out how to slow global warming. EVERY COUNTRY agreed to limit their carbon dioxide production and signed a treaty to that effect, except for the ______ and ___________. It really shocked and disturbed the world, especially when George Bush senior said, "We are going to put the interests of our own country first and foremost" and "The American _________ is not up for negotiation." We tried really hard to create a "carbon credit" for polluting the air with CO2 in exchange for having a fair amount of land forested, but the countries won't go for it. The US produces ______% of the world CO2, and yet has less than____% of the world's population.The Bush administration responded to environmentalists' pressure by pledging lots of money to investigate the NATURAL causes of global warming (okay volcanoes DO make CO2... ). Many people argue that historically we've seen massive fluctuations in temperature on the Earth, but the point is that the present _______ of temperature change is unprecedented, and inconveniently coincides with human-caused increases in _______ levels... The plot thickens. Why isn't America taking Climate change more seriously? Maybe Trend and Variation has something to do with it? Recent Climate Change talks in Durban, South Africa did not result in a binding world agreement to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Extreme Ice: Nova
Seasons How does solar intensity change with latitude? What causes the seasons on the Earth?
SUMMER
WINTER
SPRING AND FALL
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