Atmosphere 1- Insolation & Earths Energy Balance - Sarah Greene

Question 1

What is a system?

Answer 1

a portion of the universe separated from another part of the universe to monitor change

Question 2

What are 2 examples of systems? (general)

Answer 2

the earth
a beaker of water
a flock of birds

Question 3

What is an isolated system?

Answer 3

no energy or matter exchanged with the outside

Question 4

What are the three types of system? (earth systems)

Answer 4

Isolated
Closed
Open

Question 5

what is a closed system?

Answer 5

Energy exchanged but not matter

Question 6

What is an open system?

Answer 6

Energy and matter exchanged

Question 7

What are all the parts of the climate system?

Answer 7

Atmosphere
Cryosphere
Biosphere
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Anthroposphere

Question 8

What is energy?

Answer 8

The capacity to do work

Question 9

What are some of the energy sources for earths surface?

Answer 9

Accretionary heat
Radioactive heat
Tidal heating
Core formation
Solar energy

Question 10

What is Accretionary heat?

Answer 10

energy left from earths formation

Question 11

What is radioactive energy?

Answer 11

Energy released from radioactive decay

Question 12

What is tidal heating?

Answer 12

Frictional heating caused by distortion

Question 13

How does earths surface get energy from core formation?

Answer 13

crystallisation releases latent heat

Question 14

Where does the vast amount of earths surface energy come from?

Answer 14

from our closest star- the sun

Question 15

How much of earths surface energy come from the sun? (%)

Answer 15

99.99%

Question 16

What drives energy from the sun?

Answer 16

nuclear fusion

Question 17

What is the basis on insolation by spatial patterns?

Answer 17

distribution of solar rays is affected by latitude

Question 18

What will solar intensity be like at 45*?

Answer 18

acute angle so less intense oblique rays

Question 19

What will temperature be like with less intense solar rays?

Answer 19

cooler

Question 20

What will solar intensity be like at 90*?

Answer 20

more solar intensity

Question 21

What will temperature be like with more intense solar rays?

Answer 21

warmer

Question 22

What are the equinoxes in orbit temporal patterns?

Answer 22

the earth receives different amounts of energy based on tilt and closeness to the sun

Question 23

How much does does the radiation at the top of the earths axes vary? (%)

Answer 23

3.5%

Question 24

What creates an energy balance?

Answer 24

incoming energy degraded into longer wavelength radiation re-radiated to outer space this balances with incoming solar

Question 25

How many terawatts of energy flow does earth receive?

Answer 25

greater than 174,000

Question 26

What is insolation?

Answer 26

solar energy reaching earths surface per unit area (Watt/m*2)

Question 27

What is earths solar constant? (W/m*2)

Answer 27

1368 W/m*2

Question 28

What is albedo?

Answer 28

proportion of incoming radiation that is reflected unchanged

Question 29

What will a high albedo surface be like?

Answer 29

highly reflective

Question 30

What factors can affect albedo?

Answer 30

clouds land surface

Question 31

What is re-radiation?

Answer 31

proportion solar energy not reflected but is absorbed into earth system by materials in atmosphere and land surface

Question 32

What can transfer energy around the earth system?

Answer 32

weather wind waves plant growth

Question 33

What eventually happens to energy transferred around the earth system?

Answer 33

eventually turns to heat which is re-radiated

Question 34

What is blackbody?

Answer 34

an ideal theoretical object where both emits and absorbed radiation perfectly at all wavelengths

Question 35

What is the Stefan Boltzmann law?

Answer 35

energy radiated by black body proportional to fourth power of its absolute temperature

Question 36

What is earths albedo when calculating if earth is a blackbody?

Answer 36

0.3

Question 37

Based on the blackbody equation what would earths temp be?

Answer 37

-23*C

Question 38

Why do we know the earth blackbody equation isnt the case?

Answer 38

earth would be frozen if at -23*C

Question 39

How would you describe earths atmosphere?

Answer 39

dynamic but roughly stable

Question 40

What would happen is outflow imbalance compared to inflow?

Answer 40

temperature would be infinite growth and vice versa 0K (kelvin)

Question 41

What is power emitted by radiation sensitive to?

Answer 41

temperature

Question 42

How does increased temperature affect infrared emissions?

Answer 42

significantly increased

Question 43

What happens when temperature reaches a certain level with inflow and outflow of energy?

Answer 43

will reach a point of balance where emission into space balances solar energy inflow

Question 44

What happens if there is any change of in for outflows in energy from the earth system?

Answer 44

will usually return earth to a new steady state at different temperature average

Question 45

What is the amount of energy input from the sun like on a short timescale? (only a few years)

Answer 45

steady relatively stable

Question 46

What is the variation like in energy input from the sun like on a short timescale? (%)

Answer 46

0.5% so almost constant

Question 47

What affects the amount of energy input from the sun on a medium timescale? (millennia)

Answer 47

changes in orbit

Question 48

What can change amount of energy input from the sun on a long timescale? (billions of years)

Answer 48

sun steadily brightens

Question 49

What was the suns emissions like when it was a very young star?

Answer 49

4.6 billion years ago emitted 70% of present energy

Question 50

What can soot and aerosol particles from volcanoes do to radiation?

Answer 50

cause it to be scattered and or absorbed

Question 51

what are some examples of different land surfaces affecting albedo?

Answer 51

ice cover - light white surface high albedo ocean/ land- darker low albedo more absorbed

Question 52

Are GHG natural or artificial?

Answer 52

Both

Question 53

What naturally happens when solar energy reaches earth?

Answer 53

1/3 scattered rest absorbed

Question 54

What forms does solar energy reach earth?

Answer 54

UV visible light

Question 55

What type of energy does earth emit to space?

Answer 55

infrared

Question 56

What happens to some of the infrared emitted by earth? (Natural GHG effect)

Answer 56

some is absorbed by GHG in the atmosphere

Question 57

What is the benefit of the natural GHG effect absorbing some of the emitted infrared?

Answer 57

reason earth average temp is 14*c instead of -23*c (earth blackbody equation)

Question 58

How can graphs show earth is not a blackbody?

Answer 58

there would be smooth curves on the graph but earth graph has variation between surface and atmosphere (for energy levels)

Question 59

How much more GHG are in the atmosphere as a result of human actions? (%)

Answer 59

43%

Question 60

Who discovered the GHG effect?

Answer 60

Euness foot was first to do work on GHG effect unknown how many others relied upon on works