Atmosphere Flashcards
(102 cards)
1
Q
What is the atmosphere?
A
Gaseous outer layer of a planet (gases include greenhouse and non-greenhouse gases)
2
Q
The atmosphere has _____
A
Layers
3
Q
What is the exosphere?
A
Layer of the atmosphere where gas molecules (H and He) escape into space
4
Q
What can be found in the thermosphere?
A
- Auroras, which are caused by charged solar particles (primarily electrons and protons) interacting with oxygen and nitrogen molecules.
- Solar particles (AKA solar wind), which are concentrated near the poles due to Earth’s magnetic field.
5
Q
What can be found in the mesosphere?
A
Meteors (from microscopic to life-ending) falling to Earth which compress the atmospheric gases enough to cause meteors to heat up and glow.
6
Q
What is in the stratosphere?
A
The ozone layer, which protects against ultraviolet radiation
7
Q
What is in the troposphere?
A
- People!! We are in the troposphere
- Mostly nitrogen, oxygen is second most prevalent
8
Q
How was Earth’s early atmosphere formed?
A
By outgassing of mantle and asteroid and comet impacts.
9
Q
How did oceans form?
A
Condensation of water vapor in atmosphere (clouds) and rainfall
10
Q
By about 4 billion years ago, low areas of Earth’s surface had become ________
A
Oceans of water
-This water was acidic
11
Q
What did acid rain cause?
A
Rapid weathering and erosion of land
12
Q
By about 3.5 million years ago, there was life in the oceans that survived on _____, ____, and ______ _____ ____ ____.
A
H20, CO2, and energy from the Sun
13
Q
Photosynthesis produces complex carbon molecules and a waste product: _______.
A
Oxygen (02)
14
Q
How are banded iron formations (the source of much of the world’s iron ore) formed?
A
O2 produced by bacteria oxidizes iron that was dissolved in seawater, forming an insoluble iron oxide.
15
Q
What are the three variable components of the atmosphere?
A
Water vapor, dust particles, and ozone.
16
Q
A water molecule has _____ bonds that bind each hydrogen atom to the lone oxygen atom.
A
Covalent
17
Q
A covalent bond occurs when:
A
Electrons are being shared by the ions
18
Q
What kind of intermolecular attraction gives water many of its unique properties?
A
A hydrogen bond
19
Q
Which is stronger, an intramolecular bond or an intermolecular bond?
A
Intramolecular bonds are stronger
20
Q
What are the unique properties of water?
A
- Specific heat capacity: it takes lots of energy to change the temperature of water
- Density: unlike other substances, solid water is less dense than liquid water
- Capillarity: these strong H bonds are critical to the capillary action of water
21
Q
Water vapor varies from ___ to ___% of gases in the atmosphere.
A
0, 4
22
Q
Water is the source of all ____.
A
Clouds
23
Q
Water is a ________ gas.
A
Greenhouse
24
Q
Water enters atmosphere via ______ and leaves via _______.
A
Evaporation, precipitation
25
Evaporation ______ heat from the environment.
Removes
26
Condensation _____ heat from the environment.
Adds
27
What is sensible heat?
Heating that imparts a change in temperature (an increase in bond vibrations).
28
What is latent heat?
Heating that does not impart a change in temperature, it changes the phase of a substance.
29
Ice is only stable at ___ degrees or colder.
0
30
Water is only stable ____ to ___ degrees.
0, 100
31
Changes between ice, liquid, and water vapor are important for ______ ______.
Global temperatures
32
What is humidity?
The amount of water vapor in the air
33
What is dew point?
The temperature at which air is saturated with water vapor
34
What is relative humidity?
Ratio of water vapor in the air relative to the amount of water vapor that WOULD be in the air if it were saturated
35
What is saturated air?
Air that holds all the water vapor it can
| -Is at the dew-point temperature and is at 100% relative humidity
36
Which holds more water vapor: warmer air or cooler air?
Warmer air!
37
As warm humid air cools, water vapor will:
Condense (or deposit)
38
Psychrometers are used to measure:
Relative humidity and dew point temperature
39
What does the dew point tell us that relative humidity does not?
Exactly how much water vapor is in the air
40
Dew point is solely a function of _____.
Humidity
41
Relative humidity is a function of ______ and ________.
Humidity and temperature
42
Relative humidity cannot exceed _____.
100%
43
When and why does dew occur?
It occurs overnight because the ground cools more quickly than the air
44
As the temperature drops, relative humidity ______ until it gets to 100% and then water vapor _____ on the grass.
Increases, condenses
45
A cloud that is in contact with the ground is _____.
Fog
46
What are clouds made of?
LOTS of tiny droplets of water or ice crystals
47
Condensation (and deposition) of water generally requires a __________ ________.
Condensation nuclei
48
What could serve as condensation nuclei?
Dust, smoke particles, salt particles, bacteria, dead skin
49
Cooler air holds _____ (less/more) water vapor (gas) then warmer air.
Less
50
The density of gas molecules _______ (decreases/increases) with rising elevation.
Decreases
51
Rising air will:
Expand
52
As air expands it ____ (cools/warms), as air is compressed it ______ (cools/warms).
Cools, warms
53
What are adiabatic temperature changes?
Changes in the temperature of air that occur without heat being added or subtracted from the air.
54
What does it really mean when air expands? What is happening?
The space between gas molecules increases
55
What is adiabatic cooling?
Cooling that results from expansion
56
What is the dry adiabatic rate?
Temperature of rising air drops at 10 degrees C/1000 m
57
What is the wet adiabatic rate?
Temperature of rising air drops at 5 degrees C/1000 m
58
What causes air to rise? (5 things)
1. Differential heating of Earth's surface
2. Orographic lifting: wind blows up over the mountains
3. Convergence
4. Localized air lifting
5. Cold air and warm air interactions caused by low pressure areas
59
What are the three primary factors of Earth's energy budget?
1. Amount of solar radiation that Earth receives
2. Amount of incoming solar radiation that is reflected back into space (albedo effect)
3. Greenhouse effect: amount of infrared radiation NOT transmitted from Earth to space
60
Why does the amount of solar radiation that the Earth receives change? (3 main reasons)
- Changes in solar luminosity, which varies over time
- Orbital forcing, variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun
- Most of the Sun's energy that makes it through the atmosphere is in the form of visible light
61
Orbital forcing has three causes. What are they?
1. Precession (like the wobble of a spinning top)
2. Obliquity (axil tilt)
3. Eccentricity (changes in the shape of Earth's orbit)
62
What is albedo?
The amount of light reflected by an object
63
What reflects the most light (high albedo)?
Clouds and snow
64
What are the six warning signs of a tornado?
1. Wall cloud and/or funnel cloud
2. Dark, often greenish sky
3. Large hail (not just hail, large hail)
4. Loud roar, like a freight train
5. Warning siren
6. A "hook echo" on Doppler radar
65
What are aerosols and what needs them to form?
They are solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere which affect temperatures AND are necessary for clouds to form.
66
What is 03?
Ozone, an oxygen molecule
67
Is there a high or low concentration of ozone (O3) in the atmosphere?
Very low
68
Weather is the product of a combination of _____ parameters and ______ parameters.
Fixed, variable
69
What are examples of fixed parameters?
Elevation and location, such as near a coastline or in the middle of a continent
70
What are examples of variable parameters?
Temperature, air pressure, humidity, etc.
71
Air pressure data is in units of ______.
millibars
72
Winds blow from _____ pressure to _____ pressure.
High, low
73
Water flows from _____ to _____ elevations.
High, low
74
Areas with air pressure over ______ millibars are considered to be high pressure. Below that is low pressure.
1,013
75
As air near the equator is ______ (cooled/heated), it rises.
Heated
76
What is the Coriolis Effect?
The deflective force acting on a free-moving object.
77
In the north hemisphere, all free-moving objects (including the wind) are deflected to the ____(right/left) of their path of motion.
Right
78
Free-moving objects in the Southern Hemisphere are deflected to the _____(right/left).
Left
79
In areas of high pressure, wind moves ______(clockwise/counterclockwise). In areas of low pressure, wind moves _____ (clockwise/counterclockwise).
Clockwise, counterclockwise
80
What is a greenhouse gas (GHG)?
A gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect.
81
What would Earth's average surface temperature be without GHGs in our atmosphere?
-18 degrees C, 0 degrees F
82
Would Earth be able to sustain life as we know it without GHGs in our atmosphere?
Earth could maybe sustain life, but not life as we know it. Without GHGs, we wouldn't have the amount of heat needed to grow plants.
83
What does it mean that a GHG absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range?
CO2 molecule vibrates as a result of absorbed infrared energy.
84
What are the two most prevalent non-GHGs in Earth's atmosphere?
Nitrogen and oxygen
85
What are the five most abundant GHGs?
1. Water vapor (H20)
2. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
3. Methane (CH4)
4. Nitrous oxide (N2O)
5. Ozone (03)
86
Atmospheric concentrations of GHGs are determined by the balance between ______ (emissions of the gas from human activities and natural systems) and _____ (i.e., removal of the gas from the atmosphere by conversion to a different chemical compound or absorption into bodies of water).
Sources, sinks
87
What four properties determine a GHGs overall contribution to the greenhouse effect?
1. Effectiveness of the gas at absorbing and re-emitting infrared radiation
2. Abundance of the GHG
3. Atmospheric lifetime of the GHG
4. Indirect radiative effects (such as CH4 contributing to the formation of ozone)
88
What is the major non-gas contributor to the greenhouse effect?
Clouds
89
What four GHGs DIRECTLY contribute the most to the greenhouse effect? Include percentages.
1. Water vapor and clouds (36-72%)
2. Carbon dioxide (9-26%)
3. Methane (4-9%)
4. Ozone (3-7%)
90
Why is nitrous oxide the 4th most abundant GHG, but it doesn't have a very high contribution to the greenhouse effect?
It has a short atmospheric lifetime
91
What is the average residence time of a water molecule in the atmosphere? (days)
9 days
92
What does the term residence time mean?
The average length of time during which a substance is in a given location or condition.
93
Earth's surface temperature depends on a balance between ______ and _______ energy.
Incoming, outgoing
94
The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of a gas depends on what two things?
1. Efficiency of a molecule as a greenhouse gas
| 2. Atmospheric lifetime
95
What is the definition of Global Warming Potential (GWP)?
Measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).
96
The GWP is relative to _____.
CO2
97
On a molecule for molecule basis, which is a more potent gas: CH4 or CO2?
CH4
98
Which molecule has a longer residence time in the atmosphere: CH4 or CO2?
CO2
99
What does ppm stand for?
Parts-per-million
100
What does ppb stand for?
Parts-per-billion
101
What does ppt stand for?
Parts-per-trillion
102
What are the products and reactants of photosynthesis?
Reactants: 6 H20 + 6 CO2
Products: C6H12O6 + 6 O2
