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Earth Sciences > Week 7 > Flashcards

Week 7 Flashcards

1
Q

Earth’s External Energy

A
  • Sun drives two vital systems on Earth: Weather, Climate
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2
Q

Weather

A

The short-term state of the atmosphere at a given time and place

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3
Q

Climate

A

The long-term average weather conditions for a given region of Earth.

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4
Q

Earth’s Greenhouse

A
  • Most Common: Carbon Dioxide, Methane
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5
Q

Venus Greenhouse

A
  • 2X Solar Radiation then Earth
  • Sun is not only factor since 460 cannot be explained
  • CO2 intensifies
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6
Q

Earths Impacts

A
  • Most go unnoticed
  • 100 to 1000 daily
  • Huge ones are devastating
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7
Q

Layers of the Atmosphere

A
  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Mesosphere
  • Thermosphere
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8
Q

Troposphere

A

Densest layer, ranging from 8-18km thick

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9
Q

Stratosphere

A

Ozone-enriched, reaching up to 50km

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10
Q

Mesosphere

A

Asteroids burn up, reaching up to 80km

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11
Q

Thermosphere

A

Northern Lights produced by ionization, up to 500-700km

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12
Q

Dynamics of the Atmosphere

A
  • Weather, the controlling factor is activity of water in the troposphere
  • This includes the way water is absorbed or released
  • This also involves the way water exists as a solid (ice), liquid, or gas (steam/vapour) on Earth
  • As temperature increases, and liquid water is boiled to vapour, energy is absorbed during the reaction
  • As temperature decreases, and liquid water is frozen to ice, energy is released during the reaction
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13
Q

Latent Heat

A
  • The amount of energy released or absorbed by a material during a change of chemical state
  • The unit of measurement for Latent Heat is Joules per gram (J/g)
  • Most reactions have known Latent Heat values, so predicting whether the absorption or release of Energy will occur
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14
Q

Latent Heat and the Atmosphere

A
  • The Water Cycle is a rudimentary but accurate depiction of liquid water interacting with the atmosphere to produce storms
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15
Q

Convection in the Atmosphere

A
  • With water being both evaporated and condensed all over the world, complex cells of air motion form
  • The air in the troposphere moves in Convection Cells, Complex air motion is in response to:
  • Air Temperature changes
  • Air Density changes
  • Air Pressure changes
  • Density is the most important measure of an airmass, as this determines how it interacts with other airmasses, and is most-dependent on temperature and humidity
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16
Q

Atmospheric Density

A
  • We measure Atmospheric Density as grams per cubic metre (g/m3)
  • As pressure increases, the density increases;
  • As temperature increases, the density decreases.
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17
Q

Atmospheric density is low when

A
  • At high elevation
  • At high temperature
  • At low air pressure.
  • Example: A humid, hot day at a mountain-top
18
Q

Atmospheric density is high when

A
  • At low elevation;
  • At low temperature;
  • At high air pressure.
  • Example: A dry, cold day in a low valley
19
Q

Adiabatic Heating and Cooling

A
  • If Air Pressure decreases, air density and air temperature must decrease
  • The less-orderly atomic arrangement requires more energy to hold the ‘relaxed’ chemical bonds
  • If Air Pressure increases, air density and air temperature must increase;
  • As density increases, temperature must also increase, releasing heat energy
20
Q

Adiabatic Process

A
  • The change in properties without an addition or removal of heat
  • As an airmass increases elevation, pressure decreases and it is allowed to expand ‘adiabatically’ (increasing volume)
21
Q

Atmospheric Humidity

A
  • Humid air is actually less-dense than dry air
    This is because the addition of water vapour to the atmosphere replaces some of the heavier gases
  • Evaporation happens close to the surface
  • From here, water vapour heated by the Sun differentiates upwards through the troposphere, due to the low density
  • The water vapour will continue to differentiate upwards until it cools and condensation occurs; when this happens, the density of the water vapour increases, destabilizing the airmass
22
Q

Convection Cells

A
  • Because of the spherical shape of the Earth, the Sun does not heat the planet evenly
    More heat is received at the equator than at the Earth’s poles
  • This causes turbulence in the global troposphere, bringing rise to convection currents
  • Convection cells force warm air up at the equator and bring cool air down towards the poles
  • Factors such as continental landmasses and oceanic currents can affect the ideal global air circulation
23
Q

Coriolis Effect

A
  • The force imparted by the spinning Earth on a material, including the flow of air or water
24
Q

Coriolis Effect splits Cells into 3

A
  • Hadley Cells
  • Ferrel Cells
  • Polar Cells
  • The effect is based on the angular momentum provided by the Earth’s rotations on-axis and around the Sun
25
Q

Jet Stream Definition

A
  • The strong wind formed by the tumultuous interactions of Hadley and Ferrel Cells; follow yellow lines on the diagram
  • Must be 57km/h or more to be jet stream
26
Q

Jet Stream Info

A
  • The Jet Stream produces many strong storms every year
  • During periods of prolonged cold, the Polar Jet Stream moves towards the equator
  • This often produces strong storms through the atmospheric interaction of cold jet stream air and warm tropical water vapour
  • The Subtropical Jet Stream can produce strong storms and also steer their headings
  • Sometimes, the winds are too weak to produce an effective jet stream
  • To be defined jet stream, winds must exceed 57 km/h
27
Q

Wind

A
  • Air movement driven by variations in atmospheric pressure
  • Essentially, wind is the movement of air from high-pressure regions to low-pressure regions of the atmosphere
  • The difference in air pressure between the high- and low-pressure regions determines the wind speed
28
Q

High-Pressure Zone

A

A region of the atmosphere where air pressure and air density are high; air is cooling and sinking.

29
Q

Low-Pressure Zone

A

A region where air pressure and air density are low; air is heating and rising.

30
Q

Wind Info

A
  • Low-Pressure zones develop an inward spiral motion, relative to ground.
  • High-Pressure zones develop an outward spiral motion, relative to ground.
  • Wind is also affected as part of the Coriolis Effect
  • Generally, a single gust of wind will lose energy over time from friction with the surrounding air and ground
31
Q

Oceans Currents

A
  • Because of Physics, Ocean waters also differentiate based on water temperature and density
  • Friction from wind can force warm water down to 100m
  • Warm water is heated by the Sun
  • The difference in water temperatures and densities cause Ocean Circulation
  • Two basic circulation systems:
  • Wind-driven surface water circulation
  • Density-driven deep water circulation
32
Q

Oceans Density

A
  • Based on salinity
  • Salinity is the measure of salts dissolved in water, often expressed in ppt
  • Similar to the measurement of humidity in the Troposphere
  • As pressure increases with depth, the density of water is forced to increase
  • Increasing density forces an increase in temperature
33
Q

North Atlantic Ocean

A
  • Warmest and Saltiest part of Ocean
  • Global Ave Temp = 3.51 C
  • NAC Ave Temp = 5.08 C
  • Global Ave Salt = 34.72 ppt
  • NAC Ave Salt = 35.09 ppt
34
Q

Main Thermocline

A
  • The upper 1000m of ocean water of high temperature and salinity
  • Everything below the Main Thermocline is called ‘Deep Water’, 77% of world’s oceans
  • This depth is picked because it is around 4°C
35
Q

The Deep Water

A
  • 77% of ocean
  • Temperatures are colder than 4°C and salinities are in the range of 34.1 – 35.1 ppt
36
Q

The Surface Water

A
  • (23%) highly variable in temperature and salinity
  • 25% of surface water is cooled to below 4°C
  • When the water is cooled, it sinks under warm water and produces deep ocean currents
37
Q

Ocean Currents and Wind

A
  • Large swirling Gyre currents form under atmospheric convection cells (Hadley and Ferrel), especially near strong Jet Stream winds
38
Q

Gyres

A
  • Gyres help drive ocean circulation as the rotating nature produces a high-point, known as a ‘lens’
  • Water at the lens sits about 2m higher than the edges of the gyre
  • These giant circulating currents move across all the oceans, and create high- and low-points of varying temperature and salinity
39
Q

Gulf Stream

A
  • A strong current that cuts through gyres, moving warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic
  • The volume of warm air and water moved along the Gulf Stream helps warm Europe by up to ~10°C
40
Q

Thermohaline Circulation

A
  • Thermohaline Circulation describes the exchange of warm and cold waters through the oceans
  • In the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf Stream brings warm water north; this water is cooled by the Arctic temperatures and sinks deeper
  • When this cold water flows downward, it travels back south
  • This cold water current is known as the North Atlantic Deep Water Current, and carries cold arctic water to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where it is substantially warmed

Earth Sciences (16 decks)

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