the atmosphere chapter 22. the atmosphere atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet,...

22
The Atmosphere Chapter 22

Upload: dustin-martin

Post on 26-Dec-2015

317 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Atmosphere

Chapter 22

Page 2: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Atmosphere

• Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth

• The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface from the sun’s radiation and helps regulate the temperature of Earth’s surface.

Page 3: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Composition of the Atmosphere• Composition of the

Atmosphere: is 78% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen.

• Nitrogen is maintained by the Nitrogen Cycle. (with the help of nitrogen-fixing bacteria)

• Oxygen is maintained by plants through photosynthesis.

Page 4: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Ozone• Ozone: a gas molecule that is made up of

three oxygen atoms.

• Ozone in the upper atmosphere forms the ozone layer, which absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

• The ozone layer has been damaged by human activities from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) released into the atmosphere.

Page 5: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Particulates in the Atmosphere

• Particulates: tiny solid particles suspended in the atmosphere.

• Examples: Volcanic Ash, Dust/Dirt from tornadoes, Salt left from sea spray, Pollen from plants.

Page 6: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Atmospheric Pressure• Atmospheric Pressure: the

force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere.

• Atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases.

• Atmospheric pressure is measured using a barometer.

Page 7: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Layers of the Atmosphere• Troposphere: the lowest layer of the

atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist.

• Stratosphere: the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer

Page 8: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Layers of the Atmosphere• Mesosphere: the coldest layer of the

atmosphere, between the stratosphere and the thermosphere, in which temperature decreases as altitude increases

• Thermosphere: the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, which temperature increases as altitude increases; includes the ionosphere where interactions between solar radiation causes auroras

Page 9: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Layers of the Atmosphere

Page 10: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Temperature Inversion• Temperature Inversion:

the layering of warm air on top of cool air. Warm air is less dense than cool air and can trap cool polluted air beneath it.

Page 11: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Solar Energy and the Atmosphere• All of the energy that Earth receives from the

sun travels through space between Earth and the sun as radiation.

• Electromagnetic Spectrum: all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.

Page 12: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Solar Energy and the Atmosphere• About 70% of the solar energy

that reaches Earth is absorbed by Earth’s surfaces and by the atmosphere. The remainder is reflected back into space.

• Albedo: the fraction of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of an object

Page 13: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Solar Energy and the Atmosphere

• Mirage: occurs when warm air near Earth’s surface bends light rays to produce reflections.

Page 14: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Greenhouse Effect• Greenhouse Effect: the warming of the surface

and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb and reradiate infrared radiation.

Page 15: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Greenhouse Effect• Increases in the amount of carbon dioxide may

intensify the greenhouse effect and may cause Earth to become warmer in some areas and cooler in others.

Page 16: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

The Greenhouse Effect

Page 17: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Conduction vs. Convection• Conduction: the transfer of energy as heat

through a material

• Convection: the movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations; can result in the transfer of energy as heat

Page 18: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Atmospheric Circulation• Coriolis Effect: the apparent curving of the path

of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth’s rotation.

• Objects deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and are deflected to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Page 19: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Global Winds• Trade Winds: prevailing winds that blow from

east to west from 30 latitude to the equator in both hemispheres

• Westerlies: prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 and 60 latitude in both hemispheres

• Polar Easterlies: prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 and 90 latitude in both hemispheres

Page 20: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Global Winds

Page 21: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Jet Streams

• Jet Stream: a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere.

Page 22: The Atmosphere Chapter 22. The Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth The atmosphere protects Earth’s surface

Local Winds

• Land and Sea Breezes: A cool wind moving from water to land is a sea breeze and a land breeze flows from the cool land toward the warmer water.

• Mountain and Valley Breezes: A valley breeze blows upslope and mountain breezes blows down slope.