The Atmosphere: Structure and Temperature
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This document summarizes key characteristics of the atmosphere including its composition, structure, and factors that influence temperature variations. It describes the major components of air including nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases. It explains how atmospheric temperature changes with altitude, defining layers like the troposphere and stratosphere. Factors like latitude, proximity to water, altitude, clouds and ocean currents are described as influencing regional temperature patterns. Mechanisms of solar heating like radiation, reflection and the greenhouse effect are also summarized.
The Atmosphere: Structure and Temperature
- 1. Chapter 1111 The Atmosphere: Structure and Temperature
- 2. Composition of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Weather is constantly changing, and it refers to the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place. Climate, however, is based on observations of weather that have been collected over many years. Climate helps describe a place or region.
- 3. Composition of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Major Components • Air is a mixture of different gases and particles, each with its own physical properties.
- 4. Volume of Clean, Dry Air
- 5. Composition of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Variable Components • Water vapor is the source of all clouds and precipitation. Like carbon dioxide, water vapor absorbs heat given off by Earth. It also absorbs some solar energy. • Ozone is a form of oxygen that combines three oxygen atoms into each molecule (O3). • If ozone did not filter most UV radiation and all of the sun’s UV rays reached the surface of Earth, our planet would be uninhabitable for many living organisms.
- 6. Composition of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Human Influence • Emissions from transportation vehicles account for nearly half the primary pollutants by weight.
- 8. Height and Structure of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics The atmosphere rapidly thins as you travel away from Earth until there are too few gas molecules to detect. • Atmospheric pressure is simply the weight of the air above. Pressure Changes
- 9. Atmospheric Pressure vs. Altitude
- 10. Height and Structure of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Temperature Changes • The atmosphere can be divided vertically into four layers based on temperature. • The troposphere is the bottom layer of the atmosphere where temperature decreases with an increase in altitude. • The stratosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where temperature remains constant to a height of about 20 kilometers. It then begins a gradual increase until the stratopause.
- 11. Snowy Mountaintops Contrast with Warmer Snow-Free Lowlands
- 12. Height and Structure of the Atmosphere 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Temperature Changes • The mesosphere is the layer of the atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere and is characterized by decreasing temperatures with height. • The thermosphere is the region of the atmosphere immediately above the mesosphere and is characterized by increasing temperatures due to the absorption of very short-wave solar energy by oxygen.
- 13. Thermal Structure of the Atmosphere
- 14. Earth-Sun Relationships 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Earth’s Motions • Earth has two principal motions—rotation and revolution. Earth’s Orientation • Seasonal changes occur because Earth’s position relative to the sun continually changes as it travels along its orbit.
- 15. Tilt of Earth’s Axis
- 16. Earth-Sun Relationships 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Solstices and Equinoxes • The summer solstice is the solstice that occurs on June 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and is the “official” first day of summer. • The winter solstice is the solstice that occurs on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and is the “official” first day of winter.
- 17. Earth-Sun Relationships 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics Solstices and Equinoxes • The autumnal equinox is the equinox that occurs on September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere. • The spring equinox is the equinox that occurs on March 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere.
- 18. Length of Daylight 17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics The length of daylight compared to the length of darkness also is determined by Earth’s position in orbit.
- 20. Energy Transfer as Heat 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Heat is the energy transferred from one object to another because of a difference in the objects’ temperature. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the individual atoms or molecules in a substance.
- 21. Energy Transfer as Heat 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Three mechanisms of energy transfer as heat are conduction, convection, and radiation. • Conduction is the transfer of heat through matter by molecular activity. Conduction • Convection is the transfer of heat by mass movement or circulation within a substance. Convection
- 22. Energy Transfer as Heat
- 23. Energy Transfer as Heat 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Electromagnetic Waves • The sun emits light and heat as well as the ultraviolet rays that cause a suntan. These forms of energy are only part of a large array of energy emitted by the sun, called the electromagnetic spectrum.
- 25. Visible Light Consists of an Array of Colors
- 26. Energy Transfer as Heat 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Radiation • Radiation is the transfer of energy (heat) through space by electromagnetic waves that travel out in all directions. • Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to travel through, radiant energy can travel through the vacuum of space.
- 27. Energy Transfer as Heat 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Radiation • All objects, at any temperature, emit radiant energy. • Hotter objects radiate more total energy per unit area than colder objects do. • The hottest radiating bodies produce the shortest wavelengths of maximum radiation. • Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good emitters as well.
- 28. What Happens to Solar Radiation? 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere When radiation strikes an object, there usually are three different results. 1. Some energy is absorbed by the object. 2. Substances such as water and air are transparent to certain wavelengths of radiation. 3. Some radiation may bounce off the object without being absorbed or transmitted.
- 29. Solar Radiation
- 30. What Happens to Solar Radiation? 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Reflection and Scattering • Reflection occurs when light bounces off an object. Reflection radiation has the same intensity as incident radiation. • Scattering produces a larger number of weaker rays that travel in different directions.
- 31. What Happens to Solar Radiation? 17.2 Heating the Atmosphere Absorption • About 50 percent of the solar energy that strikes the top of the atmosphere reaches Earth’s surface and is absorbed. • The greenhouse effect is the heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere from solar radiation being absorbed and emitted by the atmosphere, mainly by water vapor and carbon dioxide.
- 32. Why Temperatures Vary 17.3 Temperature Controls Factors other than latitude that exert a strong influence on temperature include heating of land and water, altitude, geographic position, cloud cover, and ocean currents.
- 33. Why Temperatures Vary 17.3 Temperature Controls Land and Water • Land heats more rapidly and to higher temperatures than water. Land also cools more rapidly and to lower temperatures than water.
- 34. Mean Monthly Temperatures for Vancouver and Winnipeg
- 35. Why Temperatures Vary 17.3 Temperature Controls Geographic Position • The geographic setting can greatly influence temperatures experienced at a specific location.
- 36. Mean Monthly Temperatures for Eureka and New York City
- 37. Mean Monthly Temperatures for Seattle and Spokane
- 38. Why Temperatures Vary 17.3 Temperature Controls Altitude • The altitude can greatly influence temperatures experienced at a specific location.
- 39. Mean Monthly Temperatures for Guayaquil and Quito
- 40. Why Temperatures Vary 17.3 Temperature Controls Cloud Cover and Albedo • Albedo is the fraction of total radiation that is reflected by any surface. • Many clouds have a high albedo and therefore reflect back to space a significant portion of the sunlight that strikes them.
- 41. Clouds Reflect and Absorb Radiation
- 42. World Distribution of Temperature 17.3 Temperature Controls Isotherms are lines on a weather map that connect points where the temperature is the same. • Isotherms generally trend east and west and show a decrease in temperatures from the tropics toward the poles.
Editor's Notes
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