ATMO 336 1st Edition Lecture 31 Outline of Last Lecture II. Factors affecting climate changea. Latitudeb. Elevationc. Proximity to large bodies of waterd. Ocean currentse. Soil moisturef. Humidityg. Cloud coverIII. Nature of the surfaceIV. Anthropogenic influencesI. Daily temperature variation in desert climates Outline of Current Lecture V. How radiation is emitted when in contact with mattera. Transmittedb. Scatteredc. AbsorbedVI. Why clouds look white, why sunsets look redVII. HazeVIII. Visibility reduced in two waysa. Aerosols scatter or absorb lightb. Aerosols scatter extra light into direction you are lookingCurrent Lecture- Radiation emitted by one object (stream of photons) travels through space. When it encounters matter, it can be:o Transmitted= pass through unaffectedo Scattered= changed the direction it is moving (includes reflection)o Absorbed= energy delivered to the matter, often goes into heating the matter. Once absorbed, the radiation (photon) no longer exists- When our eyes are hit with nearly equal radiation energy at all visible wavelengths, we perceive the color whiteo Clouds look white because cloud droplets scatter visible wavelengths equallyo Sky looks blue because some of the visible light from the sun is scattered by air moleculesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Shorter wavelengths (blue) are scattered more efficiently than longer wavelengths (red)- Snow reflects most visible radiation, but absorbs the most infrared radiation- Red sunsetso At noon, short path through the atmosphere, enough of all colors get through that the sun looks whiteo At sunset, long path through the atmosphere, much of the blue light scattered out of theline of sight, so sun looks reddish- Haze= aerosols that limit visibility because they scatter and/or absorb visible light, usually all colors (wavelengths equal)o Many haze aerosols swell or expand as the relative humidity increases= reducing visibility (this is why haze is often in more humid conditions)- Visibility reduced in two ways:o 1. Aerosols scatter or absorb light that you want to see2. Aerosols scatter extra light into the direction you are looking, making it difficult to distinguish the object you want to
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