Atmosphere Surface Energy Balances Energy Essentials Input energy matter system storage conversion of energy and matter output energy matter Ultimate source of earth s energy o Electromagnetic radiation travels at the speed of light o The higher the energy the lower the frequency Transmission the passage of shortwave SW and longwave LW energy through either the atmosphere or water Diagram on pg 84 Some radiation hits the earth without being impeded direct radiation Diffuse radiation when shortwave radiation hits atmospheric gasses and diffuses but still hits the earth Insolation Incoming solar radiation o Radiation that reaches the earth Blue wavelengths are unable to pass back through the atmosphere causing the sky to appear blue to us At sunset the sun is really low so the blues and violets have father atmosphere over the horizon to travel through which is what causes the reds and oranges Scattering the deflection and redirection of insolation by atmospheric gasses dust ice and water vapor o The shorter the wavelength the greater the scattering The daytime sky appears blue due to the scattering of shorter wavelengths of visible light blue and violet o The longer the wavelength the less the scattering The sky at day dusk appears red orange due to the scattering out of the short wavelengths because there is more atmosphere the light has to travel through Atmosphere can also cause refraction the bending of light rays Ex putting a straw in water Refraction the bending effect on EM waves that occurs when insolation enters the atmosphere or other medium Albedo refers to the reflection of surfaces Light colored surfaces reflect more absorb less and vice versa Measured by reflected radiation W M 2 divided by incoming radiation multiplied by 100 for percent Ice generally has a very high albedo black top has a low albedo At higher altitudes the albedo is higher Deserts also have a higher albedo Clouds have a high albedo value reflecting a lot of radiation This is dependent largely on the type of cloud Cloud greenhouse forcing eventually all radiation that gets to the earth s surface eventually radiates back into the atmosphere In the winter at night it is colder when there are no clouds because there is no insulation Cloud albedo forcing the increase in albedo caused by clouds Cloud greenhouse forcing the increase in greenhouse warming caused by Mt Penetuba erupted in 1991 Once this eruption occurred all of the gasses etc aerosols travelled around the earth These pieces had a high albedo so there what a drop in temperatures Global dimming refers to the global decline in insolation as a result of The pollution increases atmospheric warming through absorption This pollution also reduces insolation reaching the surface leading to surface clouds pollution cooling Absorption assimilation of radiation of molecules of matter and conversion from one form of energy to another Conduction molecule to molecule transfer of heat energy as it diffuses through a substance Increasing collision of molecules due to increasing energy causes transfer of heat from warmer substances to cooler substances Convection the transfer of heat from one place to another through the physical movement of a fluid liquid or gas and involves vertical movement Energy Balance in the Troposphere Remember the Earth atmosphere energy system budget is balanced Inputs of solar energy outputs of longwave energy back to space There is however a slight delay in the loss of longwave radiation due to the ability of certain gases in atmosphere to absorb radiation The greenhouse effect the process by which atmospheric gases help to absorb and re emit longwave radiation back to the surface and into the atmosphere look at diagrams in book The earth is only receiving 1 2 billionths of the radiation that the sun is radiating The global average albedo is approximately 31 So 31 units are reflected back to space with no effect on the Earth system Atmospheric absorption accounts for 21 of incoming radiation Allows for the generation of atmospheric heat Absorption via ozone accounts for another 3 Approx 45 of insolation is received at the Earth s surface and is absorbed The 69 of the energy absorbed by the earth and atmosphere is eventually re emitted as longwave energy back to space Advection the horizontal movement of air like convection but convection is verticle the continual exchange of energy and moisture between the surface and atmosphere creates a variety of boundary layer climates Microclimatology the science of physical conditions at or near Earth s surface Net Radiation the balance of all radiation at Earth s surface accounts for the addition and subtraction of energy at the surface o Incoming and reflected SQ o Incoming and re emitted LW o Rn SWdown SWup LWdown LWup o SWdown insolation incoming shortwave radiation o SWup reflected shortwave radiation o LWdown incoming longwave radiation infrared radiation re remitted from atmosphere to surface o LWup outgoing longwave radiation infrared radiation emitted from The patterns of net radiation of the earth change over the course of the year Earth s surface depending on the earth s tilt Latent heat of evaporation LE heat energy stored in water Used to change a water s state from a liquid to gas This effectively removes that heat from the environment Amount of heat needed to change the state of water Sensible heat H the back and forth transfer between air and surface through conduction and convection causes temperature change that can be measured with a thermometer but does not cause phase change Urban surfaces are typically made of good absorbers so there is more energy at the surface Buildings block wind from carrying away heat and they block heat from being able to escape If it rains the water evaporates so it is more humid When there is high pollution