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AOSC 200 FINAL REVIEW 1 What is the carbon dioxide and hydrologic cycles What are the sources and sinks of each Carbon Dioxide Cycle The process by which carbon flows between the atmosphere land and ocean in a cycle that encompasses nearly all life and sets the thermostat for Earth s climate Sources Volcanoes Plant Animal Respiration Plant Decay Burning of Fossil Fuel Deforestation Sinks Plant Photosynthesis Oceans Carbonates Hydrological Cycle The continuous exchange of water amongst the reservoirs is known as the hydrological cycle Powered by the sun Evaporation and Transpiration Precipitation Water can be found in the oceans Glaciers rivers lakes the atmosphere soil and in the living tissue 2 What are the different ways energy is transferred in the atmosphere 3 What are the different ways energy is transferred in the atmosphere Conduction the process of heat transfer from molecule to molecule requires contact Example when we touch something to see if it is warm or cold o The ability of a substance to conduct heat by molecular motions is its thermal conductivity wood has low conductivity metal has high conductivity Conduction not efficient for transferring energy on a global scale only over small distances Convection the process of transferring energy vertically o Strong over deserts in the summer due to warming of sand Inefficient mode of transfer in the poles due to the surface air being cooler than the air above Advection horizontal transport of energy in the atmosphere Fluid Motion o Warm Advection when warm air replaces cooler air Cold advection is the opposite Latent Heating the heat absorbed or released per unit mass when water changes phases Latent heat of melting energy absorbed by water to change ice to liquid water Latent heat of fusion amount of energy released to the environment when water freezes Latent heat of vaporization amount of heat required to evaporate liquid water Latent heat of condensation the amount of energy released when water vapor condenses to liquid form Deposition Phase change from gas to solid Sublimation Phase change from solid to gas Sublimation Evaporation and Melting are all cooling processes removes energy from the atmosphere Condensation Freezing and Deposition are warming processes add energy to atmosphere Radiative Heat Transfer Earth receives energy from Sun Solar radiation electromagnetic radiation from Sun which is concentrated in visible wavelengths form of radiant energy energy in the form of waves that are not composed of matter 3 Why does the earth have seasons Why are the poles cold and the equator is hot Why is daylight longer in summer than winter Seasons The Earth s tilt not the distance from the sun causes the seasons The tilt is referred to as the angle of inclination As the Earth orbits around the sun in an ellipse shape the distribution of sunlight changes on the Earth s surface at a given latitude Solstice Sun s rays strike the equator at an angle of 23 5 degrees June 21 Dec 21 Equinox Sun s rays strike the equator at an angle of 90 degrees March 21 Sept 22 All locations on Earth experience both 12 hours of daylight and darkness Solar Zenith Angle the angle at which the Sun s energy strikes a particular location on Earth 0 degrees when Sun is directly overhead and increases as Sun sets until Sun is on the horizon and the angle is 90 degrees A larger zenith angle means more solar energy is distributed over a larger area thus it receives less energy This is because the Sun s energy must pass through more atmosphere giving solar energy more change of atmospheric absorption The further poleward you travel the more daylight you have during the summer and the fewer daylight hours in the winter Poles Cold Energy deficit More radiation goes out than comes in Equator hot energy surplus More solar radiation comes in than goes out Balanced by Latitudinal Heat Balance because heat is transported from the equator to the poles by the ocean currents the Gulf stream and by the atmosphere Daylight The length of the day also varies with season Also a result of the inclination of the earth 4 What is the greenhouse effect From the notes Is caused by the Earth s surface being heated by shortwave and longwave absorption emitted by gases such as water vapor and CO2 in the atmosphere If it did not occur the Earth surface would be 60 degrees F cooler than it is today Long wave radiation is remitted by greenhouse gases back to the earth s surface 5 What factors control a region s annual daily temperature range Daily Annual Latitude Angle of inclination affects incoming solar energy and causes the seasonal cycle in temperature The amount of energy at the top of the atmosphere is called Insolation Higher insolation Higher temperatures Insolation levels affected by latitude Surface Type Because the atmosphere is heated by the Earth s surface the surface type plays an important role in the surface air temperature Elevation and Aspect Higher altitude generally has colder temps b c the air is less dense and there are fewer molecules to absorb incoming solar radiation Aspect is the direction that a mountain slope faces south facing slopes receive more solar energy and are warmer than north facing Large Bodies of Water Act to thermally stabilize the temperature of the surrounding air so that differences between months are reduced Due to water s high specific heat more heat required to increase the temperature of water and it cools down much slower than land Temperature of nearby water also modifies a region s temperature Cloud Cover clouds reflect and absorb solar energy They reduce the amount of solar radiation at the surface causing daytime cooling and have a warming effect which can be very pronounced at night when they emit longwave radiation toward the surface Interannual AVERAGE OR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ANOMALIES VOLCANOES EL NINO LA NINA 6 How does temperature and relative humidity change throughout the day How are these two variables related What happens to RH as temps increase decrease Why Relative humidity changes as daily temperature changes Adding water vapor or cooling the air or both increases relative humidity while removing water vapor warming the air or both decrease relative humidity Saturation Vapor Pressure increases rapidly as temperature increases because the speed of the molecules is increased and the number of molecules with enough kinetic energy to evaporate also increases Relative humidity indicates how closely the air is to


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UMD AOSC 200 - FINAL REVIEW

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