NS3310 – Physical Science Studies

1. NS3310 – Physical Science Studies Atmosphere and Oceans

2. Heat and Temperature Warm Water • What will happen when I place a jar of • warm water on top of a jar of cold • water? • What will happen when I place a jar of • salty water on top of a jar of fresh • water? Cold Water Salt Water Fresh Water

3. Key Questions • What is heat? What is thermal energy? What is temperature? Is there a difference? • How does heat move around? • Why do some things feel hot and others cold? • How do substances change their state of matter? How is heat involved? • What are the laws of thermodynamics? • What is entropy?

4. Kinetic Energy of Molecules • Solids • Fluids • Liquids • Gases • Plasmas

5. Temperature • Temperature measures the kinetic energy of molecules (this is external energy) • Fahrenheit • Celsius • Kelvin (absolute zero)

6. Thermal Energy • Thermal energy is the internal energy of a molecule • Heat is a measure of the internal energy that has been absorbed or transferred from one body to another • Heat is measured in calories (c) or British Thermal Units (BTUs)

7. Specific Heat and Latent Heat • Specific heat changes the temperature of an object • Latent heat changes the phase of the material • For example: Ice to Water to Steam

8. Phase Transitions • Latent Heat of Fusion / Melting • Latent Heat of Vaporization / Condensation • Relative Humidity

9. Heat Flow • Radiation • Conduction • Convection

10. Thermodynamics • The First Law of Thermodynamics • Applied Law of Energy Conservation • W = J(QH – QL) • The Second Law of Thermodynamics • Heat always flows from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration • Entropy

11. Perpetual Motion Machine? • Perpetual Motion Machines • Free Energy • Other Scams

12. Why Should We Worry About Pseudoscience?

13. Key Concepts • Thermal energy is the internal and external energy of atoms. • Heat is the transfer of thermal of energy between atoms. • Temperature is a measurement of the kinetic energy of molecules. • Adding heat energy to substances makes their temperature rise (specific heat). • To change the state of a substance requires even more heat (latent heat). • Heat can be transferred by radiation, conduction and convection. • Entropy describes the total energy of a system and tells us that we cannot get more energy out of a system than we put into it.

14. Float Your Boat  • You must build a boat from only one piece of construction paper. • Your boat must be able to hold a cargo of marbles. • The boat that can hold the most marbles wins 

15. Earth’s Waters • Where does earth’s water come from? • Weather and Climate • Water and the environment

16. Water’s Special Properties • Polarity • Surface Tension • Density (specific gravity) • Adhesion • Specific Heat Capacity

17. Buoyancy • Buoyancy is the upward force of water on an object completely or partially immersed. The force is equal to the weight of the water displaced. • Archimedes Principle

18. Water in all its forms • Oceans • Lakes and Ponds • Rivers and Streams • Groundwater • Glaciers

19. The Atmosphere • Layers of the Atmosphere • Troposphere • Stratosphere • Ionosphere • Mesosphere • Thermosphere • Exosphere • Composition of the Atmosphere • Nitrogen • Oxygen • Water Vapor • Carbon Dioxide

20. Water in the Atmosphere • Humidity • Dew Point • Clouds • Cumulus • Stratus • Cirrus

21. Water Cycle

22. Groundwater • Aquifers • Artesian Wells • Caves • Karst Topography

23. Oceans • Physical Oceanography • Chemical Oceanography • Geological Oceanography • Biological Oceanography

24. Physical Oceanography • Thermohaline Circulation • AABW • ABW • Coriolis Effect • Currents • Gyres

25. Ocean Waves • Waves • The Water Isn’t Moving (how ocean waves work) • Refraction (why ocean waves break) • Longshore Current • Tides

26. Chemical Oceanography • Salinity • Heat Budget • Residence Time

27. Biological Oceanography • Plankton • Nekton • Diurnal Migration • Match-Mismatch Hypothesis • Benthos • Marine Snow • Photic Zone • Thermocline

28. Geological Oceanography • Ocean Floor • Ocean Ridge System • Trenches • Seamounts • Shorelines • Humid • Arid • Estuaries • Sea Level • Sequence Stratigraphy

29. Ocean Floor • Continental Shelf • Continental Slope • Submarine Canyons • Deep Sea Fans • Marginal Plateaus • Continental Rise • Abyssal Floor • Abyssal Plains • Abyssal Hills • Abyssal Rise • Seamounts

30. Ocean Floor • Ocean Ridge System • Mid-Ocean Ridges • Rift Valleys • Deep Sea Trenches • Subduction Zones • Back-Arc Basins • Clastic Wedges

31. Coastlines • Siliciclastic Coasts • Humid • Sediment Supply • Carbonate Coasts • Arid • Evaporation

32. Shoreline Features • Wave Deposition • Beaches • Barrier Islands • Peninsulas • Spits • Bars • Hummocks • Wave Erosion • Wave-Cut Notch • Sea-Cliffs • Wave-Cut Platforms • Sea-Stacks

33. Humid Coastlines • Barrier Islands • Estuaries • Bays • Lagoons • Marshes • Salt Marsh • Brackish Marsh • Fresh Marsh • Swamps • Coastal Prairie

34. The Future of the Gulf Coast • Global Warming • Sea-Level Rise • Barrier Island Migration • Environmental Engineering

35. Key Concepts • Most of the earth’s water is in the oceans. • The water cycle describes the movement of water between the earth’s atmosphere and oceans • Oceans are salty because of the weathering and erosion of rocks on land. • Acids in water can form caves and Karst topography. • The ocean floor is formed by the processes of plate tectonics. • Coastal features differ in humid and arid regions, as do beaches. • Humid coasts rely on sediment supply to balance wave and tidal erosion. • The Gulf coast is starved of sediment and is therefore vulnerable to erosion and subsidence.

36. Today’s Weather

37. Weather • Key Questions • What is weather? • What is climate? • What role does heat play in earth’s weather? • Can we predict the weather? • What are weather patterns? • How is weather distributed across the earth? • Is earth’s climate changing?

38. Remember • Water Cycle • Water in the Atmosphere • Humidity • Dew Point • Clouds • Cumulus • Stratus • Cirrus

39. Air Masses • Continental • Polar • Tropical • Maritime • Polar • Tropical

40. Fronts

41. Weather Maps • Isobars • Weather Arrows

42. Air Pressure

43. Storms • Thunder Storms • Tornadoes • Hurricanes

44. Global Wind Patterns

45. Ocean Currents

46. Climate

47. Key Concepts • Weather is the pattern of temperature, precipitation and wind on the earth’s surface. • Climate is weather over time. • Weather changes daily and seasonally while climate changes over decades and centuries. • The distribution of heat on the earth’s surface drives weather patterns. • Changes in the weather can be predicted, but it is difficult since weather is chaotic.