1 / 18

Chapter One: The Atmosphere

Chapter One: The Atmosphere. Weather. Section 1: Characteristics of the Atmosphere. Composition of the atmosphere: made mostly of nitrogen and oxygen 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen Remaining 1% made up of: argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases.

azra
Download Presentation

Chapter One: The Atmosphere

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter One: The Atmosphere Weather

  2. Section 1: Characteristics of the Atmosphere • Composition of the atmosphere: • made mostly of nitrogen and oxygen • 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen • Remaining 1% made up of: argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases

  3. Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature • Atmosphere is held around Earth by gravity • Air pressure is strongest at Earth’s surface because more air is above you • As altitude increases air pressure decreases • Air temperature changes as altitude increases • Some parts are warmer because they contain a high % o gases that absorb solar energy • Other parts contain less of these gases and are cooler

  4. Layers of the Atmosphere • Thermosphere: the edge of the atmosphere • Mesosphere: the middle layer • Stratosphere: the home of the ozone layer • Troposphere: the layer in which we live • Look at figure 3 page 6

  5. Troposphere: • Densest layer • Contains almost 90% of the atmosphere’s total mass • Almost all the Earth’s carbon dioxide, water vapor, clouds, air pollution, weather, and life forms are in the troposphere

  6. Stratosphere: • Air is thin, contains little moisture • Lower stratosphere= extremely cold • Temp rises as the altitude increases • Stratosphere=in ozone layer • Ozone layer= protects life on Earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation

  7. Mesosphere: • Middle layer above atmosphere • Coldest layer • Temperature decreases as altitude increases • Temp can reach -93 degrees celsius

  8. Thermosphere: • Uppermost layer • Temp increases as altitude increases (particles moving very fast)

  9. Ionosphere: Home of the Auroras • Electrically charged particles=therefor called the ionosphere • In polar regions these ions radiate energy as shimmering lights called auroras

  10. Section Two: Atmospheric Heating • Energy in the atmosphere • Earth receives energy from the sun by radiation • Energy transferred by waves • Conduction: energy transfer by contact 1. thermal conduction 2. thermal energy is transferred from warm to cold areas • Convection: energy transfer by circulation 1. cycle of warm air rising and cool air sinking causes movement of air-convection current

  11. II. Greenhouse Effect • 70% of the radiation that enters the Earth’s atmosphere is absorbed by clouds and Earth’s surface-this is converted into thermal energy (energy that warms the planet) -short wave visible light is absorbed and reradiated into the atmosphere as long-wave thermal energy B. Atmosphere is like a blanket that traps enough energy to make Earth livable

  12. Radiation Balance: for Earth to be livable-energy received from sun and amount of energy returned to space must be approximately equal-the balance of incoming energy and outgoing energy is called the radiation balance • Increasing levels of greenhouse gases could cause a global warming

  13. Section 3 (p. 14)Global Winds and Local Winds • Wind= the movement of air caused by differences in air pressure • Air rises at the equator and sinks at the poles: -the equator receives more direct solar energy -the air at the equator is warmer/less dense -warm air rises and creates a low pressure area -the warm air flows towards the poles -the poles are colder and more dense so the air sinks -this creates an area of high pressure

  14. Pressure belts are found every 30 degrees • Air travels in many large circular patterns called convection cells • Convection cells are separated by pressure belts • Pressure belts=bands of high pressure and low pressure found at every 30 degrees latitude

  15. The Coriolis effect • Winds do not travel directly north or south because the Earth is rotating • The apparent curving of winds and ocean currents due to the Earth’s rotation is called the Coriolis effect

  16. Global Winds • The combination of convection cells found at every 30 degrees latitude and the Coriolis effect produces patterns of air circulations called global winds • The major global wind systems are: • Polar easterlies • Westerlies • Trade winds

  17. Jet Streams: atmospheric conveyer belts • Jet streams are narrow belts of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere

  18. Local Wind • Local winds move short distances and can blow from any direction • Shorelines or mountains can produce temperature differences that cause local winds • Mountain and valley breezes are other examples of local winds caused by an area’s geography

More Related