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Understanding the Atmosphere: Composition, Structure, and Effects

Explore the composition, structure, and impact of the Earth's atmosphere, including the ozone problem, weather versus climate, Coriolis effect, and more in this comprehensive guide.

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Understanding the Atmosphere: Composition, Structure, and Effects

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  1. Chapter 3 Introduction to the Atmosphere Physical Geography A Landscape Appreciation, 9/e Animation Edition Victoria Alapo, Instructor Geog 1150

  2. Introduction to the Atmosphere • Composition of the Atmosphere • Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere • The Ozone Problem • Weather and Climate • The Coriolis Effect

  3. Composition of the Atmosphere • Gases • Particulates • The gases that make up “air”. • Permanent and variable gases, pg 56. • some of these are “greenhouse gases”.

  4. Atmospheric Particulates (Aerosols) • Tiny solid and liquid particles (non-gaseous particles) • - Effects on weather and climate • Sources include (natural & human): • Ice, pollen, volcanic ash, salt sprayed by oceans, wind-blown soil, meteor debris, smoke from wild-fires. • Emissions (auto & factories), soot, etc • They affect weather and climate in 2 ways: • - they are hygroscopic, i.e. they attract water, so water molecules form around them. • they can decrease the amt of solar energy reaching Earth, like ash during a volcanic eruption (see Pompei pictures). • Fig. 3-4, pg 57

  5. Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere • Temperature • Pressure • Composition

  6. Thermal Layers of the Atmosphere • Know how temperatures increase or decrease in each layer. Pg 58 • The top of each layer ends with a “pause”.

  7. Troposphere Our weather occurs here Fig. 3-6a and b; pg 59

  8. Atmospheric Pressure • Pressure • Decreases with increasing altitude, pg 60

  9. Table 3-2: Atmospheric Pressure at Various Altitudes (Expressed as a percentage of sea-level pressure) • Air pressure decreases with increasing altitude but not at a constant rate

  10. Atmospheric Composition • Homosphere • Zone of uniform distribution of gases (think “pie graph” on first slide) • Heterosphere • - Zone of layers • - Gases are in layers according to molecular weights

  11. Fig. 3-11 Special layers Ozonosphere – the ozone layer, 9 to 30 miles up. Although not only ozone is found here. Pg 61. Ionosphere – layer of electrically charged molecules & atoms (ions). 40 to 250 miles up. Impt for radio waves. Fig. 3-10: Aurora Borealis in the Ionosphere

  12. Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

  13. The Ozone Problem • Natural Atmospheric Ozone • Destruction of Ozone by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) • The Antarctic Ozone Hole, pg 64

  14. Natural Ozone

  15. Ozone Destruction by CFCs

  16. Weather and Climate • Weather describes temporary atmospheric conditions e.g. current temperature, precipitation, wind speed, etc. for a short period of time. • On the other hand, Climate is the aggregate of weather conditions, usually over a long period of at least30 years. • So weather & climate are related but not synonymous. • Elements of Weather and Climate • Controls of Weather and Climate

  17. Elements of Weather and Climate Elements used for measuring weather & climate

  18. Controls of Weather and Climate • The reasons why weather & climate vary all over earth. • Although each is discussed separately, there’s a lot of overlap in real life. • See next slides.

  19. Latitude and Available Solar Energy Long vs. short rays

  20. Distribution of Land & Water • Oceans heat & cool more slowly than landmasses. • Maritime (coastal areas) experience milder temperatures than continental areas, in both summer & winter. • E.g. Seattle, WA vs. Fargo, ND.

  21. General Circulation of the Atmosphere

  22. General Circulation of the Oceans Transfers heat and cool water around the globe, and affects neighboring continents. E.g. The coast of Namibia (Africa) is cold, in spite of it’s latitude.

  23. Elevation (Altitude) The higher you go, the cooler it becomes, and vice-versa (at least in the troposphere).

  24. Topographic Barriers See caption, pg 69. Differences on the same island!

  25. Storms They create specialized weather conditions, so they are regarded as a control.

  26. The Coriolis Effect Because of the Earth’s rotation, any object moving freely tends to be deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, to the left in the Southern Hemisphere Significance Winds Ocean currents Airplanes, missiles, and even ships, pg 70-71. Animation Fig. 3-23, showing planned route of wind, and actual movement.

  27. Coriolis Effect (Summary) Definition An apparent deflection of any freely moving object from its expected (straight) path Four basic points to note: Apparent deflection is to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Apparent deflection is greatest at the poles, progressively less toward the equator, where there is zero deflection. The effect is proportional to the speed of the object, so a fast-moving object is deflected more than a slower one. The effect influences the direction of movement, not the speed. It seems to not have an effect on toilet bowls, sinks, etc (pg 72).

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