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| refers to the earths lower atmosphere |
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| the gaseous form of water, can compose up to 4% of air, depending on the air's humidity and altitude |
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-a relatively scarce type of oxygen molecule in which three oxygen atoms are bonded together
-helps protect the earth's surface from the sun's intense ultraviolet radiation |
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| is vital to humans and most animal life |
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| is more than 50 miles above the earth's surface |
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| averages about 3.5*F per 1000 feet of altitude |
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| upper boundary of the troposphere |
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-layer immediately above the tropopause, it stretches from the tropopause to an altitude about 31 miles
-has strong stready winds but few changes in weather, it is usually free of clouds and water vapor |
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-within the stratosphere, extends from 10 to 30 miles above the earth's surface
-acts as a "sheild" to protect the earth's surface from the dangerous effects of the sun's ultraviolet radiation |
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| causes tanning and sunburn, partially absorbed by the ozone layer, allowing some of it to reach the earth's surface |
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the most powerful and dangerous
oceans and volcanoes destroys the ozone layers |
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| next layer, extends to 53 mithe surface of earth |
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| is the coldest point in the atmosphere |
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high temperatures, temperatures may exceed 3000*F
it is the hottest |
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-part of mesophere and thermosphere
-mostly composed of ions
-acts like a giant mirror, "bouncing" certain types of radio waves back down toward the ground |
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| the region of the earth's magnetic field that is influenced, by the solar wind |
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| when particles react with the atmosphere's molecules, they produce colorful streaks in the sky |
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| Van Allen radiation belts |
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| discovered the inner belt in 1958 |
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| normally equal to 14.7 pounds per square inch at sea level |
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| obtains heat from the solar energy that reaches the earth (although some of the solar energy is reflected back into space |
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| is the transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves |
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waves that include radio waves and waves of light
whole spectrum of waves |
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| the decimal equivalent of solar radiation reflected by an object |
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the solar energy that does reach the surface of the earth
incoming solar radiation |
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| abreviated W, measures the amount of energy that something gains, loses, or uses in one second |
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| four things to insolation |
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-cloudy weather reduces the amount of insolation by as much as 85%
-length of daytime
-by the angle of the sun's ray
-earth's distance from the sun also affects |
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| energy that enters the earth's atmosphere and is not reflected becomes part of Earth's _________, the amount of energy available to heat the earth's land, water, and air |
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| process of trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere |
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| water vapor, carbon dioxide, and several other gases |
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| the most important and abundant gas in the greenhouse |
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| occurs well after noon (about 3 PM over land and 5 PM over the sea) |
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insolation warms water much more slowly than it warms land
water holds heat longer than land does |
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| transfer of heat by direct contact between two objects |
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| heat transferred to your hand is an example of heat transfer by moving currents of hot air (or of other fluids) |
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| heating by the earth's surface produces by vertical movements of air |
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| horizontal movements of air |
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| gas being compressed undergoes in which temperature of a gas rises as the gas is compressed with no heat lost (no heat leaves the confined gases) |
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| if no heat is added, temperature of a gas drops as it expands |
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| is allowed, air will always go from a region of higher pressure toward a region of lower pressure |
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-toward regions of low pressure or winds blow away
-they blow away from regions of high pressure |
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| at the equator and poles produces convection currents on global scale |
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| convection cells that exists between the equator and latitude 30* named after George Hadley who in 1735 first described the main features of tropical circulation |
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| unlike in the other two convection cells, the winds are caused by the pressure differences between these two latitudes |
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| the way in which the earth's rotation causes a change in the course of the winds |
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-the tendency for matter to stay at rest if at rest or continue moving if in motion
-makes an object tend to keep the same condition of motion with which it started out |
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hurricane
goes counterclockwise |
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| ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) |
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| regions of high pressure and gentle winds at 30* north and south latitude |
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| surface winds that blow from the high pressure regions of the horse latitudes toward the equator |
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| winds in the Northern and Southern hemispheres |
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| these winds blow toward the poles, they "outrun" the earth's surface so that they come out of the southwest or northwest |
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| high altitude winds are concentrated in narrow, meandering bands of rapidly moving air |
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| seasonal change in wind directions |
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| that reverse their direction from season to season |
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| cooler air from over the water blows inland during the afternoon |
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| blows from the land to the sea |
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| warm air over the open terrain rises, cooler air from under the trees moves into the area of lower pressure |
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| the state of atmosphere at a certain time and place |
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| the year round weather typical of a certain place |
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| the study of weather and of the atmospheric conditions that produce weather |
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| the water in the air is evaporating at the same rate that it is condensing |
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