The Earth and Climate Chapter 1 Unit D

Objectives distinguish between weather and climate describe the major characteristics of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere as part of the biosphere will define inversions

Weather vs. Climate What’s the Difference?

Weather vs. Climate Weather – conditions of temperature, air pressure, cloud cover, precipitation (rain or snow), and humidity Occur at a particular place and time

Weather vs. Climate Climate – average weather conditions that occur in a region over a long period of time (min. 30 years) Ex. Climate of Alberta: average temp in summer = 14 °C – 20 °C average annual precipitation = 442 mm

Telling the difference Identify the following statements as examples of weather or of climate: 1) today is very hot 2) we usually get a lot of rain this time of year PICTURES

Climographs Shows information about the average precipitation and temperature for an area Line Graph – Temperature Bar Graph – Amount of Precipitation

London, England

Rome, Italy

Climograph - Toronto

Climograph - Whitehorse

Analyze the two Charts with a Neighbour about the two Climates, look for similar patterns

We will go into more detail shortly about how these relate to the biomes, but let’s talk about the components of the biosphere.

The Earth’s Spheres Use the link provided to research one of the following that you are assigned. (Use your phones for this one!) http://www.agci.org/classroom/index.php Atmosphere Biosphere Hydrosphere Geosphere Cryosphere After getting your own ideas, you will put your ideas together with a group who is researching the same topic You will share your ideas with the class after 5 minutes of working with your groups.

The Atmosphere Rises over 500 km from surface of Earth Mixture of gases Most abundant gas is? Second most abundant? How are these gases used by living things? Also contains atmospheric dust Very small Include soot, pollen, micro-organisms

Atmosphere

% Composition of Gas on Venus

Compare Venus vs Earth Can people live on Venus? Explain what you think!

The Atmosphere Broken up into 4 layers (determined by average air temperature) Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Found at different altitudes Distance above Earth’s surface from sea level

Check out the Interactive Atmosphere: http://www. glencoe Check out the Interactive Atmosphere: http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_ labs/ES14/ES14.html

Think about it! Why is it getting colder as we go higher in the atmosphere?

Altitude and Temperature Altitude- distance above the Earth’s surface In troposphere, tend to decrease temperature with altitude This trend can be reversed Inversion- reversal of normal temperature in the troposphere May trap unusually cold air close to the ground Happens more often near mountains Can trap pollutants

Troposphere 0 – 10 km from Earth’s surface Average temp. = 15 °C (at surface)  - 60 °C (decreases) 80% of atmospheric gases by mass Layer which supports life Most CO2, water vapor and atmospheric dust Layer where most weather occurs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqo9UhLNn04&featu re=related (Bill Nye)

Stratosphere Above troposphere 10 km – 50 km above surface Temperature increases away from surface - 60 °C  0 °C Contains most ozone (O3(g)) making the ozone layer Ozone captures energy from Sun, increasing temp. with altitude

Mesosphere Third layer Temperature range: 0 °C  - 100 °C Very little gas

Thermosphere Farthest layer Temperature range: -100 °C  1500 °C (increases) due to higher concentration of solar radiation Very little gas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CerJbZ- dm0&feature=related

The Biosphere The biosphere –the sphere of life http://www.agci.org/classroom/biosphere/index.php

Can you think of areas in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere that are NOT part of the biosphere?

The Biosphere Thin layer of Earth with conditions suitable for supporting life Composed of all living things on Earth and physical environment supporting them Biotic part – living component Abiotic part – non-living component

The Biosphere Three interacting abiotic components: Atmosphere – layer of gases surrounding the Earth Lithosphere/Geosphere – solid portion of Earth (rocks, minerals and elements) Hydrosphere – all water on Earth (liquid, vapor, and ice) (97% salt water) Cryosphere - All the frozen Water on the Globe

The Biosphere Environmental conditions arise from interactions of these components with the Sun and interactions between the components Creates climate

Lithosphere/Geosphere Solid portion of Earth floating above semi-fluid upper mantle Extends from Earth’s surface to 100 km below Runs under continents and oceans Warmed mainly by the Sun and a little bit by molten mantle Differences in the lithosphere (i.e. amount of albedo) can affect amount of atmospheric water vapour, as well as our environmental conditions Portion life exists on is the crust

Lithosphere

Lithosphere The crust is the part of the lithosphere that life exists on, and is eggshell thin

Hydrosphere Water! 97% is salt water in oceans 3% fresh water  can be in lakes, streams or frozen (most fresh water is snow and glaciers, or ground water) Amount of water stays the same Warmed mainly by Sun

Cryosphere What is the cryosphere? The cryosphere is the sum of frozen water around the globe. By volume, the perennial ice-containing cold regions of the world are dominated by the continental ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Sea ice and snow, have much less volume but are large in areal extent. Ice sheets, snow, and sea ice play a critical role in the Earth's climate.

Interactions How do the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere interact? In pairs, brainstorm some ways they interact. We will be making a class list of the interactions you came up with