Intro to the Atmosphere

Weather: General condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Climate: General weather conditions over many years. What was the high temperature in January? A)71 B)25 C)20 D) 1

Weather versus Climate Weather Climate

ATMOSPHERIC Composition

MIXTURE OF GASES  COMPOSITION  Major  1- 78% Nitrogen N 2  2- 21% Oxygen O 2

Oxygen removed from atmosphere by: (6 ways)  living things  burning  weathering of rocks

Question  The Most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere is? Nitrogen

Oxygen added to atmosphere by one way!

 Minor but very important  3-.93% Argon Ar  4-.03% Carbon dioxide CO 2  % water vapor H 2 O

 TRACE ELEMENTS  Ne neon  He helium  H 2 hydrogen  Kr krypton  Xe xenon O3O3 OZONE- protects us from harmful ultraviolet light

Minor but very important:.07 %

Atmospheric dust: known as "particulates," although the total suspended particulate matter found in the atmosphere can be both solid particles or liquid droplets. Added:  Soil blown by wind  Ash from fires  Volcanoes  Micro organisms Important:  Needed for cloud formation

Nitrogen activity (cycle)

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE  CLASSIFIED BY TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES

TROPOSPHERE 1. TROPOSPHERE -greatest air pressure -all clouds and weather -jet stream lies at the top

2. STRATOSPHERE  Airplanes fly here (try to)  little temperature change  has the greatest concentration of the OZONE

question  Where in our atmosphere does weather occur?  Troposphere!!!

3. MESOSPHERE  Coldest layer  meteors burn up here

4. THERMOSPHERE (ionosphere)  “Hottest” layer  fewest air particles  contains the ionosphere  a layer of charged particles  reflects radio waves around the world  helps to produce the auroras(northern lights)

Air pressure- weight of the atmosphere 1.Caused by gravity lbs/ sq.in at sea level

Solar Energy and your atmosphere

Electromagnetic spectrum: Complete range of wavelengths.

Question:  In order for electromagnetic waves (EM) to reach the Earth’s surface what must it travel through first? a)Earth’s Geosphere b)Earth’s Hydrosphere c)Earth’s Atmosphere d)Earth’s Asthenosphere

Em waves path to Earth:  Nitrogen and Oxygen absorb short wave lengths.  X-rays  Gamma rays  Occurs in Thermosphere and Mesosphere

Scattering: water droplets and dust bend rays

Pair-share  Why is the sky blue? a)Because most of the earth is water so it reflects the blue color b)Scattering of blue wavelengths by water and dust c)Reflection of blue wavelengths from blue surfaces such as our oceans d)It is the color of our atmosphere reflected down from the suns rays

Albedo: the fraction of solar radiation reflected by a particular substance.  20% absorbed  By atmosphere  30% reflected  by clouds or Earth’s surface  50% absorbed  by the Earth’s surface

Greenhouse effect: Not bad! Helps maintain Earth’s temperature.

Greenhouse factors (write under diagrams) Natural  Water vapor  Water cycle  Methane CH 4  Breaking down dead organisms  Nitrous Oxide N 2 0  Nitrogen cycle  Carbon Dioxide CO 2  Carbon cycle Anthropogenic  Water vapor  Over usage/ waste of surface water (steam)  Methane  Burning/ emissions  Nitrous oxide  Chemicals  Carbon dioxide  burning

Uneven heating: Maritime/Continental Maritime  Regions near water masses. (coastal regions) Continental  Regions with large areas of land (mid-west)

Clicker  Climate change is responsible for warming which layer of Earth’s Atmosphere? a)Troposphere b)Mesosphere c)Stratosphere d)All of the above e)None of the above

In your notes: Describe 3 things that influence temperature.

Latitude

Uneven heating: Maritime/Continental Maritime  Regions near water masses. (coastal regions) Continental  Regions with large areas of land (mid-west)

Factors that affect Temperature LatitudeElevation Maritime Continental

Solar energy transfer Radiation Warms solid objects (conduction) Warm gases rise from surface Convection Cool gases fall warming the atmosphere Convection

Explain the delay using your diagram Daily...the most intense radiation hits Earth at ______pm, but the warmest time is at _______ pm. Yearly...the most intense radiation hits Earth in _________, but the warmest months are ___________.

Diagram and label the fate of solar radiation  1 st label the layers of the atmosphere  2 nd label how each wavelength of the EM spectrum are affected by those layers

Air pollution  Any substance in the atmosphere that is harmful to living organisms or to property.  Sulfur dioxide  Carbon monoxide  Lead  Hydrocarbons  Burning coal