C01 intro to climate atmosphere and spheres.notebook
May 20, 2011
Unit 4 Earth and Space Science:
Climate Change
Overall Expectations
By the end of this course, students will:
• analyse some of the effects of climate change around the world, and assess the effectiveness of
initiatives that attempt to address the issue of climate change;
• investigate various natural and human factors that influence Earth’s climate and climate change;
• demonstrate an understanding of natural and human factors, including the greenhouse effect,
that influence Earth’s climate and contribute to climate change.
Weather versus Climate
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of________. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of _________, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of ________.
Climatologist is somebody who studies ___________________
Meteorologist is somebody who studies ____________________
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa­n/climate/climate_weather.html
for support info only
Spheres of the Earth
All the parts of the Earth can be divided into distinct spheres with unique characteristics. Each sphere's characteristics play a unique role in the development of our weather and climate.
Using the work bank below, fill in the correct definition for each of the following spheres of the earth.
rock
The ____________________ ("________ sphere") is the ground you are standing on Lithosphere and the whole inside of Earth.
water
Hydrosphere
The __________________ ("________ sphere") includes all of the rivers, lakes and oceans of Earth.
Cryosphere
The __________________ ("icy cold sphere") is the frozen part of Earth: the glaciers, icebergs at sea, and the huge icecaps in Greenland and Antarctica.
living
Biosphere
The_______________ ("_________ sphere") includes all living things: the trees in the park, the birds in the air, the fly on your wall, the viruses that make you sick, your pets, and even you and all your friends!
Atmosphere
The ________________ ("Air Sphere") is the envelope of air that surrounds the whole Earth. It is made up of mostly gas with very little parts of liquid water, frozen water and dust particles.
Dec 7­9:56 PM
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C01 intro to climate atmosphere and spheres.notebook
May 20, 2011
The Main Energy Source for our Planet
The _________ is the main energy source for our planet. Its energy travels through space in three forms of ____________________________________.
electromagnetic radiation
The three types are ___________________ ____________________ and infrared radiation
ultraviolet radiation
visible light
________________________. This energy interacts first with our atmosphere before it interacts with the lithosphere and the hydrosphere. All the energy is eventually re­
emitted as _____________________ radiation and interacts with our atmosphere for a infrared radiation
second time.
sun
The Layers of the Atmosphere
The atmosphere is divided into 4 regions based on the temperature, density, composition, and altitude
The Different Levels of the Atmosphere are:
Troposphere: This is the lowest atmospheric layer and is about 11 km thick. Most clouds and weather are found in the troposphere. The troposphere is thinner at the poles (averaging about 8km thick) and thicker at the equator (averaging about 16km thick). The temperature decreases with altitude.
Stratosphere: The stratosphere is found from about 11­48 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. In this region of the atmosphere is the ozone layer, which absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The temperature increases slightly with altitude in the stratosphere. The highest temperature in this region is about 0 degrees Celsius.
Mesosphere: The mesosphere is above the stratosphere. Here the atmosphere is very rarefied, that is, thin, and the temperature is decreasing with altitude, about ­90 Celsius at the top.
Thermosphere: The thermosphere starts at about 80 km. The temperature is quite hot; here temperature is not measured using a thermometer, but by looking at the motion and speed of the rarefied gases in this region, which are very energetic but would not affect a thermometer. Temperatures in this region may be as high as thousands of degrees.
http://www.theozonehole.com/atmosphere.htm
3 great videos and great information
Dec 7­10:26 PM
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C01 intro to climate atmosphere and spheres.notebook
May 20, 2011
May 20­12:08 PM
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C01 intro to climate atmosphere and spheres.notebook
May 20, 2011
The Composition of the Atmosphere
A planet's climate is decided by its mass, its distance from the sun and the composition of its atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases. Carbon dioxide accounts for just 0.03 ­ 0.04%. Water vapour, varying in amount from 0 to 2%, carbon dioxide and some other minor gases present in the atmosphere absorb some of the thermal radiation leaving the surface and emit radiation from much higher and colder levels out to space. These radiatively active gases are known as greenhouse gases because they act as a partial blanket for the thermal radiation from the surface and enable it to be substantially warmer than it would otherwise be, analogous to the effect of a greenhouse. This blanketing is known as the natural greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse gases, Earth's average temperature would be roughly ­20°C. T http://www.theozonehole.com/atmosphere.htm
Homework
1. Create a pie graph of the composition of the atmosphere. If you have excel or a similar program, try using it for this question.
2 a). Labels each layer of the atmosphere on the diagram; Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere.
b) Label the coldest atmospheric layer.
c) Label the hottest atmospheric layer.
d) Put an X where you live on the diagram.
e) Draw the following items at their proper altitude on the diagram.
1 690 000 ft
500 km
Satellite 400 km
Mount Everest 9 km
shooting star 80km
commercial airliner 12 km
ozone 20 km
hot air balloons 0.9 km
space station 400 km
Whistler Blackcomb Mountain 1.6 km
The Northern Lights 110 ­ 200 km
hikers 2.5 km max (rocky mountains)
most weather clouds occur below 6 km
May 19­8:54 AM
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