...8.3 The Sun Powers Earth`s Climate System Homework - Thursday 09/06/12 pg. 329 #1-6 1. Explain how the ocean interacts with the Sun’s radiation. The ocean interacts with the Sun’s radiation by reflecting and absorbing the Sun’s radiation. I think the ocean absorbs the radiation because depending on the season the area by the mass of water is about 1°C or 2°C difference in temperature proving the ocean does absorb the Sun’s radiation. Although it absorbs heat I also thing the ocean has a medium albedo. The ocean is light coloured/clear, and is a different form of ice which has the highest albedo. Therefore the ocean interacts with the Sun’s radiation by reflecting and absorbing the heat energy. 2. The amount of energy Earth absorbs is equal to the amount of energy it radiates. Why is this important? Explain your answer. It’s important that the amount of energy Earth absorbs is equal to the amount of energy it radiates because on Earth we need to keep the temperature at a sustainable temperature, meaning the Earth can’t be too hot or too cold. For there to be a sustainable environment the Earth needs to maintain a healthy temperature for human life, and other life. By equally absorbing and reflecting the radiation from the Sun Earth is able to support life, this is very important. 3. The Sun shines continuously on Earth. Explain why Earth does not keep warming up. Even though the Sun shines continuously on Earth, the Earth doesn’t keep warming up because...
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...Atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%. The atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing altitude, with no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. Structure of the atmosphere Principal layers of the atmosphere The atmosphere of the Earth may be divided into several distinct layers, as the following figure indicates. [pic] Troposphere The troposphere is where all weather takes place. The air pressure at the top of the troposphere is only 10% of that at sea level (0.1 atmospheres).The troposphere begins at the surface and extends to between 7 km at the poles and 17 km at the equator, with some variation due to weather. The troposphere is mostly heated by transfer of energy from the surface, so on average the lowest part of the troposphere is warmest and temperature decreases with altitude. The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of the atmosphere. The tropopause is the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere. Stratosphere Above the...
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...3. The four ways to compare countries are population, wealth, size, and language. This is important to geographers because they can compare countries and to know there attractions. 4. Population density is the amount of people within 1 km2. If Canada's population is 31000000 and the area is 9922000 km2, the population density would be 3.12 people per 2 km2.(divide population by area) 5. The six main features of a map is the legend, borders, directions, colours, title, and date. Three types of maps are mental map, road maps, and mine maps. The three main map projections are Polar, Mercator, and Equal area. Mercator has a rectangular outline, good direction, and good shape. Equal area has an oval area, good size, and shows the whole earth. Polar has latitude lines are circle, circular outline, and shows part of the hemisphere. 6. The four coordinate directions are North, South, East, and West. The ordinal directions area Northeast,Southeast, Southwest, Northwest. 7. The three different types of grid systems are military, longitude and latitude, and alphanumeric. Latitude and longitude grids are used to pin point any place in the world. Military grids are use for pin pointing in smaller areas. Alphanumeric grids are like battle ship. Latitude and longitude grids are the inky fog rid that can really pin point you to any place in the world. 8. Three characteristics of latitude are horizontal, separates the North and South hemisphere, they are 180 degrees of latitude...
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...Paola “The Cause and Effects of Climate Change” The alteration of our climate nowadays has been very evident due to climate change. It has been affecting our lives in many different ways. And It is one of the biggest problems our world has been facing. What is Climate Change? A change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century on wards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. There are two main causes of climate change. The first one is Natural Cause. Volcanic eruption is one of the examples. When a volcano erupts, it release big amounts of sulfur dioxide and dust particles in the air, will then travel to the atmosphere and will block the incoming sun rays and will lead to cooling of the atmosphere of the earth. Another example is the ocean current. It happens when the winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns, as well the movement of carbon dioxide affects. Moreover, another cause is the earth`s orbital changes. It happens due of tilting of the earth that affects the severity of the seasons. Second is Human Activity. Natural Resources are being used extensively for constructions of industries, transport and other establishment that causes greenhouse gas to rise which results to the warming of the earth surface. And the effects of climate change the first one is our human health...
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...Weather is the most important consequence of climate change. The world revolves around weather patterns, a person's day to day lives are controlled by the weather outside their door, but what about the crops. Too much water and a crop rot, too little and they shrivel up and die. According to NASA, in the United States the Southwest region is likely to be hit the worse as summer temperatures rise and heat waves become more intense. These heat waves means that it will be difficult for farmers to work in the heat of the day. If there is not enough water in the ground farmers risk their crops shriving up on the vine. Even too much water for the crops is bad as it will cause them to rot on the vine or stalk. For years now scientists have been saying...
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...AMS Climate Studies Student Pre-Test 1. Which heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas has the greatest concentration in the atmosphere? d. water vapor 2. All of the following processes release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere EXCEPT __________. c. photosynthesis by green plants on land and algae in water 3. Perturbations in the radiative forcings of climate include all of the following EXCEPT __________. c. changes in the flow of infrared radiation from Earth to space 4. The radiation emitted by the Earth system peaks in the __________ portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. a. infrared 5. Contributors to the IPCC assessment reports include more than 2000 scientists from __________. c. over 150 nations 6. What is the ultimate source of energy driving Earth’s climate system? d. the Sun 7. The changing seasons on Earth are caused by __________. a. the tilt of the Earth on its axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. 8. The warmest climates on Earth are located near the tropics because this region __________. a. is much closer to the Sun 9. Which one of the following surfaces has the highest albedo for visible solar radiation? a. ocean water 10. The major reason for the upward trend in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the mid-1800s is __________. b. the burning of fossil fuels 11. Heat is transported from the Earth's surface into the troposphere via __________. d. All of the above are correct. 12. Viewed from above in the...
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...atmospheric scientists, are experts on the atmosphere, weather, and climate. Meteorologists study the aforementioned categories and how they will affect not only the Earth, but human beings as well. Compiling and collecting data, developing forecasts, and understanding weather patterns are part of a meteorologist’s duties. Furthermore, meteorologists may invent new instruments to collect weather pattern or climate data, while consulting clients on the opportunities and risks associated with climate changes and atmospheric events. If you have an enthusiasm for analyzing data, mathematics, weather patterns, and science, this may be a career area you want to explore further. Why Become A Meteorologist...
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...Pole to Pole I came to know how the power of sun drives our world’s climate and the life giving cycle of water. How animals adapt to the climate of planet earth. Also learned about the climate zones and how the sun shapes the earth’s climate as a whole. The animals shown in the film adapt to their environment depend on many things like the animals that live in the severe cold weather (very low temperature) such as polar bears and caribou have thick furs. The caribou specifically has hollow winter hair and the polar bear has many layers including fur which helps them stay warm in the cold climate in which they live in. Amur leopard also lives in cold weather but they do not have fur as thick as the polar bears. Another animal that lives in such a severe cold weather are penguins, since they live more together in groups, they densely pack themselves together to keep warm. This happens by the body temperature that radiates out of a penguin and helps warm another. On the other hand, the animals that live in the rainforest live a life without much difficulty because there is a lot of rain falling, which helps grow plants and once those plants are eaten by herbivores, then the carnivores have something big and healthy to eat. Moreover, the rain is the ultimate reason for the animals living in the rainforest to survive easily compare to the animals living in the severe cold weather. As the availability of food, water and a habitat become accessible in the rainforest for them to live...
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...Causes of Climate Change Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, extreme events. The earth's climate is naturally variable on all time scales. Factors that cause climate change can be divided into two categories - those related to natural processes and those related to human activity Natural Causes The Earth's climate can be affected by natural factors that are external to the climate system, such as changes in volcanic activity, solar output, and the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Human Causes Very few people doubt that it is normal for there to be climate change. The rotation of the earth on a tilted axis leads to this, as well many natural events, like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and hurricanes. However, human activities are having a much greater impact on climate change. For example, the jump in earths’ population from 1950 through 1985 more than doubled from 2.5 billion to over 5 billion. (Meyer, 1996: 24) The importance of this growth is a drain on the Earths’ resources causing even more altering. It is not as much the altering of these resources that are causing climate change but the type of human activities which are taking place, and the way in which they are impacting the climate. The earth is naturally surrounded by gases the added human processes...
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...due to human interference and climate change. However changes within these forest and/or ocean ecosystems also impact the human population, as we depend on these crucial bionetworks for our very own existence. • The Boreal forest is a band of forest that stretches across the northern hemisphere, which includes the following countries: Canada, Russia, United States and the northern countries of Europe such as Sweden, Norway etc… (Green displays the areas where the Boreal forest is situated) • Within Canada, the Boreal forest region covers more than 290 million hectares. •This forest is primarily dominated by coniferous trees, namely: Jack Pine, Balsam Fir, Red Pine, White Pine, Black Spruce, White Spruce, Tamarack, Paper Birch, Eastern White Cedar, etc… • The leading cause of most threats upon ecosystem biodiversity is climate change; such is the case in Canada’s the Boreal forest. • Climate change also has an effect on the number of forest fires. • Invasive alien species are also a huge factor in destroying biodiversity in the Canadian Boreal forest. • The Boreal forest is the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystem remaining on earth. • One of, and perhaps the biggest threat to biodiversity in the Boreal Forest is Human infringement. • In summation the best way to preserve the Canadian Boreal forest would be to make people aware. If people are mindful then we can really put a stop to human encroachment, and perhaps climate change all together. We cannot...
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...Urbana area. * Sangamon River CHAPTER 6, 11, 12, 14 * Flood probability is constant over time while risk of future eq is very low right after major eq and then will increase slowly as pressure builds CLIMATE CHANGE Climate- Long term average of daily weather conditions. Extremes * Early Earth = Very Warm * End of Paleozoic = Very Cold * End of Mesozoic = Very Cold * End of Ceonzoic = climate oscillations from very cold to very ward Importance of Studying Climate Change A.) Effect on sea level- * If current glaciers were to melt, that water would drain into oceans and cause sea levels to rise (result in flooding) Alternatively if glaciers were to become much larger, water from oceans gets transferred to ice on leand and reduces sea level B.) Large Change in Climate- * If significant global warming occurs, some areas will become much drier (others wetter) causing deserts and also possibly worse severe weather and greater disease. If glaciers advance over large areas, it will force some people to migrate C.) Glaciers’ effect on landscapes/floods- * formed great lakes, flattens landscapes in other areas, rich soil of Midwest due to deposition of glacial debris. Can cause catastrophic floods. D.) Predict Future Climate- * Understand geologic past to help predict future (Inverse uniformitarianism) * Gas by abundance * Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Others * All objects emit e-m radiation, nature...
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...Now my family and I, we simply LOVE the weather—Yes we do. Timmy, stop doing that. My kiddos can’t get enough. That’s why my lovely daughter, Geena’s been so nice to give up her Saturday night to help us with the visual portion— that and her date, Chad, stood her up. Chad, if I find you..ha-hah. So let’s take a look at climates and microclimates. Now, climate affects all living beings on Earth—everything from plants to puppies to kittens---Geena. REAL animals. The kind on EARTH.…Oh that is a cat? Ohhhhhhh-kay. Do we have any…other—like kittens? That’s better. Yes, climate affects all living beings. It shapes the environment, determining whether crops will be plentiful, whether flooding will wipe out towns, or whether drought will diminish the water supply. Certain climates can be distributed over large regions, and smaller areas can have specific climates that differ from the larger climate around them. These are the areas we’re going to focus on. They’re called: microclimates. Microclimates are created by temperature, humidity, wind, dew, soil, heat, and evaporation—all of these factors can alter the climate of a single, smaller area within a larger climate. . The rise and fall of land, its topography can also create large-scale microclimates. Because warm air rises and cold air falls, valleys where cold air collects may be cooler than the slopes and hilltops you’d find up above. Valleys can also be more prone to frost than slopes. It’s important to note that warmer...
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...about scientific research and our society, even today? Copernicus release his theory of the heliocentric view while he was on his death bed. Primary reason for this was because of the Catholic’s church control on society at the time and the effects it would have on religious society stating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After Copernicus released his theory, other key astronomers that supported and advanced Capernicus’ theory included Galileo, Keppler, Brahe, and Newton. Galileo Galilei, a contributed to astronomy and physics, advanced the use of the telescope towards use in astronomy. because of his invention, and ability to view the planets and starts, he identified four of Jupiters moons, and the phases of Venus which directly supported Copernicus’ theory, that earth, like the other planets, revolved around the sun, and moons, revolved around their planets. Tyco Brahe, an astronomer, under the support of King Frederick the II, established an observatory on the Danish island of Hveen. The establishment of this observatory was critical for the next 20 years in establishing observations of the stars, and planets, and their distance to and from the earth. This research directly led to Kepler, who was Brahe’s last assistant when Brahe died in 1601. Johannes Kepler was Brahe’s assistant, in Brahe’s final days. Kepler then took over at the Observatory, and focused his study of Mars. This study, allowed Kepler to establish what is now knowns as Kepler’s...
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...factors. The population growth directly requires extra amount of consideration of water issue. The issue relates to the population growth and migration movement. For example, Australia’s population growth is caused by the vastly increased migration, and up to recent years the study showed that the water consumption largely climbed up raised many voices on saving water. The facts that were happening showed strong correlation. Climate change over the years that has potentially impact on the usable of water. Global warming which actually that has been debated over a few years. There are voices that there have been many discussions in this topic that consider this fact are because of human activity or nature process. Al Gore convinced us in his president election speech by an inconvenient truth that the truth is that it is getting hotter and hotter. Whatever the result is, an increased concern has arisen between urbanization, salinity, and upstream pollution. In advance, Pacific Institute released that the regional impacts will vary and the potential of global climate change will alter agricultural productivity, freshwater availability and quality, access to vital minerals, coastal and island flooding and so on. These consequences will highly thus threats to security (Giraldo. D. P., Betancur M. J., 2004). Water security will be analyzed in the form of LCD. Food security is another perspective which will be analyzed in the CLD. This refers to the availability...
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...“Constant Change” In a world where nothing is constant except change, we are also faced by a dreading fact that as years goes by, our climate is also changing. The way people way people lived today has drastically changed from the way our forefathers lived thousand years ago. The Climate Change or Global Warming has been an issue for so long, but do we really care about our dying world? In the past years, scientific evidence for the warming of the climate system has been tracked down and is very unequivocal. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), these are the signs that we are in a state of a climate change: The sea level rise – global sea level rose about 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century. Global temperature rise – all three major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth has warmed since 1880. Warming Oceans – the oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. Shrinking ice sheets – the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Declining Arctic sea ice – both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glacial retreat – glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world – including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa. Ocean acidification – since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface...
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