Chap 2: Solar Energy, Seasons, and the Atmosphere
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Created by:
fonzess on May 17, 2007
Subjects:
geosystems, elemental, christopherson, global, physical, environment, geography
Description:
Chapter 2 of Elemental Geosystems (Christopherson), 4th edition
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91 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 surpluses | The equatorial region experiences energy ________ (surpluses? deficits?) |
| deficits | The polar regions experience energy ________ (surpluses? deficits?) |
| the Milky Way Galaxy | A flattened, disk-shaped mass estimated to contain nearly 400 billion stars |
| gravity | The key organizing force in the condensing solar nebula (and creation of our Solar System) |
| planetesimal hypothesis | The concept that suns condense from nebular clouds and planetestimals form in orbits around their central masses. |
| light | what moves at about 6 trillion miles per year? (the speed of_______) |
| 8 minutes, 20 seconds | Light from the Sun reaches Earth in an average of __minutes, __seconds |
| perihelion | Earth at its closest position to the Sun (occurs on January 3rd) |
| aphelion | Earth at its farthest position from the Sun (occurs on July 4th) |
| Sun | The ______ is the only object in the entire Solar System that produces thermonuclear energy. |
| fusion | Hydrogen atoms are joined in this process, which takes place within the Sun and results in the release of great amounts of energy. |
| solar wind | The Sun constantly emits ionized (electrically charged) particles that surge outward in all directions from the Sun's surface. This phenomenon is called: |
| sunspots | large magnetic storms on the Sun's surface |
| magnetosphere | A magnetic field surrounding the Earth, which deflects much of the solar wind so that only a small portion of it enters the atmosphere |
| auroras | Lighting effects that occur in the upper atmosphere when absorbed energy is rereadiated as light energy of varying colors. |
| aurora borealis | northern lights |
| aurora australis | southern lights |
| true | true / false: the Sun is way, way, way, way bigger than the Earth (see figure 2.2) |
| electromagnetic energy | The key solar input to life |
| electromagnetic spectrum | The whole spectrum of radiant energy is called the ________ _________ |
| false | true / false: Everything on the electromagnetic spectrum is from solar radiation |
| wavelength | The distance between corresponding points on any two successive waves. |
| frequency | The number of waves passing a fixed point in one second (the speed of the waves) |
| 50% | Approximately what percentage of the Sun's emitted radiant energy is composed of VISIBLE light wavelengths? (p.40) |
| true | true / false: Because hotter objects usually emit shorter wavelengths, the Sun emits shorter wavelengths than the Earth. |
| thermopause | the region at the top of the atmosphere (about 300 miles above Earth's surface) |
| insolation | Solar radiation that is actually intercepted by the Earth (which is only a tiny bit of the Sun's energy output). This term is a condensed way of saying "intercepted solar radiation." |
| solar constant | The average value of intercepted energy from the Sun (insolation) received at the thermopause (the top layer of Earth's atmosphere) |
| false | true / false: the global distribution of insolation (energy from the Sun intercepted by the Earth) is even. |
| subsolar point | The only point on Earth that receives insolation from directly overhead. (occurs between the two tropics, 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S). |
| true | true / false: All places away from the subsolar point receive insolation at an angle less than 90 degrees and thus experience more diffuse energy. |
| oblique | rays of the sun that are not direct rays are called _______ rays |
| seasonality | refers to both the seasonal variation of the Sun's position above the horizon and the changing daylengths during the year. |
| altitude | Seasonal variations are a response to changes in the Sun's _________, or the angle between the horizon and the Sun. |
| zenith | The Sun is at its _______ when it's altitude is 90 degrees (directly overhead) |
| declination | The Sun's _________ is the latitude of the subsolar point (which is always somewhere between the tropics) |
| the Tropic of Cancer | Which is north of the equator: the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn? |
| latitude | daylength varies during the year depending on ___________. |
| equator | Along what line do people receive equal hours of day and night? |
| revolution | This refers to Earth's orbit around the Sun, NOT Earth turning on its axis. |
| rotation | This refers to Earth turning on its axis, NOT Earth's orbit around the Sun. |
| the length of the year | Does Earth's revolution determine the length of the year, or the length of a day? |
| 24 hours | How long does it take Earth to complete one rotation? |
| rotation | rotation or revolution: What determines daylength, the deflection of wind and ocean currents, and the twice-daily rise and fall of the ocean tides (in relation to the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon)? |
| counterclockwise | When viewed from the North Pole, Earth rotates ____________(what direction) around its axis. |
| eastward | When viewed at the equator, does the Earth move westward or eastward? (p.45). |
| circle of illumination | The dividing line between day and night. This circle intersects the equator, which is why daylength at the equator is evenly divided. |
| equinoxes | With the exception of the equator, all latitudes experience uneven daylength throughout the seasons, except for 2 days a year (March 21 or 22 and September 21 or 22), which are called the _________. |
| revolution | Is the plane of the ecliptic associated with revolution or rotation? |
| rotation | Is the plane of the equator associated with revolution or rotation? |
| axial tilt | The line of the equator essentially exists because of the Earth's ______ ______ (p.45) |
| axial parallelism | As it journeys around the Sun, Earth's axis maintains the same alignment and orientation. The axis is parallel to itself at each stage. This is known as: |
| soltices | The 2 times of year (around June 21 or 22 and December 21 or 22) that mark the times when the Sun's declination places it directly over one of the 2 tropics. |
| tropics | The 2 ______ are the parallels of latitude that represent the Sun's farthest northerly or southerly position. |
| declination | Soltices and equinoxes are based upon the Sun's __________, which is the location of the subsolar point |
| vernal | The September equinox is also called the autumnal equinox. The March equinox is also called the _______ equinox. |
| air | a simple additive mixture of gases that is naturally odorless, colorless, tasteless, and formless, blended so throughly that it behaves as if it were a single gas. |
| exosphere | The atmosphere is considered to go up 300 miles from Earth's surface. Past this point, the atmosphere is basically a vacuum, and is called the "outer sphere" or __________. |
| air pressure | The weight (force over a unit area) of the atmosphere, or ___ ________, pushes in on all of us (it also exists inside of us, pushing us outward and keeping us from being crushed by the air around us!) |
| barometer | This instrument measures air pressure. |
| composition | The heterosphere and the homosphere are regions based on the atmosphere's (composition, temperature, or function?) |
| heterosphere | The outer atmosphere in terms of composition. This region is not uniform; its gases are not evenly mixed. Less than 0.001% of the atmosphere's mass is in this region. |
| homosphere | The inner atmosphere in terms of composition. The blend of gases is nearly uniform in this region. |
| the ozone layer | This layer is one of the exceptions to the compositional uniformity of the homosphere (along with variations in water vapor, carbon dioxide, pollutants, and some chemicals). |
| food | Nitrogen is essential for life, but we breathe out all of the nitrogen we breathe in because we get our nitrogen through _____. |
| carbon dioxide | The percentage of this compound in the atmosphere has been increasing over the past 200 years as a result of human activities. It is important in maintaining global temperatures. |
| temperature | The thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere are regions based on the atmosphere's (composition, temperature, or function?) |
| thermosphere | A layer of the atmosphere (when classified by temperature) that roughly corresponds to the heterosphere (a compositional layer of the atmosphere). |
| kinetic energy | The energy of motion, the vibrational energy that we measure as temperature (helps explain the difference between temperature and heat). |
| sensible heat | Kinetic energy transmitted such that we can measure its temperature. |
| mesosphere | The highest atmopsheric temperature region of the three temperature regions that align with the homosphere. |
| stratosphere | The middle atmospheric temperature region of the three temperature regions that align with the homosphere. The location of the ozone layer. |
| troposphere | The final layer encountered by incoming solar radiation. Home of the biosphere, that atmospheric layer that supports life, and the region of principal weather activity. |
| troposphere | Which layer of the atmosphere contains about 90% of the total mass of the atmosphere, and the bulk of all water vapor, clouds, weather, air pollution, and life forms? |
| normal lapse rate | Temperatures decrease rapidly with increasing altitude at an average of 3.5 degrees per 1000 feet, a rate known as the ______ ______ ______. |
| environmental lapse rate | The actual lapse rate (rate of temperature decrease at increasing altitudes) at any particular time and place, which may deviate considerably because of local weather conditions. |
| function | the ionosphere and the ozonosphere (ozone layer) are regions based on the atmosphere's (composition, temperature, or function?) |
| ionosphere | The outer functional layer of the atmosphere. It absorbs cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays, and shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation (it gets its name because it changes atoms to positively charged ions) |
| ionosphere | The auroral lights usually occur in this functional layer of the atmosphere. |
| ozonosphere | A functional layer of the atmosphere: the part of the stratosphere that contains an increased level of ozone (remember that ozone is has 3 oxygen atoms). |
| true | true / false: ozone is highly reactive. |
| false | true / false: ozone is bad because it doesn't filter most harmful ultraviolet radiation. |
| temperature inversion | This occurs when the normal temperature decrease with altitude (normal lapse rate) begins to increase at some altitude. |
| anthropogenic | human-caused |
| 60% | In the U.S., approx. what percentage of anthropogenic air pollution is caused by automobiles? |
| photochemical smog | results from the interaction of sunlight and the combusiton products in automboile and truck exhaust. It is the major component of anthropogenic air pollution. |
| true | true / false: peroxyacetyl nitrates (PAN) produce no known health effect in humans, but are damaging to plants/crops/forests |
| industrial smog | The air pollution associated with coal-burning industries. |
| sulfate aersosols | Forms when sulfur dioxide forms sulfur trioxide and mixes with water or water vapor. Tiny particles. |
| particulate matter | A diverse mixture of fine particles, both solid and aerosol, that impact human health. Shortened term is "PM." |
| anthropogenic atmosphere | a tentative label for Earth's next (fifth) layer of atmosphere. |
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