Atmosphere
What was missing from Earth's early atmosphere?
Molecular oxygen (O2)
_________ ________ make up ~90% of the Earth's lithosphere.
Silicate minerals
Which two ions account for more than 85% of the dissolved ions in seawater?
Chloride and sodium.
In which directions do subtropical gyres rotate in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?
Clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Name two greenhouse gases other than Carbon dioxide and methane
Nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapor (H2O), Ozone (O3), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), etc
Name all the atmospheric layers from bottom up.
Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering breaks down or chemically changes rock in place. Erosion transports the weathered material.
What does the rule of constant proportions tell us about seawater?
The major ions occur in nearly constant proportions, even when total salinity changes.
How can offshore Ekman transport cause coastal upwelling?
Surface water moves away from the coast, and deeper water rises to replace it.
Sunlight heats up Earth's surface causing it to emit ____________ radiation, which gets absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (blocking heat from escaping to space, and thus, heating Earth).
Infrared (IR) radiation
Why is the equatorial region generally wetter than the subtropics near 30° latitude?
Strong heating causes warm, moist air to rise near the equator. As the air rises, it cools, water vapor condenses, and precipitation develops. Drier air sinks near 30° latitude.
What are the two main ways the lithosphere affects global climate.
Carbon burial & release (or carbon precipitation & dissolution)
Why is surface salinity generally higher in the subtropics than at the equator?
The subtropics have high evaporation and limited rainfall. Heavy rainfall dilutes equatorial surface water.
What causes deep water to form, and how does it eventually return to the surface?
Cold temperatures and high salinity make seawater dense enough to sink at high latitudes. Deep circulation transports it between ocean basins, and upwelling eventually returns it to the surface.
How does the ice–albedo feedback cause additional warming?
Warming melts snow and ice, lowering Earth’s albedo. The darker surface absorbs more solar energy, causing more warming.
Why does atmospheric circulation transport energy from the equator toward the poles?
The equator receives more solar energy than the poles. Atmospheric circulation redistributes some of this excess energy toward cooler, higher latitudes.
Explain how silicate weathering acts as a negative climate feedback.
Warmer and wetter conditions generally increase silicate weathering, which removes more atmospheric CO₂ and promotes cooling. Cooling then slows weathering and reduces the rate of CO₂ removal.
Why does salinity vary more near the surface than in the deep ocean?
Evaporation, precipitation, river runoff, and ice formation or melting affect surface salinity. Deep water is less affected by these processes and has more uniform salinity.
Why are western boundary currents narrower and faster than eastern boundary currents?
Changes in the Coriolis effect with latitude concentrate the return flow on the western side of ocean basins.
What are the 3 main reasons we are not as worried about water vapor as were are about CO2 in terms of their relative greenhouse effects?
Water vapor has a shorter residence time, making its concentration in the atmosphere highly variable and difficult to ascertain.
Water vapor is not something we are releasing and thus, we cannot control it as easily as we control C emissions.
Water vapor also contributes to cloud formation which cools Earth.