Definitions
Day to day, local patterns temperature and precipitation due to circulation of the troposphere
What is weather?
Oceans, gases in the atmosphere, snow cover, and sea ice
What are internal factors?
Chemical compounds in the Earth's atmosphere that trap heat and contribute to global warming and climate change
What is a greenhouse gas?
The first layer of Earth's atmosphere
What is the troposhere?
The percent carbon dioxide is responsible for global warming
What is 65%?
Long term patterns of precipitation and temperature
What is climate?
Solar radiation, Earth's rotation, slow changes in Earth's orbit
What are external factors?
Human caused greenhouse gases: CO2
What are anthropogenic influences?
The second layer of Earth's atmosphere
What is the stratosphere?
What is 17%?
An average increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere
What is global warming?
Cooling: clouds, cryosphere, volcanic eruptions, aerosols
What are negative forcing factors?
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds
What are synthetic greenhouse gases?
The third layer of Earth's atmosphere
What is the mesosphere?
A minor component of the greenhouse gas picture that enters the atmosphere through the use of fossil fuels and fertilizers
What is nitrous oxide?
The many other changes resulting from global warming
What is climate change?
Warming: greenhouse gases and aerosols
What are positive forcing factors?
The most abundant greenhouse gas that is responsible for about 65% of global warming
What is carbon dioxide?
The fourth layer of Earth's atmosphere
What is the thermosphere?
The most abundant gas in the atmosphere, makes up 78% of the atmosphere
What is nitrogen?
A natural process that warms the Earth's surface by trapping heat in the atmosphere
What is the greenhouse effect?
The influence any factor has on the energy balance of the atmosphere-ocean-land system
What is a radiating force?
What is methane?
The fifth layer of Earth's atmosphere
What is the exosphere?
Prevents major temperature shifts from day to night
What is the atmosphere?