The Formation of Earth's Atmospheres and Oceans
What was the composition of Earth’s original atmosphere? How did Earth lose this atmosphere?
Composed of hydrogen and helium. The sun’s ignition swept away the original earth's atmosphere, and the gasses escaped into space.
What is it that gives most ocean waves their energy?
the wind
What is the distinction between the continental margin and the deep ocean basin?
Continental margins are the transition from land to the deep ocean.
What are the lowest two layers of the atmosphere? How does temperature vary with height in them, which is 90% of the atmosphere’s mass, in which does our weather occur, and which has the ozone layer?
The two lowest layers are the troposphere and the stratosphere. The Troposphere is the lowest but densest layer, short in height, 90% of the atmosphere's mass, where weather occurs. The Stratosphere has the ozone layer in it (absorbs harmful UV rays).
What is a thunderstorm?
A thunderstorm is an atmospheric storm with lightning and thunder
What happened to the water vapor and what was ultimately produced because of the water vapor?
Scientists believe that when the Earth cooled the majority of the water vapor in the atmosphere transformed into liquid water and fell as rain. This rain they believe formed the Earth's oceans.
On what three factors do the height, length, and period of most ocean waves depend?
1. Wind speed
2.Length of time wind has blown
3.fetch-The distance that the wind has traveled across open water
What are the three components of the continental margin? Be able to describe them or identify them.
continental shelf- Shallow, underwater
continental slope- boundary between continental and oceanic crust ; rapid decline here
Continental rise- wedge of accumulated sediment at base of slope
What is the ionosphere? Know that the Auroras occur in this layer of the atmosphere.
The Ionosphere is the electrified region in the upper atmosphere and auroras are colorful displays of light
In the U.S., where are thunderstorms most prevalent? Where are they least prevalent?
Florida and the west coast is the most prevalent and the least prevalent is California.
What process did cyanobacteria introduce into the Earth? Which element began to be added to the atmosphere as a result?
Cyanobacteria: Primitive life form, it runs off of photosynthesis
Oxygen was added to the atmosphere
With ocean waves, what is principally moving, energy, the water, or both?
Wave energy moves forward: the disturbance moves not the water
What are the four components of the deep ocean basin that we discussed? Be able to describe them or identify them.
Ocean trenches- long deep, steep underwater canyons
Seamounts - underwater mountains rising upwards from seafloor ; often volcanic
Abyssal plain - flattest part of ocean floor; deep layer of accumulated sediment;
geologically undisturbed
Mid ocean ridges- underwater mountain range at sites of seafloor spreading (volcanic and earthquake activity)
What is the difference between the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Earth? How does each type of radiation emitted interact with Earth’s atmosphere?
The sun's radiation- Solar radiation, peak radiation in shorter wavelengths
The Earth’s radiation- Terrestrial radiation, infrared radiation, longer wavelengths
the sun’s radiation warms the earth’s ground and the earth’s ground in turn warms the earth's atmosphere (earth is warm because of its own radiation)
What generally happens in the lifecycle of a typical thunderstorm? What eventually results in the thunderstorm’s dissipation?
Stage 1: Cumulus stage (only rising air present, no rain)
Stage 2: Mature stage (heavy rain, dragging air down)
Stage 3: Dissipating stage (light rain, chokes off rising air)
Where does ozone come from?
Ozone came from the upper atmosphere. It is poisonous when breathed in.
Ozone = 3 oxygen molecules that attach to each other
What happens to a deep ocean wave when it approaches a shoreline?
In shallow water it starts to “feel bottom”
Wave grows higher as it slows and wavelength shortens
Steep wave front collapses, wave breaks
Turbulent water goes up to the shore and forms surf
What are rip currents?
Rip currents move away from the beach and into the sea. If you are caught in a rip current, you should swim perpendicular to the current to get out of it.
Which areas of the Earth receive the most direct sunlight and which the least direct sunlight? How does this affect the temperatures of these areas?
Latitudes around the poles get the less direct sunlight and latitudes around the equator have direct sunlight, where solar (sunlight) intensity is higher, temperatures are higher so places closest to the equator are higher in temperature
What is a supercell thunderstorm? What is the distinctive feature of it that makes it especially dangerous for tornado formation?
Supercell thunderstorm characteristics:
Shifting wing direction and speed with height results in the updraft rotating
Large in size, and can last for many hours
Cause vast majority of the most intense tornadoes
What is ozone's important role in supporting life on Earth?
It absorbs the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays and radiation
If I described the landforms of a coast, be able to identify whether it is marked primarily by erosion or deposition.
Erosional coasts:
Wave cut platform
Sea cliff
Sea cave
Sea arch
Depositional coast:
Beach
Split
Lagoon
Barrier island
Tidal inlet
What is an ocean current? Know that they form a global conveyor belt transporting matter and redistributing heat around the world.
Ocean currents are mostly driven by wind. They influence climate, ecology and economy of many regions are part of the global conveyor belt that transports heat and matter around the world.
What three factors combine to produce Earth’s seasons?
The tilt of the earth on its axis, Earth's rotation on its own axis, and its orbit around the sun
What is a tornado? How common are tornadoes relative to thunderstorms, generally?
Tornado = violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground.
Relatively compact in size
Strongest - winds can exceed 30 mph
Rare - less than 1% of thunderstorms form in tornadoes