Atmosphere
What tool is used to measure air pressure?
Barometer
What causes wind?
Unequal heating of the earth.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is daily fluctuations, climate is trends over a long period of time.
The phosphorus cycle does not include the
atmosphere
How do we get our Nitrogen?
We have to eat it!
Why is the ozone layer important?
It protects us from harmful UV rays.
Based on where they originate from
Describe the seasons of the hemispheres based on the tilt of the earth.
Tilted toward the sun (summer)
Away from the sun (winter)
Give 2 ways humans add CO2 to the amosphere?
1. Respiration
2. Burning Fossil Fuels
3. Deforestation
Give an effect that global warming may have on the earth.
1. Hotter temperatures
2. More Severe Weather
3. Loss of species
4. Warming Ocean (holds less carbon)
5. Droughts
What are the 2 most abundant gasses in our atmosphere? (Name and Percent)
Nitrogen (78%)
Oxygen (21%)
The coriolis effect causes wind to do what?
Describe the relationship between the distance between lines on an isobaric map and wind?
The closer the lines, the stronger the winds are.
Give 2 ways humans have negatively impacted any of the biogeochemical cycles.
1. burning fossil fuels (excess carbon)
2. overusing fertilizer (excess nitrogen and phosphorus)
3. deforestation (excess carbon, less oxygen)
Why is atmospheric pressure greatest at sea level?
gravity pulls the majority of the Earth's air molecules towards the surface, creating a denser, heavier layer of air that exerts greater pressure
What are the 3 major events that lead to our current atmosphere?
1. Water condensed to make the ocean
2. CO2 dissolved into the ocean
3. Marine plants used the CO2 and generated oxygen
Name the different convection current cells starting from the equator and moving up.
Hadley, Ferrel, Polar Cells
How do areas of rising and falling air lead to the creation of rainforests and deserts?
Rising air creates an area of low pressure, which produces rainfall.
Descending air creates an area of high pressure, which prevents rainfall.
What are 3 ways nitrogen gets into the soil?
1. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
2. lightening
3. waste/decomposition
4. Fertilizer
Describe the difference between the poles and the equator in terms of speed and why their speed is different.
The poles are moving slower and the equator was moving fast because the equator has to cover more distance in the same amount of time.
List all the layers of the atmosphere and what is found in each.
1. Troposphere (weather)
2. Stratosphere (Ozone layer)
3. Mesosphere (meteors)
4. Thermosphere (aurora borealis)
5. Exosphere (satellites)
How do winds move?
From areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
What kind of weather do we get in high and low pressure?
High: Dry, Clear Skys
Low: Clouds, Precipitation
What are the 3 types of nitrogen found in the soil?
1. Ammonia/Ammonium
2. Nitrates
3. Nitrites
Explain why the greenhouse effect is essential to life on earth & how humans have affected this.
The greenhouse effect traps heat from escaping into the atmosphere, which keeps earth at a more stable temperature than other planets. Humans have added carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which can exacerbate the greenhouse effect, causing dangerous warming trends.