Origin, Composition and Structure
What two gases predominantly made up Earth's early atmosphere?
Hydrogen and Helium
What is the difference between heat and temperature?
Heat is a quantity of energy a substance has, temperature is the intensity or average kinetic energy of a substance
Give 2 examples of the greenhouse gases
Carbon Dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, etc.
Which gas is the primary one that humans are currently influencing?
Carbon dioxide
Describe how Earth got its oceans
Volcanic outgassing-> water vapor was released, which condensed and rained down
Why are higher altitudes in the troposphere colder than lower altitudes?
Low altitudes are warmed by the ground radiating heat- adiabatic rate causes air to cool as it expands
What is the difference between weather and climate
"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get"
Weather=short term, atmospheric condition for a specific place at a specific time
Climiate=long term, pattern of overall weather patterns for an area over an extended time
Give at least two examples of effects climate change might we see within your lifetime.
Changes in precipitation (intense storms, and droughts)
Sea-level rise
Increase of global average temperatures, especially at the poles
What does our atmosphere do for us
Moderates temperature, protects from meteors, facilitates flight and sound, absorbs and deflects solar radiation, provides gases necessary for life
Why is the sky blue?
Clouds, dust, water droplets, and air molecules cause light to scatter
Name three natural causes of climate change
Volcanic activity, Milankovich Cycles, changes in solar output
What are some things that humans can do to mitigate the effects of climate change (make the effects less severe)
What types of gases were there in the atmosphere after Earth cooled?
Toxic gases (like sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, chlorine, etc.), along with water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Looking at the image, why is Guayaquil warmer than Quito year-round?
Quito is higher in elevation
Greenhouse gases absorb infrared electromagnetic waves and then re-emit them
What sorts of evidence do we have for anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change?
Carbon dioxide emissions coinciding with temperatures rising, glaciers melting, decreasing of sea ice, and sea level rise. Climate models that only take into account natural forces do not account for our observed conditions.
Name the 5 layers of the atmosphere in order from lowest to highest and a quality of each
Troposphere (decreasing temps, weather occurs here), stratosphere (increasing temps because of the ozone layer), mesosphere (decreasing temperature because of distance from Earth, meteors burn up), thermosphere (auroras, increasing temps, but would still feel cold), exosphere (where Earth's atmosphere escapes into space)
Explain why higher altitudes are colder than lower altitudes in the troposphere
Lower altitudes are warmed by Earth's surface, the higher in altitude air is, the less compressed it is, which makes those air particles cool (adiabatic rate/lapse rate). That air is also further from Earth's surface!
How can the topography of an area (like the mountains, hills, valleys, etc.) influence the climate of an area?
How will climate change affect you?
Various answers