Composition of earth’s atmosphere

• nitrogen is the main gas in the earth's atmosphere(78%)
• 20 %oxygen
• 1% argon

Greenhouse gases

- H2O, CO2, CH4, NO2, O3
-without greenhouse gases the earth's temperature would be -22 to -36 degrees celsius.

Greenhouse Effect

-Solar energy not reflected but absorbed by earth greenhouse gases reabsorb & reradiate the energy as heat
         -1. natural greenhouse effect

         -2. human induced greenhouse effect

Global Warming / Climate Change

-Climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels, deforestation and human carbon loader and warms our earth.

Ozone, Hole in Ozone, UV Rays, CFCs

OZONE: mostly in lower stratosphere, -screens out deadly UV radiation from the sun
-thin "blanket" at high altitude

- hole in ozone: -causes skin cancer
-cataracts
-suppresses the immune system
-damages plant life

Effects Australlia

UV RAYS:

-causes skin cancer
-cataracts
-suppresses the immune system
-damages plant life

CARBON CYCLE

         Earth’s natural cycle to keep just the right amount of the greenhouse gas CO₂ in the atmosphere.

--Plants Give off oxygen (O₂)
--Animals Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
--Volcanoes Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
--Fossil fuels Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂

How does the earth naturally control the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere?

•  earth naturally keep just the right amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and the rest of the carbon is stored in oceans and underground

What emits CO₂ ? What takes in CO₂ ?

• Photosynteis take in carbon and give off oxygen

Besides the atmosphere, where is carbon stored?

• most of Earth's carbon is stored in rocks and sediments. The rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and in living organisms. (Antartica and Greenland)

Albedo

• 1/3 solar radiation reflected back into space

Albedo (& Ice, Oceans)

-albedo is a measure of reflection of solar radiation
-ice and snow have high albedo and reflect a lot of solar radiation
-dark surfaces like asphalt have low albedo and absorb solar radiation

Clouds & Albedo

-as temperature warms: more evaporation, more clouds form
-white cloud high albedo: reflects energy back into space
-water vapor in clouds is a greenhouse gas (it traps and reradiates some solar radiation)

Air Circulation: Convection, Coriolis Force

- -warm air is less dense than cold air & rises
-cold air is denser than warm air & sinks

 
-warm air blows toward poles & cool air toward the equator
-winds more complicated due to coriolis effect (constantly rotating earth)

Hadley Cell-constant air movement trying to reach equilibrium of temperature & pressure
-warm air blows toward poles & cool air toward the equator

Location of earth’s major deserts

-most of the great deserts on earth, such as the Sahara Desert of Africa, are found at 30 degrees latitude

Which direction do hurricanes spin?

- in the northern winds bend toward the right and cyclones/hurricanes rotate counterclockwise
-in the southern hemisphere winds bend toward the left and cyclones/hurricanes rotate clockwise

Hurricane/Cyclone/Typhoon

-cyclones: typhoons and hurricanes
typhoons: W pacific & indian ocean
hurricanes: atlantic, E pacific

Monsoon

- -equatorial regions
-hot air rising off continents
-moist wind blows onshore from oceans

Surface Ocean currents are driven by ____?

-surface ocean currents are driven mostly by the wind
-deep ocean currents are driven by difference in temperature and density of waters

CARBON CYCLE

         Earth’s natural cycle to keep just the right amount of the greenhouse gas CO₂ in the atmosphere.

--Plants Give off oxygen (O₂)
--Animals Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
--Volcanoes Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
--Fossil fuels Give off Carbon dioxide (CO₂

How does the earth naturally control the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere?

•  earth naturally keep just the right amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and the rest of the carbon is stored in oceans and underground

What emits CO₂ ? What takes in CO₂ ?

• Photosynteis take in carbon and give off oxygen

Besides the atmosphere, where is carbon stored?

• most of Earth's carbon is stored in rocks and sediments. The rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and in living organisms. (Antartica and Greenland)

Albedo

• 1/3 solar radiation reflected back into space

Albedo (& Ice, Oceans)

-albedo is a measure of reflection of solar radiation
-ice and snow have high albedo and reflect a lot of solar radiation
-dark surfaces like asphalt have low albedo and absorb solar radiation

Clouds & Albedo

-as temperature warms: more evaporation, more clouds form
-white cloud high albedo: reflects energy back into space
-water vapor in clouds is a greenhouse gas (it traps and reradiates some solar radiation)

Air Circulation: Convection, Coriolis Force

- -warm air is less dense than cold air & rises
-cold air is denser than warm air & sinks

 
-warm air blows toward poles & cool air toward the equator
-winds more complicated due to coriolis effect (constantly rotating earth)

Hadley Cell-constant air movement trying to reach equilibrium of temperature & pressure
-warm air blows toward poles & cool air toward the equator

Location of earth’s major deserts

-most of the great deserts on earth, such as the Sahara Desert of Africa, are found at 30 degrees latitude

Which direction do hurricanes spin?

- in the northern winds bend toward the right and cyclones/hurricanes rotate counterclockwise
-in the southern hemisphere winds bend toward the left and cyclones/hurricanes rotate clockwise

Hurricane/Cyclone/Typhoon

-cyclones: typhoons and hurricanes
typhoons: W pacific & indian ocean
hurricanes: atlantic, E pacific

Monsoon

- -equatorial regions
-hot air rising off continents
-moist wind blows onshore from oceans

Surface Ocean currents are driven by ____?

-surface ocean currents are driven mostly by the wind
-deep ocean currents are driven by difference in temperature and density of waters

Ocean Gyres / Ocean Garbage Patches

• ocean gyres: Large ocean circulatory movements caused by winds and coriolis effect (like a giant slow whirlpool)
• ocean gyres suck trash into middle of their circle and make trash patches. Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Plastics & Microplastics

- plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and in the process it breaks down into tiny pieces called microplastics

Deep ocean currents (Global Conveyor Belt) are driven by____?

- deep ocean currents are driven by differences in water temperature and salinity

Where & why does the colder saltier ocean water form?

-colder, saltier water is denser than warmer, less salty water
-cold saltier water sinks, and warmer less salty water rushes in to replace it

More CO₂ in cold or warm water?

-CO2 dissolves more readily in cold water than in warm water
-billions of tons of carbon dioxide are in storage in cold, deep oceans near Antarctica and Greenland

Milankovitch Cycles

- variations in earth's orbit cause variations in the amount of solar radiation in the earth receives
-variations: obliquity, eccentricity, precession

Obliquity (Tilt), Eccentricity, Precession (Wobble)

    -obliquity: angle of earth's rotational axis

                    - NOW: 23.5

                     - Range 21.8

                     -41,000 cycle

- eccentricity: elliptical path of earth's orbit

                    - orbit varies from circular to elliptical  path of earths orbit

                   - 100,000

- precession (wobble): of the rotational axis (like a top)

                  - the north pole point towards Polaris

                          - cycle 26,000 years

How do we use Ice cores to study past climate?

-we can study samples of the atmosphere from the past by coring glacial ice in Antarctica and Greenland
-when ice freezes, air bubbles are trapped inside

What isotopes are used to determine past temperature?

- isotopes Oxygen 18 (common in snow and cold) and  Oxygen 16 (common in evaporation and warm) isotopes to determine what the temperature was at the time the ice cores formed.

Relationship between CO₂ and temperature

- temperature is high when CO2 is high, and temperature is low when CO2 is low
-the highest CO2 reading in these 420,000 years is about 300 ppm

Temp lags co2

Current level of CO₂ in the atmosphere

- -global average atmospheric carbon dioxide in 2018 was 407.4 ppm, with a range of uncertainty of plus or minus .1 ppm
-carbon dioxide levels today are higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years

Relationship between Fossil Fuel burning and CO₂ in the atmosphere

- -humans put CO2 into atmosphere by burning fossil fuels
-burning fossil fuels puts the carbon back into the atmosphere as CO

What are the fossil fuels?

- -humans put CO2 into atmosphere by burning fossil fuels
-burning fossil fuels puts the carbon back into the atmosphere as CO

How are we Carbon loading the atmosphere?

- -CO2 enters the atmosphere from volcanoes, animals, and from fossil fuel emissions. Observed increase ij temperatures.

-CO2 enters the atmosphere from volcanoes, animals, and from fossil fuel emissions

Deforestation & Climate Change

- -deforestation removes trees that naturally remove CO2 from the atmosphere
-many of these trees are burned during deforestation, putting more CO2 into the atmosphere
-deforestation of our rain forests, such as the Amazon in Brazil, is of special concern

Livestock (Cows, etc.) & Climate Change

- -livestock: cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep-emit lots of methane gas (CH4)
-cattle are the worst offenders in this regard

Agriculture (Crops etc.) & Climate Change

- the first step in the Haber-Bosch process, necessary for making synthetic fertilizers is: CH4 + 2O2 -> 2H2O + CO2