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Introduction to Atmosphere

Use your text books and the following Internet sites to help youanswer the following questions. You have today and Friday tocomplete this.

Remember your essay is due in on Friday!

Sites to help:http://www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/index.htmlgreat search engine

www.georesources.co.uk lots of good resources just for UK studentshttp://members.aol.com/bowermanb/weather.html great searchinghere!

2 Lessons in computer room to complete

The tasks are as follows:

1. Provide a definition of the terms: albedo, atmosphericpressure, aspect, troposphere, isothermal layer

[ 5 ]

2. What would be a typical albedo value for the following surfaces:

Tropical Rainforest

Sandy Deserts

Water (assume reasonable temperature)

Ice

Farmland: Arable crops

Grassland

[ 5 ]

http://www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/index.htmlhttp://www.georesources.co.uk/http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/weather.htmlhttp://www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/index.htmlhttp://www.georesources.co.uk/http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/weather.html

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3. There are a number of factors which influence the amount ofinsolation received at the earths surface, and the temperaturevariations between different places

They can be summarised as the following:

- Altitude

- Height of the sun in the sky

- Land-sea difference (land heats up quicker than the sea but alsocools down more quickly) - due to difference in specific heatcapacity and ease of penetration of sun's rays into water, plus thecooling effect of evaporation at the surface

- Prevailing winds

- Ocean currents

- Albedo

- Diurnal (day-night) variations

- Localised patterns in cloud cover

- Urbanisation

Make notes from your text books, Waugh, or via Internetsites, which explain the effect of the above factors on thetemperature at the surface.

[ 10 ]

4. What mechanisms act to transfer heat from the equator towardsthe Poles ? Explain these with the aid of at least one diagram.

5. Go to the University of Oregon's GLOBAL CLIMATE ANIMATIONS

site.

Watch the animations which show the net flow of radiation: bothshort and long wave, and the flux (or movement) of heat. Look atthe seasonal pattern of variations in surface temperature - try theFLASH option first for a better result.

What do you notice about the areas of the earth's surface which arethe warmest ?

Where are they located, and how do these locations vary throughoutthe year ?

http://geography.uoregon.edu/envchange/clim_animations/http://geography.uoregon.edu/envchange/clim_animations/

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Explore some of the other animations and try to explain them: e.gsurface pressure, global water balance

6. PAST QUESTIONS

a) Why does temperature in the earth's atmosphere normallydecrease as altitude increases ? [ 5 ]

b) With the aid of an example, outline the effect of aspect onsurface temperatures [ 4 ]

c) Describe the characteristics of the troposphere which help explainits importance in controlling weather patterns on the earth's surface[ 5 ]