-Atmosphere- a thin gaseous layer that surrounds the solid earth
-Contains 78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
.9% Argon
.03% Carbon Dioxide
-Outgassing= Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Water, & Nitrogen
-The Atmosphere contained Carbon dioxide and water vapor, sulfur dioxide introduced via volcanoes and oxygen introduced by stromatolites
-Layers of the Atmosphere are based on Temperature Change
Chemical Composition
Density
-Troposphere: bottom layer (0-11km)
-Where we live
-Weather occurs here
-Temp decreases as altitude increases
- Air gets thiner as altitude increases
-Stratosphere: (11-50km)
-Ozone and jet streams are here
-Little to no water vapor
-Temp increases as the ozone absorbs UV rays
-Mesosphere: (50-90km)
-Temp drops to -103 degrees F
-Low air pressure
-Coldest Layer
-Thermosphere: (up to 500km)
-Warmest layer
-Auroras occur here
-higher temps because higher energy UV rays and x-ray radiation from the sun is absorbed
2. Air Pollution
-Major Air pollutants are Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, suspended particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and ozone.
-Can cause cancer, heart attacks, and lung damage.
-Damages Wildlife and crops.
-Primary air pollutants go directly into the air
-Secondary pollutants are dangerous when mixed with other chemicals
-Secondary Pollutants are bad ozone, smog, and acids
-Ozone
-is 3 O2 atoms
-Good ozone is in the upper part of the stratosphere and it blocks harmful UV radiation
-Bad ozone is found at ground level and is created by chemical reactions from other chemicals coming from cars and factories
-Bad ozone worsens bronchitis, emphysema and asthma
reduces lung function and causes lung scarring
makes breathing difficult and causes lung disease
-Good ozone is depleted by chemicals and CFC's released from earth that break up the good ozone.
-Smog
-smog is a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants under influence and UV rays
-Industrial smog: mixture of sulfur dioxide and smoke caused from burning coal
-Photochemical smog: a mixture of air pollutants cause by chemical reactions under the influence of sunlight
3. Air Pressure
-Air Pressure is affected by altitude
temperature
humidity
-Air around the ground is more dense than air higher in the atmosphere
-Cold air is more dense than warm air
-Dry air is more dense than humid air
-Increase in altitude causes decrease in air pressure
-Increase in humidity causes decrease in air pressure
-Increase in temperature will cause decrease in air pressure
-An isobar is a line on a weather map connecting areas of equal pressure
-Pressure is measure with a barometer
-As air pressure raises you get sunny skies as it drops you get rainier and stormier conditions
4. Weather Systems
High Pressure Systems
-Winds in the Northern hemisphere spin counter clockwise
-Marked as "H" on an isobar map
-Associated with fair weather
Low Pressure System
-Winds in the Northern hemisphere spin clockwise
-Marked as "L" on an isobar map
-Associated with cloudy or stormy weather
5. Air Masses
-Categorized by their source region
-cP: continental polar, is cool and dry
-cA: continental arctic, is cold and dry
-cT: continental tropic, is hot and dry
-mP: maritime polar, is cool and moist
-mA: maritime arctic, is cold and moist
-mT: maritime tropic, is hot and moist
6. Humidity
-Is measured using a psychrometer
7. Dew Point
-Is measured by a thermometer
-Dew point is the temperature at which a given parcel of air would reach 100% relative humidity; the temperature at which there would be precipitation
8. Fronts
-On a weather map warm fronts are upward facing semi circles, cold fronts are upward facing triangles and occluded fronts are are alternating upward facing semi-circles and triangles.
Warm Fronts
-Before they pass it is cold with S-SE winds cold temps, falling pressure, and light to moderate rain
-While passing there are variable winds, rising temps, a leveling off pressure, and a slight drizzle
-After passing there are S-SE winds, warm temps, steady pressure, and sometimes light rain of shower
Cold Fronts
-Before passing there are S-SE winds, warm temps, falling temps, and short periods of showers
-While passing there are shifting winds, sudden drop in temps, a steady pressure, and heavy rain or storms
-After passing there are W-NW winds, cold temps, rising pressure, and showers that resolve to clear skies
Occluded Fronts
-Before passing there are S-SE winds, cold temps, falling pressure, and light to heavy precipitation
-While passing there are variable winds, variable temps, a low point of pressure, and precipitation
-After passing winds are W-NW, temp is either much colder or warmer, rising pressure, and precipitation
9. Tornadoes
-A tornado is a violently rotation column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground
-A funnel cloud is a tornado that hasn't touched the ground
-Tornadoes are measured on the Fujita scale (F0-F5) which is based off of damage
-Tornadoes typically spawn from thunderstorms
-To create a tornado you need a Cold/Dry air mass, a Warm/Moist air mass, falling low pressure, and variable winds
-Tornadoes are associated with Dark greenish skies, black storm clouds, large hail, and a funnel cloud
-Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over the water that move inland
-A tornado watch means that weather conditions are right for a tornado and a tornado warning means that one has been spotted
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