Scribd
Upload
94 views45 pages

EASC1020 3 Notes

This document provides an overview of the topics that will be covered in the EASC 1020 Intro to Climate Science course. The course will examine controls of the climate like latitude, seasons, and circulation. It will also explore key topics such as solar and terrestrial radiation, the greenhouse effect, and the global energy balance. Additionally, the course will study moisture and the global hydrological cycle, including concepts like evaporation, humidity, and the water balance. Seasonal and latitudinal climate patterns will also be a topic of discussion.

Uploaded by

LS Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
94 views45 pages

EASC1020 3 Notes

This document provides an overview of the topics that will be covered in the EASC 1020 Intro to Climate Science course. The course will examine controls of the climate like latitude, seasons, and circulation. It will also explore key topics such as solar and terrestrial radiation, the greenhouse effect, and the global energy balance. Additionally, the course will study moisture and the global hydrological cycle, including concepts like evaporation, humidity, and the water balance. Seasonal and latitudinal climate patterns will also be a topic of discussion.

Uploaded by

LS Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 45

EASC 1020

Intro to Climate Science

Energy, Moisture and


Hydrological Cycle
Controls of the Climate
Ø Latitude

Ø Seasons

Ø Continentality

Ø Circulation

Ø Topography

Ø Local features
Topics
Ø Solar radiation

Ø Terrestrial radiation

Ø The greenhouse effect

Ø The global energy balance

Ø Seasonal/latitudinal patterns
Topics
Ø Moisture (humidity)

Ø Global hydrological cycle

Ø Global water balance

Ø Surface water balance


Solar Radiation

Electromagnetic energy can be classified according to its


wavelength
Solar Radiation

Stefan-Boltzmann law: E* = σSB T4, σSB =5.67x10-8 Wm-2K-4.


Solar energy Q = E*sun ·4πrsun2 = 3.87x1026W, rsun= 6.96x105 km
=solar radius.
Solar Radiation

Solar constant S0 =Q/4πa2, a is the distance from the Sun to a


planet.
S0 = Q/4π(1.495x1011)2 = 1367 Wm-2 for the Earth.
Terrestrial Radiation
Terrestrial Radiation

Short wave radiation

Absorption, scattering and reflection


Terrestrial Radiation
Ø Absorption
retains radiation and converts it to some form of energy

Ø Reflection
bouncing from a surface

Albedo: proportional reflectance of a surface.


(mirror, glaciers, clouds, pavement, Earth’s average?)

Ø Scattering
Gases and water droplets scatter light (and thus radiation) in all
direction.

Why are skies blue?


Terrestrial Radiation

Emission temperature Te: S0(1-A) πrearth2 =4πrearth2 σSB Te4


Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse Effect: Global Carbon Cycle
The Radiation Balance

Radiation balance equation:


Q* = (K↓ -K↑) + (L↓ -L↑) Day and night?
The Energy Balance

Sensible heat flux QH,


Latent heat flux QE
Substrate heat flux QG (conduction)

Q* = QH+QE+QG

Q* = (K↓ -K↑) + (L↓ -L↑)

Thus,
(K↓ -K↑) + (L↓ -L↑) = QH+QE+QG
The Global Energy Balance
Seasonal/Latitudinal Patterns
Seasonal/Latitudinal Patterns
Seasonal/Latitudinal Patterns
Seasonal/Latitudinal Patterns

Animations:

Ø http://climvis.org/content/global.htm

Ø http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Global
Maps/
Evaporation, Condensation, &
Saturation
Ø Evaporation is the change of liquid into
a gas and requires heat.
Ø Condensation is the change of a gas
into a liquid and releases heat.
Ø Saturation is an equilibrium condition in
which for each molecule that
evaporates, one condenses.
Humidity
ØA number of ways of specifying the
amount of water vapor in the air.
Ø Absolute humidity: mass of water
vapor/volume of air
l Water vapor density (m/V)
l Not commonly used due to frequent
change of volume
Humidity
Ø Specific Humidity: mass of water
vapor/mass of air
Ø Mixing ratio: mass of water
vapor/mass of dry air
Ø Neither measurement changes with
volume, must add or subtract water
vapor.
Humidity
Ø Vaporpressure: the pressure exerted by
water vapor molecules in an air parcel
(Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressure)
l Fraction of total vapor pressure (1% or so)
l More water molecules = high vapor pressure
Ø Saturationvapor pressure: the vapor
pressure at which an air parcel will be
saturated, changes with temperature
Clausius-Clapeyron equation:
es = e0·exp[L/Rv·(1/T0-1/T)]
e0 = 0.611 kPa, T0 = 273 K, Rv =461 JK-1kg-1, the gas constant for
water vapor, and L = Lv =2.5x106 Jkg-1. L/Rv = 5423 K.
A simplified form:
es = e0·exp[βT]
e0 = 0.611 kPa and β = 0.067 °C-1. T in °C.
Humidity
Ø Relative
Humidity: (actual water
vapor/saturation water vapor)*100
RH/100 = e/es = q/qs = ρ/ρs ~ r/rs
l RH can be changed two ways:
• Change vapor content
• Change saturation

l Decrease temperature causes an


increase in relative humidity (inverse
relationship).
The Global Hydrological Cycle

Ø Evaporation and transpiration-evapotranspiration


(ET)
Ø Precipitable water, through condensation and
deposition, on average ~2.5mm, variable
(temperature and circulation dependent)
Ø Water vapor molecule life time ~8 days
Ø Global hydrological cycle- the constant cycling of
water throughout the earth-ocean-atmosphere
system
The Global Hydrological Cycle
The Global Hydrological Cycle

Values represent volumes in millions of km3 annually


The Global Hydrological Cycle

Global distribution of water on earth


The Global Hydrological Cycle

Ø Global water balance equation:


P = ET + R

Ø Percolation and infiltration, small

Ø ET important, connected to energy balance


The Global Hydrological Cycle

Global distribution of mean runoff (mm/year)


The Surface Water Balance

Ø Potential evapotranspiration (PE): the climatic demand


for water from the landscape driven by the amount of
insolation at the surface.
Ø Reference evapotranspiration: from a hypothetical
reference crop.

Ø Evapotranspiration (ET), actual vs. potential (PE):

Ø Precipitation (P)

Ø Soil storage (ST)


The Surface Water Balance
The Surface Water Balance

Land + ocean precipitation


The Surface Water Balance
The Surface Water Balance

Ø Deficit (D): PE is not fulfilled by some


combination of P and by water withdrawn from
storage in the soil.

Ø Surplus (S): any water is not needed for PE or soil


moisture recharge, runoff

Ø P = ET+S±∆ST
PE = ET + D
The Surface Water Balance

Water balance diagram


Koppen Climatic Classification System
Cwa: Humid Subtropical Winter Dry

You might also like