Latitudinal patterns of radiation excesses and deficits (net radiation) Put simply this just means....... which areas of the globe get more of the suns energy than others! The amount of the suns energy that is recieved by an area is called the NET RADIATION¢ Net radiation is what is left after you look at how much radiation entered an area and how much was lost e If net radiation is 0 then the energy budget is balanced and an area neither warms or cools The graph below shows the amount of NET RA- DIATION at given latitudes across the globe Net gain NET RADIATION IN DIFFERENT LATITUDES, Be Ee bb eo ees Netloss. North Pole South Pole You can clearly see that areas closer to the equator (0 degrees latitude) recieve more radiation than those closer ta the noles (90TERT SCS TACT Areas closer to the equator receive more radi- ation than areas further away for 2 reasons 1)Insolation (incoming solar radiation) is con- centrated near the equator, but dispersed near the polesucegices tauluue) Areas closer to the equator receive more radi- ation than areas further away for 2 reasons 1)Insolation (incoming solar radiation) is con- centrated near the equator, but dispersed near the poles . ae a 2)Insolation near the poles has to pass through a greater amount of atmosphere and there is more chance of it being reflected back out to spaceA puzzle for you?? e The poles have a negative energy budget so they should be getting colder e The tropics have a positive energy budget they should be getting warmerThese clouds form at ground level because, air can only hold a certain amount of moisture. Colder air can hold less moisture than warmer air. Once this maximum amount of moisture is reached, air is saturated and the water vapour in the air turns to liquid. This is when clouds form as condensation of water vapour to water droplets occur. For these clouds of fog/mist to form close to the ground level , one of two things must have occured: 1) Air must have been coooled close to the groundA puzzle for you?? Watts m2 The poles have a negative energy budget so they should be getting colder The tropics have a positive energy budget they should be getting warmer But they are not Why? Surplus Heat Energy Transferred By Atmosphere And Oceans To Higher Latitudes 0 10 20 30 40 50 70 90 North + latitude —oe Southa greater amount of atmosphere and there is more chance of it being reflected back out to space aterm neem ween ene -- Very hot A puzzle for you?? The poles have a negative energy budget so they should be getting colder e The tropics have a positive energy budget they should be getting warmer e But they are not e¢ Why?A balance is achieved by the horizontal transfer of energy from the equator to the poles by winds and ocean currents to compensate for differences in global insolation If there was no energy transfer the poles would be 250c colder than they are now! Air pressure e The gases in the atmosphere press down on the Earth's surface, exerting a force called air pressure. e [It actually presses down very hard - roughly equivalent to the force of an ele- phant balancing on a desk!e You don't feel it because you have equal pressure pushing out from inside your body Pressure can be low or high Dry Air Cloud Descend Rise HIGH Low VIVAVITTTTT Itis measured in millibarsWinds and air pressure e Changes in air pressure make winds blow. e Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, and this produces winds. COLD AIR MORE DENSS HEAVIER E 2 ° 0 2 53 a ae a9 z 4% WARM AIR HIGH LESS DENSE PRESSURE RR WARM —FARTHS ste This can be easily remembered with the phrase “Winds blow from high to low !”Atmospheric circulation e The atmosphere is circulating around our planet and does not stay still e The causes of this circulation is due to air pressure difference e Air pressure differences are due to the energy given by the sun to different latitudes.The Tri-Cell model Atmospheric Circulation L oe PS rr A if ii er rr]At the equator the sun shines directly and warms the earth's surface. Warm air rises creating an area of low pressure In the sub-tropics (20-300 North and South) this air sinks because it is colder and denser It then returns to the tropics to replace the rising air This circulation is known as the Hadley Cell The Polar cell is likewise a similar circula- tion system Warmer air rises at lower latitudes and moves pole ward When the air reaches the polar areas, it has cooled considerably, and descends as a cold, dry high pressure area. The cell lying between the the Polar cell and the Hadley cell is called the Ferrell cell.e It only exists due to the other two cells and it mirrors the other cells movements e It transfers warm air to high latitudes and shifts cold air back to the subtropics, where it is warmed. This tri-cell model names the equator as the start of the circulation It is important to remember that this is not ac- tually referring to the line of latitude , but the true thermal equator (the hottest place on earth) This true thermal equator moves depending on the time of yearIn January it is over Southern Africa and Australia In July it is over the Sahara, Northern India and Mexico Newer circulation ideas More recently, new theories on air circulation have been investigated alongside the tri-cell model 1.Rossby Waves 2Jet streams Rossby Waves Researchers in the early 20th Century dis- covered large-scale fast “rivers of air” formed by westerly winds which follow a ridge and trough like pattern know as Rossby Waves.Wind and air pressure variations Remember that air rising creates low pressure and air descending creates low pressure. Look at the diagram below, to see how the Tri-Cell Model causes their to be bands of high and low pressure across certain latitudes. Pei Subpolar tow | SH Subtropical high Ef L__Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) |. pL Subpolarlow LgYou also must remember that winds blow from high to low pressure. Look at how the global winds blow from high to low in the diagram below. 60° i a 60° -H Si 30° ubti a H 30° 0° |. _ Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) |. 0° 30° —< — H_ (39° 60° : as : 60° They blow at an angle rather than straight due to something known as the Coriolis effect. The Coriolis effect is the deflection of moving ob- jects caused by the rotation of the earth. It de- flects moving objects to the right of their course in the northern hemisphere and the left of their path in the southern hemisphere .Does this pattern of high and low pressure stay the same all year round? e Air pressure varies depending on which hemisphere you are in e Air pressure varies more from season to season in the Northern Hemisphere com- pared to the Southern Hemisphere e This is because there is more ocean in the Southern Hemisphere- and oceans do not vary in pressure or temperature as much as land does. voutherntermis pheree One variation in the Southern Hemi- sphere is that the subtropical high over Australia and South Africa tends to get broken in summer ¢ One variation in the Northern Hemi- sphere is that in winter there is still the sub tropical high , but in summer, land breaks this up and low pressure occurs over continental areas such as Southern Asia.“The highest temperaturesare recorded atthe lowlatitudesinthe ~L) Latitude tropics ( 0° to 23.5°) north and south of the equator. “There is a decrease in temperature between the Equator and the Poles. “Thisis because at the equator the sun shines directly from overhead in the sky and therefore is concentrated on a small area, whereas at the poles the suns energy is scattered over a larger area so it isless concentrated * 2 10 10 Very hot becassd the mare rays Annual Mean Temperature are concerted on onl rea *Air temperature decreases with increasing altitude *For every 100m you ascend the air temperature drops by 1% “This is because when air is at the bottom of mountains and hills it is underneath more air pushing down on it (more pressure). This makes the air denser and therefore warmer *As altitude increases so the pressure on the air is reduced and the air becomes less dense and cooler High altitude = lower pressure*Air rises at the equator as the sun is hottest here, which makes the air warm enough to rise *As the air rises it makes cumulonimbus (thunder & rain) clouds as it cools down (in tropical areas) Once it has cooled it becomes denser so it sinks down making high pressure areas with no cloud “These areas are hot and dry due tothe sinking air | and are known as deserts ——. + In temperate zones you get cold air circulating from polar regions where the suns heat is not felt as much, meeting with warm air from desert regions. “The warm and cold air meetingin temperate _ regions creates rain clouds and brings mild to cool temperatures 4) Ocean currents *Warm ocean currents from hotter areas of the globe such as the equator raise temperatures ‘Whereas cold currents from the polar regions can cool temperatures *Ocean currents tend to flow in the same direction all year round so temperatures are regularly affected by them in the same places5) Distance from the sea * Land heats up more quickly and cools more quickly than sea “Therefore distance from the sea can affect an areas climate “Water takes longer to heat up in summer months than areas of land, so if you live by the coast in summer you are cooled by the colder water temperatures “Whereas if you live inland, you are warmer in summer than coastal areas, as the land around you has heated up quickly *In winter the opposite occurs. Places by the coast are warmer as they have taken longer to heat up over summer , but then also take longer to cool, so keep coastal areas warmer ie ini Heats ond Cools Quielty *Whereas inland the land cools Heats quchly - warm nummer auicyin winter and keeps the area eens neces, Cools Quickly cool winter lerWhat is humidity? Absolute humidity refers to the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere E.g. 8 grams of water in a cubic metre of air. Relative humidity is the amount of water va- pour present in the atmosphere expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount of water the air can hold at that temperature e.g. 50% Completely saturated air will have a humidity of 100% 10°C 100% 52% 28% Relative Relative Relative Humidity Humidity HumidityWhat is precipitation? Precipitation refers to all forms of deposition of moisture from the atmosphere in either solid or liquid states. It includes rain, hail, snow, sleet and dew.Precipitation Precipitation is the fall of water, ice, or snow deposited on the surface of the Earth from the atmosphere. There are three main types of rainfall 1. Orographic or Relief Rainfall 2. Convectional Rainfall 3. Frontal Rainfall All of them occur due to one main factorAIR IS FORCED TO RISE e Air is forced to rise over a barrier such as a mountain e As it rises it cools, condenses and forms rain e Often there is a rain shadow effect where the leeward slop receives very little rainConvectional Rainfall e When land becomes very hot it heats the air above it e This air expands and rises e Asitrises , it cools and condensation takes place e If it continues to rise rain will fall e tis very common in tropical areas.Frontal Rainfall Condensation Condensation ocaur: fo rapidfy along front with greater temp. FRONT difference Warr air 7 ¥ Heavy rainfalls forced to ui Y along front, = ae rise over a uc ¥ ¥ YR a wae e Frontal rainfall occurs when warm air meets cold air at a front. e The warm air is lighter so rises above the colder denser air. e As it rises it cools and condenses to form rain. e |t is must common in middle latitudes where warm tropical air meets colder po- lar air.Frost is a deposit of find ice crystals on a surface It occurs on cloud free nights when there has been radiation cooling to below freezing (long wave radiation given out so a surface cools) Water vapour condenses on these surfaces straight into a solid (sublimation)Hail Hail is frozen pellets of rain ae Hall Formation i‘ ; large to hold in formed by raindrops being | Gie'stngta se govingn crusting convection currents carried up and down in vertical air currents in cumulonimbus clouds Once it is large enough it escapes from the air currents downwards from the cloud towards the ground Snow is frozen precipitation. Snow crystals form when temperature is below freezing and water vapour is converted straight into a solid (sublimation) Every level of the troposphere must be below freezing so the snow does not 4) t melt on its way down3) Whether they bring precipitation or not Nimbus, meaning ‘rain cloud’, is the term to describe clouds bringing precipitation. The two types of nimbus cloud are nimbostratus and cumulonimbus. Nimbostratus are flat wide rain = clouds which do not bring any thunder or lightning. — —— Cumulonimbus are taller, dense clouds which can extend higher in the air. They bring thunderstorms2) Shape There are three main cloud shapes: Cumulus, which means ‘pile’. These are heavy, lumpy, fluffy clouds. Cirrus, which means ‘curl of hair’. These look like wispy locks of hair. Stratus, which means ‘spread out’ or ‘layer’. These clouds look like vast sheets.1) Altitude Clouds below 2,000 metres are called low-level. (made of water ) They are given the prefix alto. (mixture of ice and water) Clouds above 6,000 metres are called high-level. They are given the prefix cirro. (ice crystals)A cloud is a visible mass of condensed water va- pour or ice particles floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the ground. Clouds are classified according to three criteria: e altitude e shape e and whether they bring precipitation.e As air rises and cools, the water vapour in the air condenses back into water Parcel of air continues to rise droplets e When a parcel of air holds the maximum amount of moisture it can it is called sat- urated. e The point at which a parcel of air is satur- ated is known as dew point ¢ The altitude at which dew point is reached is known as condensation level Air has reached dew point and is, Condensation level saturatedDew Dew is the name for condensation of water on a surface. This means when water vapour in the air has turned into water droplets on a surface (e.g. leaf, window). This normally occurs because the surface is cold and has caused the air to cool and there- fore become saturated (reach dew point) and so condensation has occured.2) More water vapour must have been added to the atmosphere close to the ground. This can occur over warm, wet surfaces like large lakes, where water is evaporated from the warm surface of the lake and condenses in the cold air above to form fog) For mist or fog to form, condensation nuclei are needed (e.g. dust or salt particles in the air). These are more common in urban or coastal areas, so mist of fog are more common here.Mist & Fog Mist and Fog are cloud at ground level. A cloud is just a collection of water droplets. Mist occurs when visibility is between 1000m and 5000m. Whereas Fog occurs where visibility is below 1000m. So Fog is thicker cloud cover than mist.e.g. Advection Fog: As warm, moist air passes over a cold surface it is chilled, and condensa- tion takes place as the temperature of the air is reduced and therefore it reaches dew (saturation) point) e.g. Radiation Fog: Occurs when the ground loses heat at night by long wave radiation and therefore the air above it is cooled causing con- densation and fog. Advection - fog caused when warm wet air flows over a cold surface Ground loses heat by radiation Cold layer of air near ground Fog condenses Radiation - ground cools by radiation, and fog forms as the air cools Figure 10Therefore......... We can therefore name clouds by their height, shape and whether they will bring precipitation. + on _ Cumulonimbus Alto stratus Heaped fluffy Will bring Mid-level Layer clouds precipitation cloud cloudsAll the cloud types shown togetherHow does it form? Water vapour in the air is condensed into tiny water droplets forming clouds. If these droplets join together (coalesce) to form large droplets they get heavier. When they are heavy enough to overcome ascending air currents they fall as rain. The droplets must get large enough to form rain drops and there are several theories on how this happens. e -Coalescence( joining) by sweeping where a falling droplets sweeps up others in its path e -Growth of droplets by electrical attrac- tion to each other e -Condensation around nuclei e.g. dust particlesAdiabatic Processes Adiabatic means the rising and sinking of air. So an Adiabatic Process is anything that occurs as air rises or sinks. e As air rises it cools and can hold less water e As air sinks it warms and can hold more waterLapse rates e A lapse rate is the rate of temperature decrease with altitude Altitude (m) ———- 1000 Surface 30°COn average the Environmental lapse rate (ELR) is 60C per 1000m It does varies according to height, time of year, and over different surfaces. When parcels of air move up through the atmosphere they cool at a different rate to the surrounding air. This therefore means they have a differ- ent lapse rate This is known as the Adiabatic lapse rateDry Adiabatic Lapse Rate e Parcels of dry (unsaturated) air cool at a higher rate than the surrounding air (approximately 100C per 1000m) Altitude (m) ——— ¢ This is known as the Dry Adiabatic lapse rate (DALR)Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate e Parcels of saturated air cool at approxim- ately 40C-90C per 1000m (average of 50C is usually given) e This is known as the Saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR) 5000 4000 o S Ss Ss Altitude (m) ——> is] co So o 1000 Surface 10 0 10 20 30 40 Temperature ((C) ———»e The saturated air cools at a lower rate than the dry air because condensation is occurring so the air releases heat offset- ting the cooling process. When does a parcel of air stop rising? e Air will continue to rise and cool until it reaches the same temperature as the sur- rounding air.e This marks the top of cloud development. Stability and Instability in the air Stable conditions (stability) in the atmosphere exist when a rising parcel of air cools more quickly than the air surrounding it . If air is dis- placed upwards it immediately gets cooled, denser and sinks. (ELR at 60C is lower than DALR at 100C) 1000m When the air parce! teaches this point it is cooler than the surroundix air and therefore it sinks Height TemperatureBecause the air cools quickly it sinks and no clouds or precipitation is formed, bringing dry and calm weather. Unstable conditions (instability) in the atmo- sphere exist when a rising parcel of air cools more slowly than the air surrounding it (ELR is greater than DALR or SALR) Temperature Because the air is warmer than the surrounding air it continues to rise forming clouds and precipitationConditional instability in the atmosphere exist when air parcels are stable if they are dry and unstable if they are saturated. So ELR is less than DALR but greater than SALR Air would be stable if it is dry and would sink to the ground, but if it becomes saturated it is forced to rise and may become unstableThe Human Impact on our Atmosphere and Weather Climate Change is the correct term, for the common term Global Warming. It is the pro- cess of the average global temperature rising. Global Temperatures —— Annual Average — Five Year Average Temperature Anomaly (°C) 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000This warming is occuring because the earth's energy budget falls out of balance. The earth's energy budget must be balanced or temperatures will change. The same amount of shortwave radiation that enters the earth's atmosphere must leave as long wave radiation. een a CerneClimate change is caused by an enhancement of a natural process called the Greenhouse Effect. Without the Greenhouse effect, life could not survive here on earth. The normal situation ¢ /The Greenhouse Effect EX Sy peered ct) r PsThe green house effect is a natural process. The earth would be too cold without it. The earth is surrounded by a thin layer of green- house gases which sit around the earth. Short wave radiation from the sun travels through the layer. It is re-radiated by the earth as long wave radiation. Some of the long wave radi- ation is re emitted by the layer of greenhouse gases. Some of the long wave radiation is al- lowed to escape back out to space through the layer to stop the planet getting too hot. NEY Human Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse Effect ses Te eee ted ri a Foal EI LcThe Human Enhanced Greenhouse Effect or Global warming is caused by humans. It hap- pens when extra gases produced by us have made the amounts of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere more concentrated. This layer therefore stops more of the long wave radi- ation escaping to space and remits more of it towards the earth. The planet is heated up be- cause of this.What are the greenhouse gases and how have we increased their concentrations? Key statistics on Gas Sources Rare ko it contributes to global warming Carbon _ | Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) | Levels have risen from 315 Dioxide _ | Detorestation ppm in 1950 to 355 pp Road vehicles Cattle Increasing at a rate of 0.5-2% Natural wetland and paddy fields per year. Bogs trapped in permafrost will melt and Second largest contributor to Methane | release more methane global warming Biomass burning Human activities- fairly unknown?? Increase of 0.2-0.3% per year Nitrous _ | Possibly burning of fossil fuels. Oxide ‘Aerosol propellants Increasing at a rate of 6% per cFcs | Sovents year and are up to 10,000 Refridgerators times more efficient at Foam blowing agents trapping heat than CO2Impacts of global warming. The impacts of climate change are a very com- plex issue. They largely depend on the amount of change the climate undergoes. The diagram below shows the projected impact on various elelments of our planet at varying degrees of temperature change. Projected impact of climate change iH mtn ikl agra etl at bg aca ne cingthere can be wind tunneling e There is less snow Why do all of these climatic changes occur in an urban area? Hotter than surrounding areas due to the following e -Greater surface area in urban areas to ab- sorb heat e -Albedo of tarmac and concrete is lower than grass areas so less insolation is reflected e -Buildings absorb large quantities of heat and release them at night e -Little energy is used for evapotranspiration so more is available to heat the atmosphere e -Pollutants help trap radiation in urban areasKey points to remember about urban climates: e They are hotter e There is less water vapour and lower humidity e There are more intense storms e There is reduced visibility e There are slower winds in general but there can be wind tunneling e There is less snow Why do all of these climatic changes occur in an urban area?Urban Climates- How we have affected cli- mate by building urban areas In building urban areas, humans have created an urban climate. URBAN HEAT ISLAND PROFILE 33.3 32.8 32.2 317 311 30.6 30.0 29.4 Temp ° ror cee: ¢ e Mn ete: sore ; Urban Suburban Rural Commercial Residential Residential Sue Downtown Park Residential These urban climates result from extra sources of heat released from industry, commercial and residential buildings as well as from vehicles, concrete, glass and tarmac- all of which act very differently to natural soil and vegetation.More intense storms due to e -Greater instability and stronger convection above urban areas Less snowfall due to e -Higher temperatures Less moisture and lower relative humidity due to the following e -lack of vegetation so less transpiration e -High drainage density (drains) which re- moves water