Exam 4: Atmosphere and Surface Energy Balances

While energy budgets vary latitudinal, they are fairly constant at specific locations throughout the year. For instance, the energy budget at 32° does not vary throughout the day or year.

An increase in the amount of high altitude, thin clouds would

Solar cookers could replace ________ as an affordable source of energy in rural villages in third world countries.

Clouds, depending on cloud type, altitude, and thickness, can either heat or cool the Earth.

What are the factors that tend to raise the temperature of an urban area relative to its surrounding rural areas?

Earth's average overall albedo is

Follow the flow of energy from the Sun, into Earth's atmosphere and to the surface, and back out into space.

Why is a greenhouse an imperfect analogy for how the Earth's atmosphere behaves?

Why do the tropics have a positive net radiation while the poles have a negative value? How is the energy difference equalized?

Government support and subsidies for solar energy could make it more cost competitive with other energy sources.

The passage of shortwave and longwave energy through the atmosphere and water is an example of

Energy that is reflected from Earth's surface plays a substantial role in heating the atmosphere.

Which of the following is not true of solar energy?

On a cloudy day, Earth's surface receives

Continued urbanization will likely worsen the heat-island effects in the coming years.

The principle that explains the differential scattering of shorter wavelength radiation and accounts for the Earth's blue sky is

Which of the following is not responsible for the urban heating effect?

If the amount of low, thick stratus cloud cover increases, the Earth's climates would likely ________ due to increased ________.

NET R values are positive

Latent heat transfer and convection are examples of nonradiative energy transfer from the Earth's surface.