Exam 11: Heating the Atmosphere

Sea salts from breaking waves, fine soil blown into the air, smoke and soot from wildfires, pollen and microorganisms lifted by the wind, and ash from volcanic eruptions are all examples of ________.

Solar radiation may be absorbed, transmitted, or redirected (reflected or scattered)by the atmosphere.

On this graph, one of the monthly mean temperature lines (red or blue)represents the coastal city of San Francisco, California. The other represents Urbana, Illinois, a city on the same latitude as San Francisco, but located deep in the interior of the North American continent. The red line therefore most likely represents ________.

Carbon dioxide and ________ are the most important heat absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere.

Explain the discrepancy between someone who looks at the Sun at noon and goes blind as a result, and another person in the same spot, who watches the sunset a few hours later with satisfaction and a sense of relaxation, and no ill effects whatsoever.

The tops of tall mountains are much colder than surrounding lowlands. This is evidence of ________.

On a map, lines connecting points of equal temperature are ________.

Visible light makes up about one-half of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Explain how the events/processes depicted in this photo might influence climate.

The concentration of the atmospheric gas ________ is shown in this graph.

Weather is just another word for climate.

Approximately how many kilometers (miles)above Earth's surface does the atmosphere end and outer space begin?

The monthly ________ temperature is calculated by adding together the daily means for each day of the month and dividing by the number of days in the month.

The form of oxygen that combines three atoms of oxygen into each molecule is ________.

Imagine you are in a flying aircraft. You note the presence of clouds and storms at your same altitude. What layer of the atmosphere must the aircraft be traveling through?

Match the items in the first column with the correct descriptions in the second column. A)electromagnetic energy that has been scattered by the atmosphere B)a package of instruments attached to a balloon C)a generalization of the weather conditions that are typical of a place D)the state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place E)liquid droplets or solid particles in the atmosphere F)a mixture of many discrete gases, including water vapor, as well as variable components like dust and small liquid droplets G)the form of energy re-radiated by Earth's surface, after being absorbed as visible light from the Sun H)the change in temperature over changes in altitude in the atmosphere -1)air 2)environmental lapse rate 3)weather 4)diffused light 5)radiosonde 6)aerosols 7)infrared radiation 8)climate

The fraction of the total radiation that is reflected by a surface is ________.

All places at the same ________ have identical Sun angles and lengths of daylight.

Examine the figure. Which of the four lettered positions depicts the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice?