Exam 4: Insolation and Temperature

Radiation from the Earth is mostly absorbed in the lower troposphere and ________ back towards Earth.

The distance of passage of a solar beam through the atmosphere is determined by the angle of incidence.

Satellite data confirm that Earth's "skin" temperature on land and water is ________.

Explain why, for the year as a whole, the polar latitudes receive less energy at the top of the atmosphere than they emit at the top of the atmosphere.

Isotherms are lines connecting points of equal pressure.

A(n) ________ climate is known for lesser seasonal extremes of temperature than its land counterpart.

Cooling of air expansion is called ________.

The ability of electromagnetic energy to pass through the atmosphere is called scattering.

The absorption of longwave radiation in the atmosphere is popularly called ________.

An imaginary continent extends from the Equator to 50°S. Describe the likely pattern of isotherms that show the average annual temperature ranges.

Explain the yearly cycle of differences of daylength at the South Pole

Most of the radiation incident upon the Earth falls within the ________ part of the spectrum.

More than three-fourths of all sunshine falls on ________ as it reaches Earth's surface.

Vertical motion in air causes cooling of the lifted air. This phenomenon is governed by the ________ effect.

Cool ocean currents deflect isotherms ________.

Describe the main ocean currents associated with the gyres in the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic Oceans.

For the most part the atmosphere is heated from the ________.

The world's main ocean currents are energized by the wind, but are deflected to by the Earth's rotation. Why?

Which of the following electromagnetic wavelengths are LONGEST?

Solar radiation is most plentiful in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.