Transcript AP Environmental Study Session 4

AP Environmental
AP Environmental Study Session 4
Study Session 4
More Climate/Weather Stuff…
• Heat is transferred to the atmosphere from Solar
Radiation
• Vertical currents on moving air are called:
– Convection Currents
– Hold lots of moisture
• As Warm air rises, cold air moves in
– Drives surface winds on Earth
• Density of gases
– Cold is More / Less Dense
– Warm is More / Less Dense
Convection Cycle / Cell
• Warm air rises and cools to the:
– Dew Point: the temperature at which water vapor
condense to liquid water
– Condensed water in the air creates……
– Water requires condensation nuclei to form
droplets
• As water droplets get larger and larger, they
fall to the ground as precipiation…why?
– Hint: An apple fell on Newton’s noggin, because….
The reason we have deserts…
• Hadley Cells
– Equator is heated, air rises because it is….
– Rising air reaches the _________ temperature and
water condenses into droplets around ________
___________
– All precipitation is dropped on or near the equator
– Air masses circulate away from the equator
– Cool dry air sinks at 30 degrees N and S of the
Equator
Seasons
• Earth’s Axis Tilts 23.5 degress
• North and South poles have periods of total
day and total night
Winds
• Define:
– Air that is moving because of unequal heating of
the Earth’s atmosphere
– Move heat, moisture, soil, and pollution around
the world
Winds Continued…
• Horse Latitudes
• Doldrums
Jet Stream: Bands of fast moving air
in the upper troposphere
Weather Events
• Monsoons
•Warm, dry air heated quickly over land rises,
condenses, and forms precipitation
•Cool, moist air over water moves onto land to
replace the rising warm air
•Reverse occurs at night
•*Creates an on-shore breeze during the day
and an off-shore breeze at night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1p-XcGdC4&feature=related
Weather Events
• Rainshadow
•A barrier pushes a mass of air up in altitude
•As altitude increases, temp decreases in the air
•Dew point is reached and all moisture falls as
precipitation
•As the air mass moves over the barrier and to
the other side, it no longer contains any moisture