REVIEW: WEEK ONE

1. What is meteorology?

1. Study of the atmosphere
2. Compare with astronomy which deals with things outside the atmosphere.

 II. Most atmospheric phenomenon ultimately have their source with the sun - but not all
1. energy from the sun in terms of radiation directly
2. reflected sunlight from the moon and other astronomical bodies.
A. lunar halos, rainbows, aurora borealis and aurora australis, etc.
 3. Non sun events are meteors, asterods, bollides, comets

 III. Weather vs climate
1. weather is current state of the atmosphere
2. climtae is longer term
3. compare behavior (immediate) with personality (long term)

 IV. Interest in predicting
1. folklore - some poems etc.
2. are they accurate?

 V. Scientific approach
1. Solar system in the galaxy; earth in the solar system; atmosphere a small envelope over the Earth
2. The Earth is divided into several spheres which interact
A. Geosphere (rocks)
B. Hydrosphere (water)
C. Atmosphere (air)
D. Biosphere (life)
 3. The idea of a system as integrated parts
A. Parts are integrated
B. change one part, another may change
C. materials cycle through the systems, Carbon cycles, oxygen cycles etc.

 VI. Nature of the atmosphere - chemical make-up
1. Permanent gases (remain constant much of the time)
A. Nitrogen 78.08%
B. Oxygen 20.95%
C. Argon .93%
D. Neon 0.0018
E. Helium 0.0005
F. Hydrogen 0.00006
G. Xenon 0.000009

 2. Variable Gases
A. Water
B. Carbon Dioxide
C. Methane
D. Nitrogen
E. Ozone
F. Particles
G. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)

 VII. "Greenhouse" gases
1. the variable gases
A. Carbon dioxide is increaing (25% since 1958)
B. Ozone dangerous near the surface (smog) but protective in stratosphere
C. Water
a. water to vapor (evaporation) (uses latent heat)
b. vapor to water (condensation) (gives latent heat)

 VII. Height of Atmosphere by levels
1. troposphere 11-12 miles at equator; 4- 5.6 at poles
2. tropopause
3. stratosphere from top of troposhpere to about 31 miles
4. tratopause
5. mesosphere 31 miles to 53 miles
6. mesopause
7. thermosphere 53 miles to anywhere from 311 to 621 miles
8. exosphere from top of thermospher to anywhere from 62,000 miles to 120,000 miles

 VII. Ionosphere
1. Not a layer but a section of atmosphere where sun knocks electrons off making ions
A. Is largely in mesosphere and thermosphere
B. Is divided into layers - D, E, F. Layer D disappears at night
a. important in radio where waves bouncing off go further when D level is gone
 C. Lower level (37 miles) is where aurora takes place.

VIII. Homosphere and Heterosphere:
1. Homosphere is where the gases stay mixed
2. Heterosphere is where gases are fractionated by their molecular weights.

 IX. Definitions
1. usage definitions vs. technical definitions
A. Sometimes they are quite opposite (hypothesis, theory etc.)

 X. Temperature vs. heat
1. Temperature (speed of atoms/molecules)
2. Heat transfer of energy
A. temperature of a single match may be the same as a bonfire but bonfire has more heat.

 XI. Environmental Lapse Rate and Temperature inversion
1. Environmental Lapse rate - how temperature drops with altitude (the higher the colder)
2. Heat inversion - when temperature increases with altitude.

 XII. Temperature in the atmosphere
1. Troposphere - temperature drops with altitude
2. Stratosphere - temperature rises with altitude (ozone absords UV and becomes more active)
3. Mesosphere - temperature drops with altitude (No ozone to absorbs UV solar radiation)
4. Thermosphere - temperature rises with altitude (Oxygen aborbs powerful solar radiation - temperature high; few molecules heat is low)
A. temperature varies with activity on sun. Normal sun, temperature in Thermosphere about 932F; with active sun about 2732F

 XIII. Pressure: In addition to temperature there are changes in pressure
1. Pressure is measure in a variaty of ways.
A. inches of mercury: 29.92
B. 14.7 pounds per square inch
C. 1013 millibars
D. Other measurements like Pascals, will be discussed later

 XIV. Formation of atmosphere still debated
1. early atmospheres may have been lost and new ones formed
2. More oxygen at some times, none at others.
3. oxygen cycles - where it comes from (photosynthesis etc.) where it goes (respiration etc)

 XV. Water in the atmosphere
1. Only material found in solid, liquid and gas on normal Earth temperatures.
2. necessary for life. Other planets have atmospheres, but none like Earth.
3. some evidence it may have been on Mars but lost to space
4. some evidence for liqyud water on some satellites of other planets