Introduction to Atmosphere

Use your text books and the following Internet sites to help you
answer the following questions. You have today and Friday to
complete this.

Remember your essay is due in on Friday!

Sites to help:
http://www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/index.html great search engine

www.georesources.co.uk lots of good resources just for UK students

http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/weather.html great searching
here!

2 Lessons in computer room to complete

The tasks are as follows:

1. Provide a definition of the terms: albedo, atmospheric

pressure, aspect, troposphere, isothermal layer

[5]

2. What would be a typical albedo value for the following surfaces:

Tropical Rainforest

Sandy Deserts

Water (assume reasonable temperature)

Ice

Farmland: Arable crops

Grassland

[5]
3. There are a number of factors which influence the amount of
insolation received at the earth’s surface, and the temperature
variations between different places

They can be summarised as the following:

- Altitude

- Height of the sun in the sky

- Land-sea difference (land heats up quicker than the sea but also
cools down more quickly) - due to difference in specific heat
capacity and ease of penetration of sun's rays into water, plus the
cooling effect of evaporation at the surface

- Prevailing winds

- Ocean currents

- Albedo

- Diurnal (day-night) variations

- Localised patterns in cloud cover

- Urbanisation

Make notes from your text books, Waugh, or via Internet

sites, which explain the effect of the above factors on the
temperature at the surface.

[ 10 ]

4. What mechanisms act to transfer heat from the equator towards

the Poles ? Explain these with the aid of at least one diagram.

5. Go to the University of Oregon's GLOBAL CLIMATE ANIMATIONS

site.

Watch the animations which show the net flow of radiation: both
short and long wave, and the flux (or movement) of heat. Look at
the seasonal pattern of variations in surface temperature - try the
FLASH option first for a better result.

What do you notice about the areas of the earth's surface which are
the warmest ?

Where are they located, and how do these locations vary throughout
the year ?
Explore some of the other animations and try to explain them: e.g
surface pressure, global water balance

6. PAST QUESTIONS

a) Why does temperature in the earth's atmosphere normally

decrease as altitude increases ? [ 5 ]

b) With the aid of an example, outline the effect of aspect on

surface temperatures [ 4 ]

c) Describe the characteristics of the troposphere which help explain

its importance in controlling weather patterns on the earth's surface
[5]