ENERGY TRANSFER

PROCESSES
 ENERGY The various forms of energy
interact with the atmosphere and

TRANSFER
the Earth’s surface in ways that are
important to understanding our
planet’s weather and climate.
PROCESS Several important processes are
responsible for the transfer of
energy, from one form to another
and from one place to another.
These are radiation, conduction,
convection, advection, and latent
heat exchange.
 Energy is transferred from the sun through
space to Earth through the process of radiation. All
objects with the temperature above absolute zero
RADIATION emit electromagnetic radiation.
The Characteristics of that radiation
depend on the temperature of the radiating body.
The warmer the object, the more energy it will emit
and the shorter the wavelengths at peak emission
output. Because the sun’s absolute temperature is
20 times that of Earth, the sun emits a great deal
more energy, and radiates shorter wavelengths,
compared to Earth. The sun’s energy output per
square meter is approximately 160,000 times that of
our planet. The majority of solar energy is emitted
at wavelengths shorter than 0.7 micrometers,
whereas most of earth’s energy is radiated at
much longer wavelengths of around 10
micrometers.

Thus shortwave solar radiation
(light) reaches the surface and is
absorbed which heats the Earth, and
because the Earth is cooler than the
sun, it radiates energy in the form of
longwave radiation (heat).
RADIATION
The longwave thermal energy,
terrestrial radiation, emitted from
Earth`s surface (including the oceans)
heats the atmosphere and accounts
for the heat of the day. Basically the
source of atmospheric heat is from
terrestrial radiation, so at the
atmosphere mainly heats from the
bottom upward.
 The transfer of energy between
CONDUCTION tow objects in contact with each
other is called conduction. Heat
flows from warmer objects or
substances to the cooler ones they
are in contact with, which tends to
equalize temperatures.
Conduction actually occurs as
heat is passed from one molecule to
another in chainlike fashion. It is
conduction that makes the bottom
of a soup bowl too hot to touch.
 ATMOSPHERIC CONDUCTION
It occurs at the interface (contact zone) between the
atmosphere and Earth`s surface. However, it is actually a relatively
minor heat transfer process in terms of atmospheric warming because it
affects only the layers of air closet to the surface.
This is a poor conductor of heat. In fact, air is the opposite of a
good conductor; it is a good insulator. This property is why an air layer is
sometimes put between two panes of glass to help insulate a window.
Insulation that contains a great deal of air filled cavities is also used in
sleeping bags and ski parkas. In fact, if air is unconducted heat well our
kitchens would become unbearable every time we turned on the stove
or oven.
CONVECTION In the atmosphere, as parcels
of air near the surface are heated,
they expand in volume, becoming
less dense than the surrounding air,
and therefore rise. This vertical
transfer of heat through the
atmosphere is called convection; it
is much the same process that
circulates boiling water in a pot.
 CONVECTION
The water at the bottom,
nearest to the heat source, becomes
lighter and less dense as it warms. As
the hot water rises, cooler, denser
surface water replaces it by flowing
downward. The water that flows
down to the bottom is then warmed,
so it flows upward to be replaced by
cooler water moving downward.
This vertical circular movement
of a fluid is called a convective
different. These currents, set into
motion by the heating of a fluid
(liquid or gas), make up a
convectional system.
ADVECTION The transfer of heat in a horizontal
direction is called advection. Winds and
ocean currents are the two major mechanism
of advective heat transfer. Advection is
extremely important because it moves heat
from areas where it is warm, or hot to colder
places, with a moderating effect on both of
these areas. Winds and ocean currents help to
distribute heat horizontally from the equatorial
tropical regions to the higher altitude and
polar regions. Advection has a great influence
on weather conditions and on the world`s
climates.
LATENT HEAT
EXCHANGE
 LATENT HEAT EXCHANGE
Water is the only substance that exists naturally in all there states of
matter – as a solid, a liquid, and a gas – within the normal temperature range
of Earth`s surface and the troposphere. The energy transfer that occurs with
the changes in water from one state to another is called latent heat
exchange.
The various forms of energy interact with the atmosphere and the
Earth’s surface in ways that are important to understanding our planet’s
weather and climate. Several important processes are responsible for the
transfer of energy, from one form to another and from one place to another.
These are radiation, conduction, convection, advection, and latent heat
exchange.
This involves heat changing from sensible heat (which can feel) to latent heat,
which is stored in a form that we cannot feel, and the reverse – from latent to
sensible heat. These exchanges from one state to another, which occur under
natural conditions.
 LATENT HEAT EXCHANGE
Molecules of a gas move faster than those of a liquid. During the
process of condensation, when water vapor changes to liquid water, its
molecules slow down and release some of their energy (590 Cal/g, or 2470
joules/g) as sensible heat.
Molecules in a solid move more slowly than those of a liquid, and when
water undergoes freezing, changing into ice, less energy is released (80 Cal/g,
or 333 joules/g). When these processes are reversed, sensible heat becomes
stored as latent heat. Melting take up 80 calories per grain (333 joules/g), and
evaporation takes lip 590 calories per gram (2470joules/g); the latter is called
evaporative cooling.
 When water evaporates, energy is stored in water vapor
as latent heat. We are cooled by perspiration evaporating
from our skin, thereby lowering the temperature. When water
condenses from a gas to a liquid, the stored latent energy is
released as sensible heat.
All of these major energy transfer processes play
important roles in moving heat within the Earth system. Light
energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth and re-radicate
as thermal infrared energy (heat). Conduction transfers heat
by contact from warmer to colder substances. Convection
moves heat in fluids (air, water) upward and moves cooler
fluids downward. Advection moves heat to cooler areas and
moves cool (air or water) to warmer areas.
 Evaporation helps cool the atmosphere,
whereas the release of latent heat of
condensation helps warm the atmosphere. The
massive amounts of heat released from
condensation in the atmosphere provide a
source of energy that drives many kinds of
storm. These are the major processes that drive
Earth`s dynamic weather systems and climates.