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Atmosphere and Climate Change Chapter 13 Essential Questions What is a climate and what naturally promotes climate change? What is the importance of our Ozone Shield? What is global warming and how can we stop it? Climate The long-term prevailing weather conditions at a particular place based upon records taken What factors determine a climate? Latitude Atmospheric circulation patterns Oceanic circulation patterns Local geography Solar activity Volcanic activity Latitude Degrees North of South of the equator Equator is 0 North Pole is 90 North South Pole is 90 South Low Latitudes Day and night average 12 hours each every day Always warm temperature Equatorial Regions Vertical Sunlight High Latitudes Changes daylight because sun hits at angles As much as 16 hours of daylight during summer and only 8 hours of daylight during the winter In the poles, it may be daylight out for 23 hours Atmospheric Circulation Cold air sinks Warm air rises Warm air can hold more water vapor When warm air holding water vapor cools, it produces precipitation Wind As solar energy heats the earth, warm air rises Cool air fills in the voids This movement of air produces wind Because there are different temperatures at different latitudes, winds blow in different directions Prevailing Winds Winds that blow in one direction throughout the year Trade winds, westerlies, and polar easterlies Surface Ocean Currents Caused by wind and influenced by Earth’s rotation Not all ocean currents, just surface ocean currents El Nino The name given to the short-term periodic change in the location of warm and cold water masses in the Pacific Ocean Generally over a 6 - 18 month period Pushes warm water eastward, increasing rain in Southern US and Central America Winds push warm water eastward in the Pacific Ocean La Nina The second half of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle Water is cooler than usual in the eastern Pacific Ocean Topography Mount Kilimanjaro is located at 4 latitude How does it have snow on the top? Volcanoes How can volcanoes impact the atmosphere? Ozone Layer An area in the stratosphere where ozone is highly concentrated Molecule made of 3 Oxygen atoms Absorbs ultraviolet light DNA Damage Result of high UV radiation at Earth’s surface CFC’s Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) Chemically unstable in stratosphere One chlorine can destroy 10,000 ozone molecules Ozone Hole A thinning stratospheric ozone that occurs over the poles in the spring 50 - 98% disappears During Spring, warm winds bring heat to poles Splits chlorine molecules and creates hole Ozone Molecules Decomposed by chlorine atoms Effects on Humans Skin Cancer Premature Aging Increased Cataracts Weakened Immune System Effects on Animals and Plants Death of eggs Genetic mutations Reduction of populations Death of phytoplankton Disruption of food chain Reduction in photosynthesizes Interference with photosynthesis Reduced crop yields Montreal Protocol An agreement to sharply reduce CFC’s International limits on CFC production to protect the ozone layer US pledged to ban all substances by 2000…..Its 2009 CFC’s remain in atmosphere for 60 - 120 years, still destroying the ozone Greenhouse Effect Think about your car during the summer Light energy gets into your car through windows, heating it up Greenhouse use this principle, trapping the sun’s energy A process by which the atmosphere traps heat radiate up from the Earth’s surface Greenhouse Gases Gases in the troposphere that can absorb and radiate heat Water, Carbon Dioxide, Chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide Water Vapor and Carbon Dioxide account for the majority What if we release more CO2? We release carbon dioxide every time we burn fuel, either in our cars, power plants, generators, any time More CO2 in the atmosphere means that more heat can be trapped More trapped heat leads to greater global temperatures That’s just taking into consideration CO2 CO2 A greenhouse gas added to the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned Is Global Warming a Reality? Is this just a naturally occurring cycle? Consequences of a warmer Earth? Melting Ice and Rising Sea Levels Global Weather Patterns Human Health Problems Agriculture Effects on Plants and Animals Kyoto Protocol Reduce carbon dioxide emissions 5% by 2011 The US decided not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 Slowing Global Warming Requires global unified effort Compromised by economics, politics, and social factors Big difficulties between developed and developing countries Weather is a region’s: Atmospheric conditions on a given day As cold air sinks: It compresses and warms Elevation is a factor in climate because under most conditions: Temperature falls as elevation increases Seasonal changes in daylight hours and climatic conditions are caused by: The 23.5 tilt of Earth’s axis The ozone layer protects living organisms on Earth by: Blocking solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation Ozone holes appear in polar regions during springtime when ozonedestroying: Chlorine atoms are released from polar stratospheric clouds Though CFC production has been curtailed, the threat to upper atmospheric ozone continues because CFC’s Persist and continue to destroy ozone for decades Which of the following does not reduce CO2 in the atmosphere? Animal respiration A continuous record of annual average atmospheric CO2 concentrations from Mauna Loa, Hawaii, reveals: A steady increase since 1958 Which of the following would not be a consequence of a rise in global temperature? Increase polar ice mass