* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download NSTA Meteorology Reading 5 • Weather and the Redistribution of
Energy storage wikipedia , lookup
World energy consumption wikipedia , lookup
International Energy Agency wikipedia , lookup
Zero-energy building wikipedia , lookup
Energy returned on energy invested wikipedia , lookup
Indoor air pollution in developing nations wikipedia , lookup
Energy efficiency in transport wikipedia , lookup
Negawatt power wikipedia , lookup
Alternative energy wikipedia , lookup
Energy policy of the European Union wikipedia , lookup
Energy policy of Finland wikipedia , lookup
Micro combined heat and power wikipedia , lookup
Internal energy wikipedia , lookup
Distributed generation wikipedia , lookup
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 wikipedia , lookup
Conservation of energy wikipedia , lookup
NSTA Meteorology Reading 5 • Weather and the Redistribution of Thermal Energy ‣ Weather = a response to the unequal heating of Earth’s atmosphere ‣ Temperature gradients created by imbalances in rates of heating and cooling from once place to another within the atmosphere ‣ Many different kinds of energy ‣ Energy can be transformed from one type to another ‣ The total amount of energy remains the same (energy s conserved) ‣ 4 types of energy relevant for the atmosphere: * Air molecules higher in elevation have a greater gravitational or potential energy than air molecules lower in elevation * Air moving together (wind) has kinetic energy * Molecules and atoms that make up the air move and vibrate independently for thermal energy * Radiant energy associated with the radiation and light received from the Sun or emitted form Earth - Heat Versus Temperature ‣ Temperature - average kinetic energy, or energy of motion, per atom or molecule of a particular substance ‣ Heat (aka thermal energy) = total kinetic energy of all of the atoms or molecules composing a given amount of a substance; the energy transferred from one object to another as a result of a difference in temperature between the objects - Heating Earth ‣ Earth’s atmosphere heated by solar radiation and terrestrial radiation ‣ Radiant energy from sun is not uniformly distributed throughout the planet because of Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt and the curvature of Earth’s surface ‣ Large portion of the total solar radiation reaching Earth passes through the atmosphere and reaches the ground where it is reflected or absorbed - Heat Transfer within the Atmosphere ‣ Earth’s atmosphere transmits, scatters, and reflects more radiant energy from the Sun than it absorbs ‣ Earth’s surface absorbs more radiation energy than it reflects ‣ Earth emits more infrared radiation than the atmosphere, and this imbalance results in some energy transfer from the surface to the atmosphere ‣ Sensible heart = thermal energy we can feel, “sense”, and measure with a thermometer; transfer of sensible heat from Earth to the atmosphere involves process of conduction and convection ‣ Latent heat = transfer of hear as a consequence of changes in phase of water; energy released or absorbed when a substance changes phase: solid to liquid, liquid to gas, gas to liquid, etc. ‣ Conduction = transfer of energy from a warmer object to a cooler one through direct contact ‣ Convection = process of heat distribution within a fluid (such as air), achieved through movement of the fluid itself; important process in atmospheric heating because of density difference between parcels of air with differing temperatures ‣ Latent heat of fusion = amount of energy required for transformation from solid to liquid NSTA Meteorology Reading 5 ‣ - - Latent heat of vaporization = amount of heat energy required for transformation from liquid to vapor ‣ Latent heating builds on the process of sensible hearing and allows considerable energy to be transferred from Earth’s surface into its atmosphere Local Effects of Heat Transfer ‣ Variations in atmospheric heating result in the development of temperature gradients ‣ Air moves and circulates to even out hear distribution (wind); temperature gradients are responsible for wind Air Masses and Fronts ‣ Air mass = region or body of air that has consistent of temperature and moisture content throughout ‣ Frontal Zone or Front = boundary where the two air masses interact ‣ Types of Fronts: * Cold front = cold air mass advances against warm air mass forcing warm air up * Warm front = warm air mass advances against cooler air mass, riding up over the cooler air in front of it * Stationary front = neither cold air mass nor warm air mass can advance against the other * Occluded front = cold air mass advances agains an equally cold or similar temperature air mass ‣ Frontal zones responsible for formation of much of cloudiness, rain, and snow that occurs over the United States, especially in the winter