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Drill
 What do you think the gaseous composition
of our atmosphere is?
 What organisms are responsible for
maintaining this composition?
TURN IN SW-INDEX ANALYSIS!!!
Objective
 Students will analyze the composition of the
atmosphere in order to explain its importance to living
organisms.
Agenda
 Atmosphere notes
 Atmosphere graphing
 Assigned a biome
 Biome Research – start presentations
 Continue Reading Chapter 6
 MEDIA MATTERS DUE NEXT CLASS
Difference between weather and
climate?
 Climate: A regions general pattern of weather over a
long period – temperature and precipitation
 Weather: physical conditions in the troposphere at any
given moment (temperature, pressure, humidity,
precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover and wind
speed/direction).
 Associated with warm fronts, cold fronts, high and low
pressure?
 Which pressure system is associated with poor
weather?
Prevailing Winds
 Winds effect not only air flow and weather, but also
the ocean’s currents
 In different parts of the world the winds blow in
certain directions
Coriolis Effect
 Earth’s rotation influences direction of wind
 Earth rotates from East to West
 Deflects wind from straight-line path
 Coriolis Effect
 Influence of the earth’s rotation on movement of air and
fluids
 Turns them Right in the Northern Hemisphere
 Turns them Left in the Southern Hemisphere
Coriolis Effect
 Visualize it as a Merry-Go-Round (see below)
Global Ocean Circulation
Westerlies
Trade winds
Upwellings
 Have you ever been swimming in the ocean and come
across a cold or hot area of water?
 The reason for this is upwelling
 An upwelling is when cold water hits the coast, is
pushed to the surface, and in turn pushes the warmer
surface water out to sea.
 These are often responsible for bringing nutrient rich
water to the surface that supports ecosystems on
coastlines
Link to El Nino
 When the prevailing winds weaken along North and
South American surface waters, and normal
upwelling's are suppressed – extreme weather changes
can result
Layers of the Atmosphere
 You will be graphing the temperature of different parts
of the atmosphere.
 You will be responsible for memorizing the layers and
what goes on in each layer.
The
Atmosphere
 Invisible layer of gases that
envelopes earth
 Content
 21% Oxygen
 78% Nitrogen
 1% Argon, Carbon dioxide, Neon
and Helium
 Density decreases with distance
from earth
 Shields earth from high energy
radiation
Atmospheric Layers
 Troposphere (0-10km)
 Where weather occurs
 Temperature decreases with altitude
 Stratosphere (10-45km)
 Temperature increases with altitudevery stable
 Ozone layer absorbs UV
 Mesosphere (45-80km)
 Temperature decreases with altitude
Atmospheric Layers
 Thermosphere (80-500km)
 Gases in thin air absorb x-rays and
short-wave UV radiation = very hot
 Source of aurora
 Exosphere (500km and up)
 Outermost layer
 Atmosphere continues to thin until
converges with interplanetary space
Biomes
 1. Desert
 2. Tundra
 3. Temperate Grassland
 4. Chaparral
 5. Savannah
 6. Tropical Rainforest
 7. Coniferous Forest
 8. Temperate Rainforest
 9. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Biome Research
 Climate (average temp and precipitation)
 Location
 Vegetation
 Animals/Adaptations
 Human Impacts
 Unusual Characteristics