EARTHSC 2GG3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cirrocumulus Cloud, Funnel Cloud, Natural Disaster

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Earth Sciences
• Course: EARTHSC 2GG3
• Professor: Mark Moscicki

Document Summary

There is an equilibrium between incoming radiation and outgoing radiation. Earth i(cid:374)ter(cid:272)epts o(cid:374)l(cid:455) a s(cid:373)all portio(cid:374) of the u(cid:374)(cid:859)s radiatio(cid:374) The u(cid:374)(cid:859)s e(cid:374)erg(cid:455) dri(cid:448)es the h(cid:455)drologi(cid:272) (cid:272)(cid:455)(cid:272)le a(cid:374)d all (cid:449)eather phe(cid:374)o(cid:373)e(cid:374)a o(cid:374) earth. Nearl(cid:455) all of the e(cid:374)erg(cid:455) a(cid:448)aila(cid:271)le at the earth(cid:859)s surfa(cid:272)e (cid:272)o(cid:373)es fro(cid:373) the su(cid:374) It is composed of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) The re(cid:373)ai(cid:374)i(cid:374)g 1% (cid:272)o(cid:374)sists of (cid:449)ater (cid:448)apour, (cid:272)ar(cid:271)o(cid:374) dio(cid:454)ide, a(cid:374)d other (cid:858)tra(cid:272)e(cid:859) gases. Water vapour in the atmosphere can result in cloud development and the formation of precipitation. Water vapour starts from evaporation from the oceans. All weather (i. e. clouds and precipitation) is confined to the troposphere. The ozone layer protects us fro(cid:373) the u(cid:374)(cid:859)s har(cid:373)ful uv ra(cid:455)s; it is fou(cid:374)d i(cid:374) the stratosphere. Cloud names generally contain a prefix and a suffix. The prefix describes the height of the cloud; the suffix describes its appearance. Prefixes: high cloud: cirro, mid-level cloud: alto, low cloud: strato-