GEOL 1033 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Shortwave Radiation, Atmospheric Circulation, Ocean Current
2 Feb 2017
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Lectures 4, 5, 6, 7 chapters 3, 6, 7. Earths ocean and atmosphere are intimately intertwined. Need to know how the atmosphere works in order to understand ocean circulation. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, but carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas. Nitrogen makes up 78. 1% of the atmosphere, oxygen 20. 9%, argon is. As an air mass settles to the surface of the earth it becomes more dense, as it ascends it expands. Air is cool as it expands; warm as it compresses. Cold air is denser than warm air. Humid air is less dense than warm air at the same temperature (water vapor is less dense than o2) Half of incoming solar shortwave radiation is absorbed by water and land. It is converted to long-wave radiation and emitted back to the atmosphere.
