GEOG 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Little Ice Age, Fluid Parcel, Ice Cap Climate
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E(cid:448)olutio(cid:374) of the earth"s at(cid:373)osphere: three major stages, early atmosphere, 4. 4 to 4. 0 billion years ago/ composed of water vapor (h2o), I(cid:374) the la(cid:455)er (cid:373)a(cid:454)i(cid:373)u(cid:373) air te(cid:373)perature o(cid:272)(cid:272)urs (cid:374)ear the earth"s surfa(cid:272)e: above the surface, air temperature drops at an average rate of 6. 5 degree per. 1000 meters (environmental lapse rate -elr: trpopause is a boundary layer separating the troposphere from the stratosphere. It is also the layer where the jet streams occur. Air is a tangible substance and as a result has mass. Any object with mass is influenced by gravity. Gra(cid:448)it(cid:455) a(cid:272)ti(cid:374)g o(cid:374) air"s (cid:373)ass (cid:272)reates at(cid:373)ospheri(cid:272) pressure. The mixture of gases in the atmosphere behaves as if it were a single gas. As a result of this fact, the following generalizations(ideal gas law) describe important relationships between temperature, pressure, density, and volume. Gravity causes the density and pressure of air to decrease exponentially with an increase in altitude.