Geography 2152F/G : Climate Change Guest Speaker.docx

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plumweasel877

8 Apr 2012

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Global climate is sensitive and responding to human activities. Environmental response: systemic, profound, delayed, difficult to reverse. Canadian policy: exploitation and adaptation, resilience. Absorbed sunlight must equal the emitted infrared radiation. Surplus energy in central latitude (equator) known as the intertropical convergence zone. Sensible heat (warmth of the air and water) Ocean freezes leaving behind dense, salt heavy water, which sinks to the bottom of the ocean which pumps the global ocean currents. If the freezing of the north atlantic stops, the current will stop its regular flow. Planetary reflectivity (albedo: cools the planet high altitude clouds, snow, ice and deserts. Warm the planet low altitude clouds, forests and water. Atmospheric composition: halogen compounds, methane, water vapour, sulfur dioxides, carbon dioxides. As the amount of co2 in our atmosphere increases, temperature increases. Feedback the effect of the outcome of an action on the rate of the action: negative the outcome of an action slows down the change (stability)

Related Questions

The emergence of line spectra from a gas when a current passesthrough it was an observed phenomenon waiting for an explanation inthe early 20th century. The atomic line spectra coming fromelements such as hydrogen had been analyzed since the late 19thcentury. By studying the wavelength of the emerging radiation ofhydrogen, experimenters found (often by trial and error) that thewavelengths in those spectra were described by the formula

\frac{1}{\lambda} = R \left( \frac{1}{n_1^2} - \frac{1}{n_2^2}\right),
where R is known as the Rydberg constant. It has a value of R =1.097 \times 10^{7}\; \rm m^{-1}. The variables n_1 and n_2 areinteger numbers (n_1 = 1,2,3,4,\dots). As experiments continued,scientists began to see more and more characteristic lines emergingfrom the hydrogen spectrum. Each of them corresponded to awavelength predicted by this formula with some integer values forn_1 and n_2.

In 1913, Niels Bohr provided an explanation for the observationsmade in experiments by proposing that each electron in an atom hadonly certain allowable energy levels. Furthermore, he postulatedthat when an electron changed its energy level, it must emit orabsorb a single photon with the energy equal to the energydifference between the two levels.

With this interpretation, the variables n_1 and n_2 acquired newsignificance. Bohr's model predicted that n_2 was the initialenergy state of the atom (n_initial) and that n_1 was the finalstate of the atom (n_final). A photon with the predicted wavelengthwas created when an atom made a transition from its initial energystate to a lower final energy state. The equation now read

\frac{1}{\lambda} = R \left( \frac{1}{n_{\rm final}^2} -\frac{1}{n_{\rm initial}^2} \right).
Bohr's model also predicted that a photon of the appropriatewavelength (given by the same formula) could promote an atom from alower energy level to a higher one.

In this problem, we explore the photon characteristics necessaryfor transitions between energy levels in hydrogen and singlyionized {\rm He}^+, whose energy levels are accurately predicted bythe Bohr model.
What is the change in energy DeltaE of the hydrogen atom as theelectron makes the transition from the n=3 energy level to the n=1energy level?
Express your answer numerically in electron volts.

b. When an atom makes a transition from a higher energy level to alower one, a photon is released. What is the wavelength of thephoton that is emitted from the atom during the transition from n=3to n=1?
Express your answer numerically in angstroms.

c.

When the hydrogen atom makes the transition from the n=2 to the n=1energy level, it emits a photon. This photon can be absorbed by toa singly ionized helium atom ({\rm He}^+) in its second energylevel (n_{\rm initial} = 2), causing it to move to a higher energylevel. To what final energy level number n_final can the photonpromote the helium ion?

Note that {\rm He}^+ has two protons in its nucleus and a singleelectron.
Express your answer as an integer.

Please answer fully, Thank you
a.

) Ion Rocket Engine. A special type of rocket engine useselectricity for propulsion: the ion engine. A soft metal, such ascesium, is vaporized and then electrified (ionized) with highvoltage. These cesium ions are the accelerated by strong electricfields to produce a current of atoms at high velocity. Outside theengine, the ions are then recombined with electrons to restoreelectrical neutrality.

A particular ion engine has an exhaust velocity of 20,000 m/sec.The mass flow (dm/dt) is just 1 milligram per second.

a) What is the thrust produced by this engine?

b) The engine propels a 200 kg spacecraft. What velocity change(delta-v) is achievable by running the engine continuously for onesolid year? (For simplicity, assume a constant mass for the system.One year = 31.56 million seconds.)
---------------------------
) Potential Energy. How much work is required to lift one metricton (1000 kg) of water to an altitude of 1000 meters? (The Sun isdoing this all this time to the Earthâs weather.)
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q) Kinetic Energy 1. A car has a mass of 1200 kg. How much kineticenergy does it have when traveling at a speed of 30 m/sec?

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Kinetic Energy 2. The Space Shuttle orbits the Earth at a speed ofsome 7750 meters per second (which is about 260 times that of atypical highway driving speed). With a typical payload, the Shuttlehas a mass of 120,000 kg.

a) What is the kinetic energy of the Shuttle in orbit?
b) The Shuttle reaches orbit in some 500 seconds. At what rate ofwork (power) did the rocket engines perform on the Shuttle to placethe craft and its payload into orbit? Compare this to the maximumpower output of a typical nuclear electric generatingstation.
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Solar Power. In space, outside the atmosphere, some 1360 Watts ofradiant power pass through every square meter (at normalincidence).

a) What total amount of power does the Earth intercept from theSun? (The projected area of the Earth is ?RE2, where RE is theradius of the Earth, 6.38 million meters.)

b) Compare this figure to the total amount of power produced by allof human civilization, currently some 40 trillion (1012) Watts.What conclusions about solar power can you draw from thiscomparison?

q

-) Angular Momentum. Assuming a uniform distribution of mass insidethe Earth, calculate:

a) the Earthâs moment of inertia, I;
b) its angular momentum, L = omega(omega=2pi/T) the angularmomentum of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth (L = mvr).Compare these two values. (The sidereal period of the Moon is 27.3days; its mass is 1/81 of that of the Earth; its average orbitalradius is 383,000 km.)

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Q0 Water Pressure. Calculate the value of the water pressure at theChallenger Deep, the deepest known place on the surface of theEarth. The currently accepted depth of the water there is 10,911meters. (This is deep enough to cover Mount Everest, and still havemore than one mile of water above the peak. On January 23, 1960,Swiss explorer Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walshbecame the first, and so far, the only people ever to visit thisremote place, descending in the Italian-built bathyscaphTrieste.)

q-8
Mass of Earthâs Atmosphere. The pressure of the Earthâs atmosphereat sea level is 101,300 Pascals (Newtons per square meter.) Thismeans that every square meter of Earthâs surface supports a weightof 101,300 Newtons. From this, determine the mass of Earthâsatmosphere. What fraction of the Earthâs total mass is this?

This geometry task may be helpful for devising amathematicalprocedure for the next lab.

A right triangle has legs ofknown lengths 2L and h. Find thelength of the line segment x whichis parallel to side h. Explainyour reasoning. Image in weblinkbelow:

http://paer.rutgers.edu/194/Downloads/194LAB07.pdfRY4bB71082bfFuqzISDrWGDOWfNgGl208qJNQTAhpzWjb_ahDlhGHPLz19S1Eq95&q=cache%3AnpyQu9LlzykJ%3Apaer.rutgers.edu%2F194%2FDownloads%2F194LAB07.pdf%20this%20geometry%20task%20may%20be%20helpful%20for%20devising%20a%20mathematical%20procedure%20for%20the%20next%20lab.%20A%20right%20triangle&docid=5c8a26db354186a31ce6383

POSTSCRIPT: EFFECTS OFASSUMPTIONS

The marbled murrelet is asmall bird that lives in the PacificNorthwest where old-growthforests are close to the sea. It nests inthe forests and feedsoffshore. It is now highly endangeredthroughout its range, whichextends from Northern California toAlaska.

These birds are extremelyvulnerable to loss of their habitat,because they nest exclusivelyin the same old-growth coniferoustrees that are prime targets forlogging. Considerable efforts havebeen made to protect the speciesby restricting timber operations inthe areas in which they areknown to nest. Scientists predicted thatthe population should growback. However until recently naturalistswere puzzledand

dismayed because thepopulation of marbled murrelets did notseem to be recovering oreven stabilizing.

A recent study suggests thereason why this testing experimentin conservation did not confirmthe prediction. The scientistsoverlooked an important assumption:murrelets can also be threatenedby man's activity at sea.Overfishing has severely reduced thepopulation of small,energy-rich fish that murrelets rely upon formost of theircalories.

Climate change of uncertainorigin may have also disrupted thefood chain, and El Nino currentsmay have changed the distributionof the phytoplankton that formsthe base of all marine life.

Further efforts to preservethe marbled murrelet must be basedon accurate assumptions aboutthe origin of their difficulties.

Could naturalists have betterconsidered their originalassumptions years ago? What would yousay?

Geography 2152F/G : Climate Change Guest Speaker.docx

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