GEOG 2050 Chapter : Key Concepts
Document Summary
Troposhpere: surface to 18kn, 90% mass of atmosphere and where the weather occurs (most important sphere, temperature decreases with altitude, during the summer= higher tropopause, weather. Tropopause: -57*c (-70*f, altitude varies spatially and with the seasons. Lapse rate: normal lapse rate- average cooling at a rate of 6. 4*c/km (3. 5*f/1000 ft, travel up a mountain or in an airplane, temp decreases, tropopause varies with latitude. Atmospheric pressure- **figure 3. 3 and 3. 2*: as you move up, the pressure decreases, surface= 1 atm= 1013. 2 mb, decrease the mass, the temperature (kinetic energy hot) increases (top of tropopause to stratosphere) Ionoshpere: absorbs cosmic rays, gamma rays, x-rays, some uv energy, when there is more energy coming from the sun, the ionosphere is more activated, auroras- typically occur closer to the poles. The cosmic energy is coming in: absorbs radio waves, at night, rasio waves are reflected off the ionoshpere, active solar storm= auroras.
