Atmospheric Energy Transport

• what is global net radiation?

  the balance between incoming and outgoing energy at the top of the atmosphere. this is the total energy available to influence the climate
• why are the tropics warmer?

  radiation coming down at the equator travels through less atmosphere, so the intensity of the heat is more as the surface it spreads over is less
• why are the poles colder?

  the radiation has travelled through more atmosphere, so more absorption has occurred and less heat is coming down. the intensity is also lesser as the radiation is spread over a larger surface and more distortion occurs
• what do we call it when we have more energy and heat at the equator?

  energy surplus
• what do we call it when we have less energy and heat at the poles?

  energy deficit
• what are the two ways heat can be transferred?

  convection and conduction
• what is convection?

  the movement of air particles
• what is conduction?

  when there is no movement of air particles, heat is transferred between them
• what are the three cells in the three cell model?

  Hadley cell, ferrel cell and polar cell
• where is the Hadley cell?

  the equator
• where is the ferrel cell?

  Mid-latitudes
• where is the polar cell?

  the poles
• what happens at the poles?

  the opposite of the Hadley cell = cold air descends, warms as it moves south and rises up again
• by how much does earth rotate every hour?

  15 degrees
• which direction are things deflected in the northern hemisphere?

  to the right
• which direction are things deflected in the southern hemisphere?

  to the left
• where is there no deflection?

  0 degrees latitude
• where is there maximum deflection?

  90 degrees north and south (the poles)
• what does the coriolsis force result in?

  Deflection
• what does the combination of the three cell model and the coriolsis force lead to?


  zonal wind patterns
• what are trade winds?

  air currents closer to the earth's surface that blow from east to west near the equator
• what are zonal winds?

  the component of wind that blows parallel to lines of latitude
• what kind of pressure systems are seen in the poles and why?

  high as air is descending
• what do we end up with around low pressure systems?

  cyclonic rotation
• what do we end up with around high pressure systems?

  anticyclonic rotation
• what do anticyclonic movements bring?


  nice dry weather
• what do cyclonic movements bring?

  rain and large storms
• what are Rossby waves also known as?

  Planetary waves
• what are Rossby waves?

  naturally occurring atmospheric waves in rotating fluids resulting from the rotation of the planet
• where do Rossby waves occur?

  rotating fluids
• what are Rossby waves the result of?

  the rotation of the planet
• what do we see between the high and low pressure systems?

  pressure gradient forces
• what is an isobar?

  a line on the map that shows meteorologists what the pressure is at the surface of the earth = lines that connect equal points of pressure
• how many jet streams are there?

  four
• what are the four jet streams?

  two polar jet streams and two subtropical jet streams
• when do jet streams form?

  when warm air masses meet cold air masses in the atmosphere
• where in the atmosphere does the jet stream exist?

  mid to upper troposphere