ENVIRSC 1A03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Water Cycle, Global Warming, Northern Hemisphere

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Environmental Science
• Course: ENVIRSC 1A03
• Professor: Luc Bernier

Document Summary

Temperature has significantly increased due to the increased concentration of the greenhouse gases. If earth had a further distance from the sun, earth"s temperature would decrease. E = ot4, boltzmann equation for intensity: = 5. 67x10-8 (boltzmann constant, t = termperature (kelvin, e = intensity (wxm2) Blackbody is a body that is perfectly efficient at emitting radiation: for graybodies, boltzmann equation becomes: i = ot . 4 ( : emissivity factor) (1 for blackbodies) Wein"s law: = 2897/t: the earth"s atmosphere is not a blackbody, but the planets are blackbodies, wavelength of maximum radiation intensity in micrometers, t = temperature in kelvin, higher temperatures would result in a shorter wavelengths. Insolation is a measure of radiation on a surface recorded during a time: radiation (energy) is absorbed in surfaces, clouds, atmosphere, and water and then reflected into other directions. For clouds, this results in a blue colour.