ESS262H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Rayleigh Number, Heat Transfer
Document Summary
Recall: heat transfer occurs via 3 mechanisms: conduction, radiation, convection: thermal energy is carried w/ moving medium. Density contracts that are organized into cells. Convection rigor: rayleigh number (ratio of buoyant to inertial forces) Earth"s mantle: density variation driven by basal and internal heating and compositional variations. Earth"s current: warm less salty shallow current is chased by the cold salty deep current. Earth"s atmosphere: density variations driven by temperature gradients. Density lifting: air heated by the ground. Orographic lifting: topography forces wind to flow upward.
