ENVIRON 222 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Circulation, Sea Surface Temperature
Document Summary
Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get. Weather: short-term fluctuations (days, weeks) in temperature, precipitation, and humidity resulting from rapidly forming and decaying weather systems. Climate: average weather (mean and variability) over longer timescales (seasons, years, decades and longer) for a given region. Ex: clouds reflect sunlight, co2 and water vapor absorb out going longwave radiation. Biosphere: all living organisms at or near the earth"s surface a. Ex: marine plants transfer co2 from atmosphere to sea floor. Hydrosphere: all liquid water on earth"s surface including oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater a. Ex: oceans store and transfer heat, regulate atmosphere co2. Cryosphere: ice, including polar ice sheets in greenland and antarctica, sea ice, and alpine glaciers a. Ex: location of continents affects ocean circulation, volcanoes inject co2 into the atmosphere. The dominant source of energy for the climate system - it drives it. Delivers annual average of 344 w/m^2 at top of the atmosphere.
