EOSC 112 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Cool Air, Polar Easterlies, Water Vapor

• School: UBC
• Department: Earth and Ocean Sciences
• Course: EOSC 112
• Professor: Roger Francois

Document Summary

Earth is a sphere and rotates from west to east. The larger the planet, the more wind bands it has. Earth has 3 air bands in each hemisphere. Earth"s curvature results in unequal distribution of incoming and outgoing energy. Convection cells because warm wet air rises and cool dry air sinks. Extreme climates (rain vs. deserts) come from atmospheric circulation (wind) Since earth is a sphere the amount of sun at the equator is much more concentrated because that area is the flattest of the sphere and is getting the most energy per unit surface area. The poles are radiated at in an angle which spreads the radiation over a larger area, not warming it as much. The equator is warmer while the poles are cooler. The mean amount of energy reaching the top of the atmosphere is 342w /m2. This number varies at different areas as it is just an average.