EARTH 104 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Axial Tilt, Photosphere, Solar Irradiance
7 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
Ice age: a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the. Earth"s surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Glaciation: individual pulse of cold climate within a long-term ice age. Absorption: the energy of photons is taken up by matter and the electromagnetic energy is transformed into internal energy of the absorber, for example thermal energy. Reflection: the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Albedo: the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it. Scattering: a general physical process where some forms of radiation, such as light, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by one or more paths due to localized non-uniformities in the medium through which they pass.
