EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM

THE SUN’S POWERSEARTH’S CLIMATE

 Earth’s global climate system includes air, land, liquid water and ice


BALANCE OF ENERGY ON EARTH

 The sun emits radiation:

Include ultraviolet (short wavelength; high energy) and infrared (long wavelength; low
energy)
What Happens to the Sun’s Energy?

 About 30% of solar radiation is reflected back into space by clouds, particles in the
atmosphere and the Earth’s surface
 The remaining 70% is absorbed by Earth’s surface, clouds and certain gases in the
atmosphere
What Happens to the Absorbed Energy?

 About 1% is used by plants to power photosynthesis

 Energy causes rocks and water to heat up
 As Earth’s surface temperature increases, air above is heated

Balance?

• Outgoing energy = Incoming energy

Keeps earth’s climate fairly balanced

Latitude affects climate too!!!

COMPONENTS OF EARTH’S CLIMATE

1 THE ATMOSPHERE
  The earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of gases (mostly nitrogen and oxygen and water
vapour), extending from its surface up to an altitude of about 560 km.
 It allows solar radiation to strike the earth’s surface, but then is able to absorb some
thermal energy and reflect it back to earth before it can go out into space. This is called
the greenhouse effect.
 Without the greenhouse effect, the average surface
temperature on the earth would be about –20oC!

 Prevailing winds

2 THE HYDROSPHERE

 The hydrosphere is made up of all of the water on the earth in all of it’s different forms.
 Ocean currents can affect climate since they help to distribute thermal energy
concentrated at the equator towards the poles.
 An overall circulatory pattern exists and is called the great ocean
conveyor since it distributes thermal energy around the entire earth.


 2% of all Earth’s water is frozen

 Most of this ice is located at the poles
 Sea ice or pack ice floats on the ocean and is
a few meters thick
 Permanent ice/ice sheets stretch over land
and are a few kilometers thick
  Glaciers are permanent ice fields

 Iceburgs are large pieces of glaciers that have broken off and
are floating

 Permanent ice plays a vital role in Earth’s climate

 Surfaces covered in ice and snow reflect more radiant

energy therefore these areas are colder

3 THE LITHOSPHERE

 Mountains and other land formations affect

how air movers over an area
 As clouds are blown over a mountain they lose
their moisture as rainfall on the windward side
 The leeward side receive little rain
 This is called the rain shadow effect


4 THE BIOSPHERE—LIVING THINGS

 All organisms are part of the climate system

 Plants and animals exchange gases in the

atmosphere

 Photosynthesis by plants releases O2

 Cellular respiration by animals releases CO2

 Cows and sheep release methane during digestion as do bacteria

 These gases and how they change affects climate by their ability to absorb radiation

THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM

• In which part of the atmosphere do humans live?

The Trophosphere


 How high do weather balloons go?
 Into the upper stratosphere
 How high do weather balloons go?
 Into the upper stratosphere
  How high do weather balloons go?
Into the upper stratosphere


OZONE—In the Stratosphere & Trophosphere

 The ozone in the stratosphere protects living things from the harmful effects of UV light
from the Sun
 Ground-level ozone, in the trophosphere is harmful to humans and other living things


 The hole is getting bigger every year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YIKES!!!!

The Good News & the Bad……….

• Where do CFC’s come from?
• Pressurized spray cans (hairspray), refrigerators and
air conditioners
• Chlorine atoms from CFC’s react with ozone
molecules and destroy them
• One CFC molecule can destroy hundreds or
thousands of ozone molecules
• In 1987 the governments around the world signed an agreement in Montreal called the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the ozone layer
• They agreed to stop the production and use of CFC’s
• The ozone layer is beginning to recover and will take at least 50 more years to return to
its original thickness