Study aid 2 - Spring 2011

This is a STUDY Aid. It is not in the form of questions, but rather a guideline to information you should know. IN ALL instances, the list of items to know can be and should be related to many other things, as mentioned in class during the course of lectures. This concept is fundamental on my exams, so be able to link ideas that are related to one another. This is a good way to begin studying for the tests. In particular, you should be able to link ideas to pictures, particularly those shown during the course of the lecture.

This sheet does not have a complete list of words that are likely to appear as part of a question, as any term or definition that we have covered in class is fair game. Use your notes, the information from the web pages, and the readings from a text to build a solid knowledge base of Earth Science information. Be sure you can recite and link ideas without looking at the notes.

The format of the exams will consist of multiple choice, true or false, and short answer questions. There will be slides shown during the test, and you will need to be able to recognize geoscience related features and diagrams.

Obviously there is more information on this sheet than I could possibly test you over in a 50 minute period. The trick is to know it all, and not try to out-guess me. This philosophy will not only allow you to perform well on this exam, but also future exams.

Atmosphere (intro)

• Know what the atmosphere is, what it's function(s) are.
• Know what the various level of the atmosphere are and how they are classified
  • Know how the atmosphere changes as we move from the Earth's surface to outerspace (e.g., composition, pressure, temperature etc, )
• Know which of the "spheres" within the atmosphere form clouds
  • e.g., Troposhere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Ionosphere
• Know which of the spheres in the atmosphere affect incoming solar radiation and how.
  • e.g., Troposhere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Ionosphere
• Know what causes the Aurora Borealis and which of the spheres within the atmosphere affect it
  • e.g., Troposhere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Ionosphere
• Know what the Ionosphere is, how it formed, and why it is important
• Know how scientists collect and gather information concerning our atmosphere
• Know how the atmosphere originally formed and what factors aided in its evolution
  • solar nebula planet formation, volcanic outgassing, phytoplankton, etc.
• Know the basic chemical elements that compose our atmosphere and their relative importance to humans and the rest of the planet
  • e.g., N, CO2, O2, Ar, H2O, O3
• Know how the atmosphere transports heat (energy) from one place to another.
• Know what air pressure is, how it is measured, and how it changes
• Know what role water plays in atmospheric processes
  • e.g., a greenhouse gas
• Know what how heat is transfered from the ground to the atmosphere (e.g, convection, conduction, radiational, etc.)
• know how the atmosphere relates to the other 4 spheres of influence for the earth and be able to cite examples of each

Radiation

• Know about sunspots, what circumstances make solar output increase and what circumstances make output decrease.
  • e.g., More sunspots = ________ temps on Earth due to _________output.
• Know about the Sun, it temperature, and why it creates the radiation it does.
• Know how electromagnetic energy (radiation) is classified and described
• Know the sources for different types of radiation (e.g., longwave vs shortwave sources)
• Know which types of radiation are ultimately important to the various spheres of influence and why
• Know the various factors that affect the amounts and types of radiation that strike our planet
• Know the effects of the the atmosphere (and its component parts) on incoming and outgoing electromagnetic energy
• Know why the sky is blue on Earth and why we should expect the sky to be a different color on different planets
• Know why Ozone is important and how ozone formed in the first place
  • interaction of solar rdiation with oxygen from phytoplankton
• Know the significance of the the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn with respect to solar Radiation striking the Earth.
• Know when the amount of solar radiation is greatest during the year and why.
• Know what a radiation budget is and what some of the main parts are (e.g., longwave vs shortwave radiation absorption or reflection by water vapor, dust, ice and land surface
• Knwo what areas of the globe are characterized by excessive longwave radiation and how the Earth deals with this heat source.
• Know what Milankovitch orbital variations are and why they are important for understanding climate changes

Clouds and Moisture

• Know what factors influence moisture in the atmosphere (e.g., temperature, vapor pressure, air pressure, elevation, etc).
• Know how water vapor eventually form clouds and precipitation
• Know what relative humidity is and what factors are needed to calculate it
• Know the various descriptive terms used to describe clouds and what they mean in terms of cloud types
• Know which types of clouds typically produce precipitation
• Know what dew and frost is and how it forms
• Know what an adiabatic process is, what adiabatic lapse rates are and why they are important to understanding cloud formation
• Know how the various forms of precipitation are formed and what factors cause them to remian aloft or fall to the ground
• Know how air can get saturated with water vapor (two ways)
• Know how airmasses can get lifted
• Know what types of clouds are associated with what types of weather conditions
• Know what the various types of precipitation are and how they form