Atmosphere, Weather, Climate
atmosphere
What is the
Atmosphere?
What is the
atmosphere
composed of?
 Atmosphere= the scientific word
for the air around us!
 Thin layer of gas/air
surrounding Earth
 * “Air is our atmosphere and is
needed to live because living
things breathe it.” (Jared)
 * “Air changes temperature and
through movement.” (Jacob)
1) NITROGEN (N2): 78% of the
air & moves in a cycle through
soil and living things
2) OXYGEN (O2): 21% of our
atmosphere & moves in a cycle
through living things
 Necessary for fire! & rust!
 Ozone= O3-3 atom oxygen
molecule on the atmosphere
3) CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2):
0.038 % of atmo. & cycles
through living things &
What are the
layers of the
atmo.?
(structure of
the atmo.)
released by burning coal, gas,
oil=fossil fuels
4) OTHER GASES: less than 1%
5) WATER VAPOR: air is NOT
dry
6) PARTICLES OF STUFF: dust,
smoke, salts, pollens, etc.microscopic pieces!
 From the surface to space:
1) troposphere= ≈ 12km (7ish
miles) up/deep
 life & weather happen here!
 shallowest layer
 has most of the mass of the
atmo. b/c the rest of the atmo.
is squishing it down
2) stratosphere= ≈ 38 km deep
(19ish miles), from 12 to 50 km
up
 has the ozone layer= absorbs
UV radiation, protecting life
3) mesosphere= ≈ 30 km deep
(15ish miles), from 50 to 80 km
up
 where most meteors are
burned up
 “shooting star”= meteoroid
burning up
4) thermosphere= extends from
80 km to outer space (blends)
 ionosphere= contains the
Northern Lights/Aurora
Borealis= light display caused
by sun’s radiation hitting the
ionosphere @ the North Pole
during winter @ night
 exosphere= where satellites fly!
 Deepest layer!
Video notes“Atmosphere”
 Wind and rain are not
enough to fully clean the
atmo.
 An “ocean” of gases
 Jet stream is wind belt in the
atmo.
 Structured in layers
 Ozone layer protects life
from the sun
 Cannot feel or see the atmo.
What is air
pressure?
 Atmo. weighs ++++++, but
we can’t feel it!
(5,000,000,000 tons)
 Mesosphere is -150o C
 w/out the atmo/air, there is
NO sound
 Air pressure= atmo. pushing
down on us
 Can’t feel air pressure b/c the
pressure is balanced in all
directions & we’re used to it
 Air pressure changes constantly
 Altitude increases, air pressure
& density decreases
(small diagram)
What does the
atmo. do for
life on Earth?
 Hard to breathe @ high altitude
b/c O2 is more spread out
(thinner)
 Barometer= tool to measure air
pressure
 Gives life air to breathe
 Protects us from UV radiation
w/the ozone layer
 Gives us sound
 Protects us from meteors
 Keeps H2O as a liquid! b/c atmo.
keeps Earth warm enough
 greenhouse effect= atmo.
trapping the sun’s heat to warm
the planet
 CO2 & methane are greenhouse
gases
(diagram)
Why does the
 Sun’s energy reaches Earth as
sky change
visible light=spectrum of
color?
colors=rainbow
 Red, orange, yellow, green, blue ,
purple
 Gases in the atmo. absorb &
scatter the blue end of the
spectrum during the day
 Gases in the atmo. absorb &
scatter the red end of the
spectrum during sunset &
sunrise.
 The angle of the sun’s rays
determine the color we see in the
sky
WEATHER
What is
weather?
Web
“Weather”DVD notes
 About 1,000,000 volts in one
lightning bolt
 Lightning bolt is hotter than the
sun
 Weather can impact lives by
flooding, knocking out power
and killing living things
 Can see most weather
 Troposphere is 8 miles deep
 Weather never stops
 Tornadoes have 300 mph winds
 H2O is always = on Earth
 Floods cause more loss than any
other natural disaster (excessive
rainfall)
 People die in hailstorms
 Clouds keep the Earth warm at
What is wind?
night.
 Japanese words for destructive
wind is “kamikaze”
 weathervanes show the direction
of wind and have roosters on
them
 Troposphere never stops moving
 Tornadoes form when hot air
and strong winds form together
 Weather affects life
 Tornadoes have a vacuum-like
tunnel
 Hail can cause great damage
 Heat, air, H2O= ingredients for
weather; diff. amounts of each
cause diff. weather
 Wind= air moving b/c of
differences in air pressure
 Sun heats the earth which heats
the air until it rises/moves
 Wind is a convection current
(diagram)
 Air moves from H to L pressure
when the wind blows
 Local winds= the winds “around
town”—w/in 100 miles ish
1) sea breeze= air mvng from
H2O to land during the day b/c
land heats faster than H2O
2) land breeze= air mvng from
land to H2O at night b/c H2O
cools slower than land
 global winds= winds that blow
around the whole globe;
convection current from the
poles to the Equator
1) Polar Easterlies= from 60o to
90o N and S of the Equator and
blow east to west
2) Prevailing Westerlies= from
30o to 60o N and S of the
Equator and blow west to east
3) Trade winds= from 0o to 30o N
and S of the Equator and blow
from east to west
 Horse Latitudes (30o N & S) and
Doldrums (@ the Equator)=
areas of little to no winds/calm
areas
What is an air
mass?
 Jet
stream= ↑
speed, ↑
altitude
wind belt
that pulls
polar air S
& tropical
air N
across NA
What are
weather
fronts?
What is
humidity?
(diagram)
 Air mass= a HUGE chunk of air
w/the same pressure,
temperature & humidity
 Air masses are named for their
temp & humidity
 Maritime (wet) tropical (hot)-H
 Continental (dry) tropical (hot)H
 Maritime (wet) polar (cold)-L
 Continental (dry) polar (cold)-L
 PW wind belt blows air masses
across North America
 Weather front= when H & L air
mass “bump” and change the
weather
(glued in diagrams and definitions)
 Humidity= amt H2O vapor
suspended in the air b/c of
evaporation
 Warm air is usually more humid
What are
clouds?
What types of
clouds exist?
than cold air
 Clouds= condensed H2O vapor in
the sky/ big white fluffy things in
the sky/ containers of H2O in the
sky
 Condensation happens when the
H2O vapor cools @ high altitude
 H2O vapor sticks to “schtuff” in
the atmo. to form a cloud
 Dew point= temp. @ which H2O
vapor condenses back into liquid
form
 Classified into 3 groups
according to shape:
1) stratus= LOW altitude, skycovering, flat,
grayish…YUCK! Overcast
 nimbostratus= rain/snow
clouds
 fog= cloud @ or near the
ground…covers the ground
in flat grayish YUCK!
 Altostratus= higher altitude
stratus clouds
2) Cumulus= MID altitude, fluffy
cotton candyish, white clouds
 Cumulonimbus=
“thunderheads”, t-storm
clouds…tall, towering, dark
gray puff balls
 Altocumulus= higher altitude
“rows of cotton balls” clouds
3) Cirrus= HIGH altitude, light,
feathery, wispy clouds
 Cirrocumulus= puffy, yet
feathery, wispy, look like fish
scales
* can have more than one type of
cloud in the sky at the same time
What is
 Precipitation= any form of H2O
precipitation?
falling from the sky
 For gravity to take effect, H2O
droplets have to get heavy/big
enough to fall from the sky
 Only nimbus clouds make
precip.
1) Rain= leaves the cloud as H2O
& hits the ground as H2O-STAYS in LIQUID form the
2)
3)
4)
5)
What is a
entire way down
 Mist=tiniest drop size—(o)
 Drizzle=middle drop size-(o)
 Raindrop=largest drop size(O)
snow= ice crystals falling from
the sky; leaves the cloud as ICE
& hits the ground as ICE
 snowflakes are 6-armed stars
 snowflakes are all unique-no
two are alike
sleet= leaves the cloud as
LIQUID, hits the ground as
ICE b/c it passes through a
layer of freezing air
 frozen rain!
 Comes down in sheets, not ice
cubes
Freezing rain= leaves the cloud
as LIQUID, hits the ground as
a LIQUID & freezes on impact
Hail= leaves the cloud as ICE
CHUNKS & hits the ground as
ICE CHUNKS
 Storm= a violent occurrence
storm & what
do they do?
in the atmosphere; AKA
severe weather caused by
sudden chngs in air
pressure—“ hard, heavy
rain/snow + dark heavy
clouds + strong winds +
lightning & thunder”
1) Thunderstorm: heavy rain
w/lightning & thunder for a
short duration.
 ONLY in cumulonimbus
clouds
 Lightning= electric bolt that
jumps from cloud to cloud or
cloud to ground (strike)
 Thunder= sound of lightning
explosion caused by super
heated, rapidly expanding air
(clap of…)
 Fulgurite= lightning-made
sculpture created when
lightning strikes & melts
sand
 DAMAGE: flooding,
lightning-strike fires &
downed power lines, etc.
2) Tornado= spinning, funnelshaped winds that destroy
things AKA “twisters”
“cyclones”
 Funnel clouds that RIPS across
the land
 Tornado alley= the Great
Plains of NA where most
tornadoes on earth occur
 Ranked/leveled storms
 Semi-predictable storms
 Happens on a cold front
3) Hurricane= swirling clouds
with a hole/eye in the middle
that forms over the Atlantic
Ocean
 Typhoon=forms over the
Pacific Ocean
 Cyclone= forms over the
Indian Ocean
 Willy-Willy= forms near
Australia
 Form in the tropics (near the
Equator)
 Eye=calm center of the storm
 Long lasting storms (hrs)
 Predictable & trackable b/c of
their size
 DAMAGE: severe flooding,
winds rips things apart, storm
surge= ocean pushed far inland
by hurricane winds
 Named storm!
 Tropical dpression→tropical
storm→hurricane= in order
from weak to strong
 Hurricanes are strongest over
H2O, weaken over land
4) Blizzard= heavy snow & wind
for several hours AKA
“whiteout”
 DAMAGE: no visibility makes
driving impossible, snow buries
things, heavy snow piles can
collapse roofs, cause power
outages
5) Heat Wave= 100o+ for several
consecutive days
 Can be deadly
 Santa Ana Winds= hot, dry,
high speed wind gusts from the
desert during late
summer/early fall…in So. Cali
Video notes:
Climate &
Seasons
What
geographical
characteristics
affect climate?
 Climate= weather pattern that
repeats year by year
 Season= 4 different weather
types that occur each year
depending on which way Earth is
facing the sun
 Leaves lose their color b/c of
temperature
 Temperature tells how much Sun
energy the Earth has absorbed
 El Nino affects the weather
severely…dry areas get +++rain
& wet areas have drought
1) latitude: distance from the
equator determines temp.
 tropics= near the equator;
hot & humid all year!
 Polar= near the N&S poles;
cold/freezing & dry all year!
 Temperate= btwn polar &
tropical zones; have a cold &
warm season
2) Distance from a large body of
H2O: coastlines have milder
climates than inland b/c H2O
keeps air cooler
3) Ocean currents: alter ocean
temps. & release heat into the
atmo.
 Surface currents move warm
water from the tropics to the
poles
 Deep ocean currents move cold
water from the poles to the
tropics
 Together=convection current!

4) Altitude: the higher you go, the
colder it gets b/c the air is
thinning
 Mountains have a cooler
climate than the flatlands
surrounding them
 Highland or Alpine climate