Atmosphere and ocean interactions

Earth’s Life support System Biosphere is the narrow area of the air, water, and land where life occurs. Env Science deals with human interaction and impact on all 4 spheres.

The Atmosphere The atmosphere is a mixture of gases that surrounds Earth. 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% other gases (including argon, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) Insulates Earth’s surface

The ozone layer, in the Stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation allowing life to exist.

Weather = short term state of the atmosphere at any given time. You watch the weatherman Climate = long term weather conditions of an area (30 year period of records) Climate Determined by: Latitude, atmospheric pressure, solar activity, local geography, ocean currents **Distance from the equator

Latitude and Altitude Latitude is the distance away from the equator, measured in degrees North and South. Altitude is height above sea level.

Rain Shadow Effect The windward side is exposed to the wind first and gets more moisture and is more stable . The leeward side is left with very little moisture.

Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere Radiation - energy that is transferred as waves through space Conduction - transfer of energy as heat through a material (touch). Convection - movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations an can result in the transfer of energy as heat. Heat rises and Cold air sinks

What is uneven heating of Earth? This is caused by Earth's tilt. Wherever the radiation is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the surface, radiation is being maximized. At lower latitudes light/heat is spread out over a larger amount of land space. This accounts for the uneven heating of Earth.

Global winds and ocean currents interact with each other Global winds power ocean currents Solar radiation in the atmosphere warms ocean waters Gases such as CO2 and methane are trapped in the atmosphere causing the Greenhouse Effect which in turn causes Earth’s temperatures to continually warm world-wide.

A As oceans warm it causes ice (glaciers) to melt. As ice melts the albedo effect is lessened (albedo – when solar radiation is reflected by the white ice/snow back into the atmosphere). Less albedo more absorption of heat by oceans causing an acceleration of warming. Warming waters mean: atmosphere warms even more, stronger ocean storms

Today oceans are at their most acidic and warmest than they have been in the past 400,000 years. Increased CO2 atmospheric levels created by the burning of fossil fuels cause: Warming atmosphere Ocean Acidification Estimated that about 80-90% of heat from the lower atmosphere due to greenhouse effect has been stored in the oceans since 1970. Average temperature of the oceans have risen since 1970. Half of its warming has occurred since 1997.

Oceans absorb ¼ excess CO2 emitted Ocean Acidification – rising levels of acidity. Oceans are naturally more basic (pH of 8). Emitted CO2 in the atmosphere reacts with the water surface creating carbonic acid (CO2 + H2O  H2CO3). Carbonate ions (CO32-), which are necessary for formation of coral reefs and the shells and skeletons of marine organisms, keeps the oceans around an 8 pH, the reaction creating carbonic acid reduces the amount of CO32- . Causing acidification About 93% of Earth’s CO2 has been stored (called CO2 sequestration) in the oceans settling down in bottom sediments and stored in vegetation and organisms.

Salinity Levels As oceans warm, glaciers and ice melts putting vast amounts of freshwater into the oceans thus changing the salinity levels. Too much freshwater can drastically affect ocean currents by disrupting them which would cause drastic climate changes to the world.

Interactions The atmospheric transfer of energy, temperatures, and composition affects the oceans’ temperature, pH, and salinity levels. Oceans and water bodies have a stabilizing effect on land masses – regulating temperatures and precipitation. Atmosphere and oceans influence climate. Climate influences the surface of Earth’s land masses.