Energy and Heat Transfer in the Atmosphere

Waves Earth receives electromagnetic energy from the sun in 3 different forms: visible light: allows us to see -- ROYGBV red and orange light have the longest wavelengths (distance between two waves) blue and violet have shorter wavelengths but higher frequency (# of waves repeating in a given space) infrared radiation felt as heat but can’t be seen longer wavelengths and ____ frequency than red light ultraviolet radiation shorter wavelength than violet light, _____ frequency Can cause sunburns, skin cancer and eye damage

Seeing Colors Colors we see are reflecting that wavelength of visible light and absorbing all other colors. A red car appears red because it reflects red wavelengths of light and absorbs OYGBV The gases in our atmosphere ________ blue light waves more than any other color, so the sky appears blue during the day. During sunrise/sunset, sunlight passes through a greater thickness of atmosphere and reflects longer wavelengths of light (red and orange) causing the sun and sky to look red.

Energy in the Atmosphere As sunlight travels through our atmosphere, some of its heat (infrared radiation) is absorbed and some is reflected: 50% absorbed by Earth’s surface (land/water) 25% reflected back into space by atmosphere 20% absorbed by greenhouse gases in atmosphere 5% reflected by Earth’s surface back into atmosphere

3 Kinds of Heat Transfer 1. Radiation: Transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves. 2. Conduction: Transfer of heat solids → solid or solid → liquid that are directly touching. 3. Convection: Transfer of heat by the movement of fluids (gas or liquid).