Discussion 1 Wednesday 1/30

Weather vs. Climate Weather Instantaneous description of what the atmosphere is doing at a particular time and place Climate Description of what weather is usually like in a region (large or small). Not just the average weather, but a description of what the extremes are like too.

Mean Percentage of possible sunshine for November Typical Climatology Map

N2N2 O2O2 Ar O3O3 Inert gasesCO 2 H2H2 ←SO 2, NO 2, CFC’s, etc PM CO CH 4 N2ON2O Composition of the Earth’s Troposphere

Atmospheric Evolution Earth’s early atmosphere consisted of Hydrogen (H), Helium (He), Methane (CH 4 ) and Ammonia (NH 3 ) As the earth cooled volcanic eruptions occurred emitting water vapor (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and molecular nitrogen (N 2 ). The molecular oxygen (O 2 ) in the current atmosphere came about as single celled algae developed in the oceans about 3 billion years ago. The oxygen is produced as a by-product of photosynthesis, the making of sugars from water vapor and carbon dioxide. This oxygen produced ozone in the upper atmosphere which filtered out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. This allowed plants and animals to develop on land.

Hydrological Cycle

Other important Gases Methane - CH 4 Is produced whenever plant material decays below water, e.g. in marshes and rice paddies. Is a greenhouse gas. Has a long lifetime in the Troposphere but breaks down in the Stratosphere to form water. Cholofluorocarbons - scientific name for the Freons. Are greenhouse gases Have a long lifetime in the Troposphere but break down in the Stratosphere to releases chlorine. Responsible for the Ozone Hole. Emissions were banned as a result of the Montreal Protocol.

Questions? Project introduction next

Your Job: Create a poster to explain the economic impact of El Nino. You may focus On a particular geographic region or economic sector (such as fisheries, agriculture, energy, tourism, etc.). What to Do: Learn about El Nino and how it affects the world’s weather and climate and how this in turn affects economics. NOAA’s web site on El Nino may help you, Templates are available at or You may use one of these templates or design you poster from scratch Project Goals: Learn about the impact of El Nino. Learn how to put a high quality poster together. Get to know your group.

Due% Of Project Grade Hints Assign tasksBy the end of class today 0%Group Leader, Layout, Research Topics OutlineSept 1120%What format will your poster take; What information will be included/excluded; Sources DraftSept 180%Use a readable font size & color Final Poster & Presentation Sept 2650% 30% Graded on content, appearance and participation! 5-minute presentation; Get the file to your TA by noon! Dates & Grading: Your poster project will be broken down into several pieces, some of which will contribute to your project grade. Remember, this is a GROUP project and your grade will be reduced if you do not participate in your group. If there are any problems in your group notify your TA right away.