InsaneJournal

[+] [+] [+]

What happens when UV radiation enters the ozone layer?
Most of the UV radiation gets absorbed by the ozone in the ozonosphere.

Why is little heat retained in the warm thermosphere?
Heat happens when energy is transferred from one atom to another. In the thermosphere there is such a low pressure (the molecules are spread out) that there is very little heat transfer.

Why might the Greenhouse Effect lead to more extreme weather?
The Greenhouse Effect keeps heat from escaping our atmosphere, so it is trapped here. The higher temperatures create more extreme weather like winter storms and tropical cyclones.

You are well acquainted with the negative effects of the greenhouse effect, but the fact remains that without it, Earth would be a very different place. How would our world be different if there were no such thing as the greenhouse effect?
Earth would be a much colder place – possibly too cold for life to exist and certainly too cold for humans.

The cabins of airplanes are pressurized and the temperature is internally controlled. Why are all planes constructed this way and what would happen if these systems failed?
As an airplane increases in altitude through the troposphere, air temperature and pressure decrease. Cabin pressure and temperature are controlled for the safety and comfort of the people on board. Prolonged loss of cabin pressure and temperature would physically affect the passengers and crew and potentially cause the plane to crash.

List the layers of the atmosphere in order, starting with the one closest to Earth, and describe how temperature changes as altitude increases.
The atmospheric layer closest to Earth is the troposphere. Temperature decreases as distance above the surface of Earth increases. Temperature remains the same briefly during the transition from the troposphere to the next atmospheric layer, the stratosphere. Increasing altitude through the stratosphere results in an increase in temperature. There is a dramatic change in rate that results in a rapid increase toward the upper portion of this layer. As altitude continues to increase, there is a dramatic decrease in temperature at the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere. Temperature decreases at a rapid and constant rate throughout the mesospheric layer as altitude continues to increase. The boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere marks a rapid return to increasing temperatures, which continues to the outer limits of the atmosphere.

What is the relationship between the greenhouse effect and global warming?
An increase in global temperatures as a result of the greenhouse effect is called global warming. As more and more heat becomes trapped within our atmosphere, the overall temperature of Earth is expected to increase.

What causes low ozone concentrations in the atmosphere?
Low ozone concentrations are caused in part by chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.

How do plants and animals rely on each other to maintain the atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide content?
Carbon dioxide-producing animals balance oxygen producing plants creating the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle that keeps the gases from these sources in equilibrium.

How long has the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere been at its current level?
Oxygen levels similar to the concentration of oxygen in today’s atmosphere were reached about 350 million years ago.

Where do scientists believe the first gases that created the atmosphere came from?
During the process of outgassing, volcanic eruptions emitted the gases that founded the primitive atmosphere.

Where is the ozone layer located and what does it do?
The ozone layer is located within the stratosphere. This layer acts like a blanket that absorbs incoming solar radiation.

What produces a temperature inversion?
A temperature inversion is produced when cool air is trapped by the warm air above it.