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ASSIGNMENT 4

Climate Change

1.   Use the chart to help you answer the following questions:

a. Explain what the line is labeled “Solar spectrum outside atmosphere” is showing:

b. Explain what the line labeled “solar spectrum at sea level is showing:

c. Why there is a gap between the solar spectrum outside the atmosphere and the solar   spectrum at sea level?

2.  Why does Earth mainly radiate lower energy at longer wavelengths than the Sun? Explain

3.  The planet Mercury is located only about 36 million miles from the Sun and has an average surface temperature of about 332°F. The planet Venus is located about 67 million miles from the Sun (almost twice as far) but has a higher average surface temperature of about 854°F.  Using the fact that Mercury has no real atmosphere to speak of and Venus has a very thick atmosphere made up mainly of carbon dioxide. Explain why Venus is hotter than Mercury? You would not survive a visit to the surface of the planet - you couldn't breathe the air, you would be crushed on by the enormous weight of the atmosphere, and you would burn up in surface temperatures high enough to melt lead.

4. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere?

5.  Venus and Mars orbit the Sun at average distance of 0.72 and 1.52 AU, respectively. What is the solar flux at each planet based on the following?

- Inverse-square Law

-  Average distance from earth to Sun, which is 149,600,000 km, defined as AU

-  The solar flux at earth’s orbit, is 1366 W/m²

 Show all calculations.

6.  The Temperature of a planet is determined by a balance between the energy received from the Sun and the energy radiated back out to space. The Earth’s effective temperature, the temperature the Earth should have without an atmosphere, can be calculated knowing the solar input and the planet’s Aledo.

a. Calculate the Earth’s effective temperature (T_e) in Kelvins and °C based on the   following:      

                Energy in   =    Energy out

     (4π R² _earth  ) (σ T_e ⁴  ) =   π R²_earth  S(1-A)

S = 1366 W/m²

σ = 5.67 x 10^-8 W/m²/K^-4

Albedo (A) = 0.3

              Show all calculations.

b. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991 in the Philippine, the volcanic dust and aerosols were injected into the stratosphere were quickly mixed around the globe.  The increase in atmospheric aerosols increased the Earth’s reflectivity (albedo) from 0.30 to 0.31.  What impact would this have on the Earth’s effective temperature (T_e)?

c. Some Geophysicists predict a big volcanic eruption in the next 10 years and that will reverse global warming.  What do you say?

7.  What is ozone, and why it is both beneficial and harmful to life on earth?

8.  Why has the concentration of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere been increasing over the last century?

9.  Why does the troposphere contain much more mass than the stratosphere, despite the fact that the troposphere is thinner layer than the stratosphere? explain

10. Make up your own question and answer it