Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Physical Processes On Earth
Physical Processes On Earth
Processes
on Earth
Christine Alonzo
Solar Energy
• The most precise solar energy definition: ENERGY FROM THE SUN
• Solar Energy is energy (light or heat) that comes from the sun.
• Solar energy is rapidly becoming the ultimate energy source because of its
non-polluting character and its inexhaustible supply which are in stark contrast
to such fossil fuel sources as coal, oil, and natural gas.
• Solar Energy Examples:
• What makes your car hot when it is parked in the sun?
• What makes your solar calculator work?
• What makes plants grow?
• What makes the solar panels work on the roof of your school?
Types of
Solar Energy
1. Thermal Energy
• Thermal energy is everywhere.
• Using the sun’s energy to heat things like your house, water, food, etc.
• It lights up our days.
• It heats the earth, our bodies and our homes.
• It dries our clothes. All for free!
Electric Energy
• Electric energy uses the power of the sun to
produce electricity through solar cells, otherwise
known as Photovoltaics (PV).
• Turning light from the sun directly into electricity,
using solar panels.
Nature of Solar Energy
• The sun provides 99.98% of the energy for our planet (the
rest is geothermal).
• The sun is the star that consist of 71% Hydrogen, 27%
Helium and 2% solid matter.
• The energy emitted by the sun is called solar energy or
solar radiation.
• Despite the considerable distance between the sun and the
earth, the amount of solar energy reaching the earth is
substantial.
Definition of Terms
• Solar zenithal angle: The angle formed by the direction of the sun and the
local vertical.
• Radiant energy: The amount of energy that is transferred by radiation. It is
expressed in J (Joule).
• Spectral distribution of the irradiance: The distribution of the irradiance as
a function of the wavelength. Total irradiance, irradiation: The irradiance,
irradiation, integrated over the whole spectrum.
• Extra-terrestrial radiation, irradiance or irradiation: The total radiation,
irradiance and irradiation originating from the sun impinging on a horizontal
surface located at the top of the atmosphere.
Solar Radiation at the Top of the Atmosphere
• Solar radiation is the earth primary natural source of energy and by a long
way.
• Other sources which are all negligible relative to solar radiation are:
• the geothermal heat flux generated by the earth interior
• natural terrestrial radioactivity, and
• cosmic radiation
Solar Radiation at the Top of the Atmosphere
• As the solar radiation makes its way from the top of the atmosphere
downwards the ground, it is depleted when passing through the atmosphere
due to interactions with the constituents of the atmosphere.
• On average, less than half of extra-terrestrial radiation reaches ground level.
• The description and modelling of the optical processes affecting the solar
radiation within the atmosphere is called radiative transfer.
Solar Radiation at Ground Level
• In clear skies, cloud-free skies, aerosols and water vapor are the main
contributors to depletion.
• In such conditions, approximately 20 % to 30 % of the total extra-terrestrial
radiation is lost during its down welling path by scattering and absorption
phenomena by aerosols and molecules.
• This amount differs with wavelength and the spectral distribution of the solar
radiation is modified as the radiation crosses the atmosphere downwards.
• Clouds have a major importance as a whole; they are the major depleting
constituents in the atmosphere.
Solar Radiation at Ground Level
• Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and processes that causes what
we refer to as the “weather”.
Atmosphere
• Absorbs the energy from the sun,
• Recycles water and other chemicals
• Protects us from high-energy radiation and the frigid vacuum of space.
• The atmosphere protects and supports life.
The Earth’s Atmosphere
• Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a mixture of gases called air.
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Various gases are present in a volume of
air near the earth’s surface.
• Notice that nitrogen (N2) occupies about
78 percent and oxygen (O2) about 21
percent of the total volume.
• If all the other gases are removed, these
percentages for nitrogen and oxygen hold
fairly constant up to an elevation of about
80 km (or 50 mi).
Composition of the Atmosphere
• The concentration of the invisible gas water vapor, however, varies greatly
from place to place, and from time to time.
• Close to the surface in warm, steamy, tropical locations, water vapor may
account for up to 4 percent of the atmospheric gases.
• The changing of water vapor into liquid water is called condensation,
whereas the process of liquid water becoming water vapor is called
evaporation.
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Water vapor is an extremely important gas in our atmosphere. Not only does it
form into both liquid and solid cloud particles that grow in size and fall to earth
as precipitation, but it also releases large amounts of heat— called latent
heat—when it changes from vapor into liquid water or ice.
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Latent heat is an important source of atmospheric energy, especially for
storms, such as thunderstorms and hurricanes. Moreover, water vapor is a
potent greenhouse gas because it strongly absorbs a portion of the earth’s
outgoing radiant energy. Thus, water vapor plays a significant role in the
earth’s heat energy balance.
Troposphere
• The region of the atmosphere from the surface up to about 11 km contains all
of the weather we are familiar with on earth.
• Also, this region is kept well stirred by rising and descending air currents.
• Here, it is common for air molecules to circulate through a depth of more than
10 km in just a few days.
• This region of circulating air extending upward from the earth’s surface to
where the air stops becoming colder with height is called the troposphere—
from the Greek “tropein”, meaning to turn, or to change.
Stratosphere
• The region, where the air temperature remains
constant with height, is referred to as an
isothermal (equal temperature) zone.
• The bottom of this zone marks the top of the
troposphere and the beginning of another
layer, the stratosphere.
• The boundary separating the troposphere
from the stratosphere is called the
tropopause.
Mesosphere
• Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere (middle sphere).
• The air here is extremely thin and the atmospheric pressure is quite low.
• Even though the percentage of nitrogen and oxygen in the mesosphere is
about the same as it was at the earth’s surface, a breath of mesospheric air
contains far fewer oxygen molecules than a breath of tropospheric air.
• At this level, without proper oxygen-breathing equipment, the brain would
soon become oxygen-starved—a condition known as hypoxia—and
suffocation would result.
• With an average temperature of –90°C, the top of the mesosphere represents
the coldest part of our atmosphere.
Thermosphere
• The “hot layer” above the mesosphere is the thermosphere.
• Here, oxygen molecules (O2) absorb energetic solar rays, warming the air. In
the thermosphere, there are relatively few atoms and molecules.
• Consequently, the absorption of a small amount of energetic solar energy can
cause a large increase in air temperature that may exceed 500°C, or 900°F.
Exosphere
• The region where atoms and molecules shoot off into space is sometimes
referred to as the exosphere, which represents the upper limit of our
atmosphere.
Ionosphere
• The ionosphere is not really a layer, but rather an electrified region within the
upper atmosphere where fairly large concentrations of ions and free electrons
exist.
• The ionosphere plays a major role in radio communications.
• The lower part (called the D region) reflects standard AM radio waves back to
earth, but at the same time it seriously weakens them through absorption.
• At night, though, the D region gradually disappears and AM radio waves are
able to penetrate higher into the ionosphere (into the E and F regions), where
the waves are reflected back to earth.
Ionosphere
• Because there is, at night, little absorption of radio waves in the higher
reaches of the ionosphere, such waves bounce repeatedly from the
ionosphere to the earth’s surface and back to the ionosphere again.
• In this way, standard AM radio waves are able to travel for many hundreds of
kilometers at night.
Earth System
Earth System
• The earth is our home and habitat, without its abundant resources (air, water,
heat) we would not be in existence today.
• The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old.
• Interdisciplinary study of the earth's naturally occurring phenomena, its
processes and evolution.
• Earth Science by necessity involves the marriage of a number of specialty
sciences.
Astronomy
• Astronomy- study of the origin, evolution and composition of
the universe, solar system and planetary bodies.
• Cosmology: origin of the universe
• Astrogeology: comparison of extra-terrestrial planetary bodies with
the earth
• Astrophysics: quantitative study of the physical nature of the
universe
Geology
study of the earth, its composition, origin, evolution and processes.
• Earth's surface covered by 70% ocean water... hence the reference to the
"Blue Planet".
• Study of ocean chemistry and circulation patterns
• Physical study of seafloor
Environmental
Spheres of the
Earth
Environmental Spheres of the Earth
transpiration precipitation
evaporation
accumulation
Transpiration