Heating of the

Atmosphere
Heating of the Atmosphere
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

 Energy is radiated in
different wave lengths
 Wavelength: Distance
between the crest of two
waves
 Waves travel at the speed
of light (3000 000 km per
second)
 Gamma Rays are the
shortest with the most
energy, radio waves are the
longest with the least
amount of energy.
 Wave Lengths
• Wave length
– from one
crest to the
next
The Sun’s electromagnetic
spectrum
Light Waves
• Light waves are the only
ones which are visible
and which fall.
• Light waves vary in
length, violet waves are
the shortest, red waves
are the longest.
• Approximately 2000
would fit across a
pinhead.
• Violet, Indigo, blue,
Green, Yellow, Orange,
Red.
 How we see rainbows
• Water droplets and dust scatter
light of all wavelengths, so on
many days the sky appears
whitish.
• Rainbows are created when many
raindrops act as minute prisms
and separate the light waves into
all the colours of the spectrum.
• The colours of objects depend on
what wavelengths they soak up
and what they reflect. A red bus is
red because it soaks up every
colour but red, and only bounces
red back to your eyes
 Insolation
• Incoming Solar Radiation
• The amount of the suns energy that reaches the
Earth’s surface
• Short and long waves are emitted.
• Most ultraviolet rays and x-rays are absorbed by
the thermosphere and stratosphere. Therefore
only 1 billionth of the suns rays reach the
tropopause.
• The amount of radiant energy that reaches the
tropopause is called the Solar constant
 Insolation cont.
 Only 47% of the energy reaches the surface of
the earth, this is short wave radiation that the
atmosphere is not able to absorb.
 Remaining 53% is absorbed in the troposphere,
scattered by dust particles or is reflected back
into the upper atmosphere.
• Snow / ice & clouds -good reflectors,
• Water & soil is a poor reflector, absorb more
Insolation.
Earth heats the atmosphere in the
following ways / Distribution of
heat
Conduction
Convection
contact
moving
molecules

Radiation
Waves
 Convection
• Vertical transfer of heat energy by movement of
air molecules.
• Hot air in the lower layers expand, become light
and rise.
• Hot air, transfer heat to higher altitudes.
• This is similar to a hot-air balloon. It rises
because the warmth makes it expand and so it
becomes less dense and lighter than the cooler
air around it.
• Advection: horizontal movement of air - when
wind blows over a warm surface and heats up.
 Conduction
• Transfer of heat energy from air molecule to air
molecule by contact.
• Air - poor conductor of heat.
• Lowest layers of the atmosphere heated through
conduction with the surface of the Earth.
• This is a bit like a relay race, as vibrating
molecules cannon into their neighbours and set
them moving too.
 Terrestrial Radiation
• Terrestrial = earth
• Radiation from the earth
• Earth has lower temperature than sun,
therefore radiates heat energy in the form
of LONG WAVES.
• Water vapour and carbon dioxide absorb
the long waves (Green house gasses)
 Terrestrial Radiation Cont
• Water vapour and carbon dioxide more heat
concentrated close to the surface, therefore more
absorption and air is warmer
• Temperature decreases as height above sea level
increases.
• Terrestrial radiation occurs mainly at night as the sun
does not shine on the Earth then
• Clouds act as a blanket, preventing terrestrial radiation
from escaping into space, thus cloudy nights are not as
cold as clear nights
• Clouds reflect more heat during the day and thus cloudy
days are cooler than clear days.
 Green house effect
Heating of the atmosphere by the earth and the sun.

 Earths surface is warmed up by the suns

energy in the form of short waves.
 Heat is transferred back into the
atmosphere by means of long waves
 The heat energy is slowly emitted back
into space and therefore heat balance is
retained.
 Earth heats the atmosphere by: radiation
convection and conduction
 Releasing of Latent Heat
• Heat also transferred when condensation
occurs.
• Heat used in this process of evaporation is
stored in the water vapour as latent heat
or “hidden heat”
• When air rises and cools, condensation
occurs and latent heat is released.
Greenhouse Effect

• Atmosphere allows
short waves of
isolation to heat
earths surface, but
absorbs the long
waves.
• Heat is therefore
trapped and kept in
the lower layers.
 Greenhouse Cont.
• Gasses that absorb and trap the long wave
radiation are referred to as GREENHOUSE
GASSES.
• Water vapour and carbon Dioxide are
greenhouse gasses, there are other pollution
gases that also absorb radiation.
• The sun does not only give us energy in the
form of heat but it also energy by using solar
panels to produce solar power.
Solar panels generating electricity
from solar energy
 Interesting Facts
• The highest temperature on earth was 59ºC
• The lowest possible temperature is –273.15ºC
when all molecules stop moving. Lowest record
on earth was –89ºC
• Heat makes things expand. Thermometers can
measure temperature by showing how much a
liquid such as coloured alcohol expands and
rises up a tube.
Wave Energy
 Insolation
IN coming SOLAR radiation
 Insolation
• The sun emits both short and long wave
radiation.
• Most of the ultra violet and X rays are
absorbed in the thermosphere and
stratosphere.
• Only one billionth of the sun’s energy
reaches the tropopause .
Solar Constant
 Heat Balance
• The earth’s surface is
warmed by the sun’s
energy.
• The earth does not
simply absorb all the
heat and get hotter
and hotter.
• This heat is
transferred back into
the atmosphere.
 The earth is heated in the
following ways :
1. Terrestrial radiation : is the radiation from the earth
.
2. Conduction : this is the transfer of heat energy
from air molecule by contact .
3. Convection : this is the vertical transfer of heat
energy by movement of air molecules .
( Advection is the horizontal movement of air)
4 Release of latent heat : heat is also transferred
when condensation occurs . ( hidden heat )
TERRESTRIAL RADIATION
 CONDUCTION

As air is a poor conductor , it is only the lowest layers of the atmosphere that are
heated through contact with the surface of the earth.
The hot layer in the
lower layer expands,
becomes light and
rises .
The heat that is used in the process of evaporation is stored in the water
vapour as latent heat or hidden heat .

When air rises and cools, condensation occurs and the latent heat is released .
GREENHOUSE