NS3310 – Physical Science StudiesAtmosphere and Oceans

Heat and Temperature

• What will happen when I place a jar of warm water on top of a jar of cold water?

• What will happen when I place a jar of salty water on top of a jar of fresh water?

Warm Water

Cold Water

Salt Water

Fresh Water

Key Questions

• What is heat? What is thermal energy? What is temperature? Is there a difference?

• How does heat move around?

• Why do some things feel hot and others cold?

• How do substances change their state of matter? How is heat involved?

• What are the laws of thermodynamics?

• What is entropy?

Kinetic Energy of Molecules

• Solids

• Fluids

– Liquids

– Gases

– Plasmas

Temperature

• Temperature measures the kinetic energy of molecules (this is external energy)

• Fahrenheit

• Celsius

• Kelvin (absolute zero)

Thermal Energy

• Thermal energy is the internal energy of a molecule

• Heat is a measure of the internal energy that has been absorbed or transferred from one body to another

• Heat is measured in calories (c) or British Thermal Units (BTUs)

Specific Heat and Latent Heat

• Specific heat changes the temperature of an object

• Latent heat changes the phase of the material

• For example: Ice to Water to Steam

Phase Transitions

• Latent Heat of Fusion / Melting

• Latent Heat of

Vaporization /

Condensation

• Relative Humidity

Heat Flow

• Radiation

• Conduction

• Convection

Thermodynamics• The First Law of Thermodynamics

– Applied Law of Energy Conservation• W = J(QH – QL)

• The Second Law of Thermodynamics

– Heat always flows from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration

• Entropy

Perpetual Motion Machine?

• Perpetual Motion Machines

• Free Energy

• Other Scams

Why Should We Worry About Pseudoscience?

Key Concepts

• Thermal energy is the internal and external energy of atoms.

• Heat is the transfer of thermal of energy between atoms.

• Temperature is a measurement of the kinetic energy of molecules.

• Adding heat energy to substances makes their temperature rise (specific heat).

• To change the state of a substance requires even more heat (latent heat).

• Heat can be transferred by radiation, conduction and convection.

• Entropy describes the total energy of a system and tells us that we cannot get more energy out of a system than we put into it.

Float Your Boat

• You must build a boat from only one piece of construction paper.

• Your boat must be able to hold a cargo of marbles.

• The boat that can hold the most marbles wins

Earth’s Waters

• Where does earth’s water come from?

• Weather and Climate

• Water and the environment

Water’s Special Properties

• Polarity

• Surface Tension

• Density (specific gravity)

• Adhesion

• Specific Heat Capacity

Buoyancy

• Buoyancy is the upward force of water on an object completely or partially immersed. The force is equal to the weight of the water displaced.

• Archimedes Principle

Water in all its forms

• Oceans

• Lakes and Ponds

• Rivers and Streams

• Groundwater

• Glaciers

The Atmosphere• Layers of the Atmosphere

– Troposphere– Stratosphere– Ionosphere– Mesosphere– Thermosphere– Exosphere

• Composition of the Atmosphere

– Nitrogen– Oxygen– Water Vapor– Carbon Dioxide

Water in the Atmosphere

• Humidity

• Dew Point

• Clouds

– Cumulus

– Stratus

– Cirrus

Water Cycle

Groundwater

• Aquifers

• Artesian Wells

• Caves

• Karst Topography

Oceans

• Physical Oceanography

• Chemical Oceanography

• Geological Oceanography

• Biological Oceanography

Physical Oceanography

• Thermohaline Circulation– AABW– ABW– Coriolis Effect

• Currents

• Gyres

Ocean Waves

• Waves– The Water Isn’t Moving

(how ocean waves work)– Refraction

(why ocean waves break)

• Longshore Current

• Tides

Chemical Oceanography

• Salinity

• Heat Budget

• Residence Time

Biological Oceanography• Plankton

• Nekton– Diurnal Migration– Match-Mismatch Hypothesis

• Benthos– Marine Snow

• Photic Zone

• Thermocline

Geological Oceanography• Ocean Floor

– Ocean Ridge System– Trenches– Seamounts

• Shorelines– Humid– Arid– Estuaries

• Sea Level– Sequence Stratigraphy

Ocean Floor• Continental Shelf

• Continental Slope– Submarine Canyons– Deep Sea Fans

• Marginal Plateaus

• Continental Rise

• Abyssal Floor– Abyssal Plains– Abyssal Hills– Abyssal Rise– Seamounts

Ocean Floor

• Ocean Ridge System– Mid-Ocean Ridges– Rift Valleys

• Deep Sea Trenches– Subduction Zones– Back-Arc Basins– Clastic Wedges

Coastlines

• Siliciclastic Coasts– Humid– Sediment Supply

• Carbonate Coasts– Arid– Evaporation

Shoreline Features• Wave Deposition

– Beaches– Barrier Islands– Peninsulas– Spits– Bars– Hummocks

• Wave Erosion – Wave-Cut Notch– Sea-Cliffs– Wave-Cut Platforms– Sea-Stacks

Humid Coastlines• Barrier Islands

• Estuaries– Bays– Lagoons

• Marshes– Salt Marsh– Brackish Marsh– Fresh Marsh

• Swamps

• Coastal Prairie

The Future of the Gulf Coast

• Global Warming

• Sea-Level Rise

• Barrier Island Migration

• Environmental Engineering

Key Concepts• Most of the earth’s water is in the oceans.

• The water cycle describes the movementof water between the earth’s atmosphere and oceans

• Oceans are salty because of the weathering and erosion of rocks on land.

• Acids in water can form caves and Karst topography.

• The ocean floor is formed by the processes of plate tectonics.

• Coastal features differ in humid and arid regions, as do beaches.

• Humid coasts rely on sediment supply to balance wave and tidal erosion.

• The Gulf coast is starved of sediment and is therefore vulnerable to erosion and subsidence.

Today’s Weather

Weather

• Key Questions– What is weather?

– What is climate?

– What role does heat play in earth’s weather?

– Can we predict the weather?

– What are weather patterns?

– How is weather distributed across the earth?

– Is earth’s climate changing?

Remember

• Water Cycle

• Water in the Atmosphere – Humidity

– Dew Point

– Clouds• Cumulus

• Stratus

• Cirrus

Air Masses

• Continental– Polar– Tropical

• Maritime– Polar– Tropical

Fronts

Weather Maps

• Isobars

• Weather Arrows

Air Pressure

Storms

• Thunder Storms

• Tornadoes

• Hurricanes

Global Wind Patterns

Ocean Currents

Climate

Key Concepts

• Weather is the pattern of temperature, precipitation and wind on the earth’s surface.

• Climate is weather over time.

• Weather changes daily and seasonally while climate changes over decades and centuries.

• The distribution of heat on the earth’s surface drives weather patterns.

• Changes in the weather can be predicted, but it is difficult since weather is chaotic.