What does uneven solar radiation cause?
Earth's orbit around the sun and its rotation on a tilted axis causes some parts of Earth to receive more solar radiation than others. This uneven heating produces global circulation patterns. For example the abundance of energy reaching the equator produces hot humid air that rises high into the atmosphere.
What happens when solar radiation is scattered?
Scattering of solar radiation occurs when the radiation strikes very small objects in Earth's atmosphere, such as air molecules, tiny water droplets, ice crystals, or aerosols (tiny airborne particles), which disperse the solar radiation in all directions.
What fact about Earth creates unequal distribution of solar energy?
Secondly, even if the earth's axis tilt would be zero, unequal distribution of incoming solar radiation would still occur, due to the fact that the earth is *ROUND*! This occurs because radiation striking the ground near the pole spreads radiation over a larger area than when it strikes over the equator.
How does the distribution of solar energy affect climate?
The Earth's climate system depends entirely on the Sun for its energy. Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and is fundamental to atmospheric composition, while the distribution of solar heating across the planet produces global wind patterns and contributes to the formation of clouds, storms, and rainfall.
How does uneven heating of the Earth affect global circulation?
Earth's orbit around the sun and its rotation on a tilted axis causes some parts of Earth to receive more solar radiation than others. This uneven heating produces global circulation patterns. For example, the abundance of energy reaching the equator produces hot humid air that rises high into the atmosphere.
How does the uneven heating of the Earth cause wind?
The sun heats the land more quickly than the water. Warm air above the land rises, and cooler air above the water moves in over the land, creating an inland breeze.
How does scattering affect the solar radiation traveling through Earth’s atmosphere?
Scattering of solar radiation within the atmosphere also accounts for a reduction of energy reaching Earth. Atmospheric gas molecules and aerosols deflect solar radiation from its original path, scattering (reflecting) some radiation back into deep space and some toward Earth's surface.
What occurs when solar radiation bounces off a surface?
If light is not absorbed by a surface, it is mostly reflected. Reflection occurs when incoming solar radiation bounces back from an object or surface that it strikes in the atmosphere, on land, or water, and is not transformed into heat.
Which of the following is most responsible for the uneven distribution of solar energy on Earth?
Earth's spherical shape results in an uneven distribution of sunlight reaching Earth's surface. This uneven distribution is most directly responsible for differences in what climatic variable at different latitudes on Earth's surface?
What do you think is the significance of solar energy and the different layers of the atmosphere in our everyday life?
Solar energy warms the Earth, causes wind and weather, and sustains plant and animal life. The energy, heat, and light from the sun flow away in the form of electromagnetic radiation (EMR).
How does radiation affect weather?
Atmospheric radiation is critically important to understand because it affects both weather (for example, heating of the land surface by sunlight drives the formation of convective clouds) and climate (for example, long term changes in the amount of radiation reflected or absorbed by aerosols, clouds, or gases may …
What are the negative environmental effects of solar energy?
The environmental disadvantages of solar energy include habitat loss, alteration in land use, the strain on water resources, exposure to hazardous materials, and pollution of soil, air, and water resources.
What happens when uneven heating occurs?
The uneven heating results in some of the atmosphere to be warmer than other parts and changes in volume and pressure which result in updrafts and can cause thunderstorms and other violent weather.
What are the causes and effects of uneven heating of the earth?
Hint: The uneven heating of the earth surface occurs because land heats faster than water and causes air to warm. This heating and cooling on earth surface happens very regularly with the change in seasons,which depends on wind as well as the sun.
How the scattering of light in the atmosphere affects the quality of remote sensing data?
Scattering of radiation by the constituent gases and aerosols in the atmosphere causes degradation of the remotely sensed images. Most noticeably, the solar radiation scattered by the atmosphere towards the sensor without first reaching the ground produces a hazy appearance of the image.
How does the amount of radiation emitted by the Earth differ from that emitted by the Sun?
The Earth emits mostly longer wavelength infrared radiation that we cannot see. Sunlight made up of visible light passes through the atmosphere on the way into Earth, but the greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere absorb infrared radiation going out to space.
What is albedo effect?
The albedo effect on land. Illustration: Norwegian Polar Institute. Albedo is an expression of the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight (heat from the sun). Light-coloured surfaces return a large part of the sunrays back to the atmosphere (high albedo). Dark surfaces absorb the rays from the sun (low albedo).
What happens to the incoming solar radiation after it is reflected off the surface of the Earth?
The Earth absorbs most of the energy reaching its surface, a small fraction is reflected. In total approximately 70% of incoming radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and the Earth's surface while around 30% is reflected back to space and does not heat the surface.
How does solar radiation affect biosphere?
The amount of solar radiation received and absorbed also influences process in the biosphere by directly affecting plants and other organisms that photosynthesize and are the primary food source in most ecosystems (see species interactions). If light is not absorbed by a surface, it is mostly reflected.
Which source of renewable energy is caused by uneven heating of Earth’s surface?
Energy from moving air Wind is caused by uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun. Because the earth's surface is made up of different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun's heat at different rates.
How does solar energy affect the environment?
As a renewable source of power, solar energy has an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, which is critical to protecting humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Solar energy can also improve air quality and reduce water use from energy production.
How does radiation cause global warming?
When solar radiation is absorbed, it transfers its energy to Earth's surface or atmosphere causing the temperature of the land, air, or water to increase. Because Earth is much cooler than the Sun, it re-radiates energy as longwave, lower-energy wavelengths than it absorbs.
How does radiation affect weather and climate?
Some of these ways include: Increasing or decreasing amount of sunlight that is absorbed by the surface of the Earth. This can affect Earth's average temperature. Increasing or decreasing temperatures, which can alter the distribution of snow and ice cover.
What are apparent environmental impacts associated with solar energy?
The environmental impacts associated with solar power can include land use and habitat loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials in manufacturing, though the types of impacts vary greatly depending on the scale of the system and the technology used—photovoltaic (PV) solar cells or concentrating solar thermal …
What are the positive and negative effects of solar energy?
The Positive and Negative Impacts of Solar Energy
- Taking Up Space. …
- Pollution. …
- Electricity Savings. …
- Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions. …
- Sustainability and Resilience. …
- Low Maintenance. …
- Cost Advantages. …
- Energy Independence and National Security.
Sep 7, 2018
What are the causes and effects of uneven heating of the Earth?
0:001:40Uneven heating on the Earth’s surface -Elementary Science – YouTubeYouTube
How does uneven heating cause global winds?
Unequal heating of the Earth's surface also forms large global wind patterns. In area near the equator, the sun is almost directly overhead for most of the year. Warm air rises at the equator and moves toward the poles. At the poles, the cooler air sinks and moves back toward the equator.
How does the atmosphere respond to uneven solar heating?
The uneven heating causes temperature differences, which in turn cause air currents (wind) to develop, which then move heat from where there is more heat (higher temperatures) to where there is less heat (lower temperatures). The atmosphere thus becomes a giant "heat engine", continuously driven by the sun.
How does solar radiation interact with the atmosphere?
INCOMING SOLAR RADIATION Larger aerosol particles in the atmosphere interact with and absorb some of the radiation, causing the atmosphere to warm. The heat generated by this absorption is emitted as longwave infrared radiation, some of which radiates out into space.
How does scattering affect the satellite image?
The quality of satellite images is affected due to the scattering and absorption of sunlight by atmospheric molecules and aerosols. Aerosols are small particles suspended in the atmosphere which affects the air quality. The concentration and characteristics of the atmospheric aerosols can vary from place to place.