G&G100a Chapter 2
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- What are the basic causes of natural disasters?
- Natural Diasaters are a big release of energy
- Where does all of this energy come from?
- The big bang--all matter/energy exploded at one point
- Solar nebula
- Clouds condense, collapse and gravitational potential energy exchanged for kinetic energy
- What happened with earth accreated?
- Orbital bodies stuck together, the orbital energy was transferred to heat --> stored heat was primordial heat
- What three levels did the earth separate into?
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Core, mantle, crust
(innermost --> outermost) - Where does heat output FROM the earth come from?
- Radioactive decay (from nuclear chemicals decaying and thus giving off heat) and primordial heat (from initial collisions during earth's formation)
- What are the fuel for geological hazards?
- Radioactive decay and primordial heat
- What is the fuel for meteorological hazards?
- Solar energy--most solar radiation in visible light, 4000x the amount coming from the earth
- What is the energy for cosmological disasters?
- Orbital kinetic energy transfered on impacts (e.g., a meteor hitting us)
- What is the principle of thermal convection?
- Hot stuff rises, cold stuff falls
- Convection focuses energy output into
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Plate techtonics and earthquakes
Volcanoes
Mountain building - Where is the earth most/least heated?
- Most at the equator, least at the poles
- Convection causes...
- air from the equator to be transported to the poles
- Air moving away from the equator (north in the northern hemisphere)
- moves farthur east than surrounding air
- Air moving towards the equator (south in the northern hemisphere)
- Moves slower than surrounding air
- Low and high pressure zones are caused by the
- Coriolis effect
- Polar Easterlies are
- Cold air from poles pushing west
- Trade winds are
- cold air returning to equator pushing west
- Westerlies are
- Mid-lattitude surface air flowing north pushing east
- Troposphere
- Air hotter at the bottom than at top, so where convection, weather, and clouds occur
- Stratosphere
- Area above troposphere; O2->O->O3 and protects life; hotter/lighter than troposphere; traps particles, inc. volcanic ash
- Why Earth?
- Earth formed large enough; retains heat; mantle convects (volcanoes; plate tectonics and earthquakes); core freezes (from core pressure; drives magnetic field)