Climatology

World Geography
 – Scientific Study of Earth’s Climate
– Study of atmospheric conditions over a long period of time
Climatology – Weather- Short term conditions over atmosphere at a specific
location
– Climate- Long term pattern and averages of weather over a region
 – Atmosphere
– Insolation
Climatology – Pressure
– Precipitation
– World Climates
 – One of the main components of Earth’s interdependent physical
systems is the atmosphere.
Atmosphere – An atmosphere is made of the layers of gases surrounding a planet
or other celestial body, held in place by the gravity.
 – Composition
Atmosphere – Structure
 – Gases
Composition – Water Vapor
– Dust particles
 – Nitrogen- 78%
– Oxygen- 21%
Gases – Argon-0 .9%
– CO2 -0.4%
– Trace gases like helium- Broader
– Nitrogen
– 78% of atmosphere – Why?
– Cannot used directly from air
– Nitrogen cycle- ??
– Nitrogen fixation -?

– Oxygen
– 21 % of oxygen
– Essential for respiration

– Carbon Dioxide
– GHG
– Identify other GHGs?
 – Short wave radiation from sun- Primary source-GHGs allow
– Hotter source- High intensity- Short wavelength and vice versa
– Short wave radiation heats up earth
– Earth becomes secondary source- emit long wave radiations in the
form of infrared, microwave etc
GHG – GHG traps the long wave radiation and reflects back to the earth
– Define GHG- Transparent to incoming solar waves but opaque to
terrestrial waves
– Source of heating of atmosphere- Earth
– Source of heating of earth- Sun
– Life is possible due to GHGs
 – Green House Gas
– Transparent to incoming solar radiation – Short wave solar
radiation
Carbon – Opaque to terrestrial radiation- Long wave infrared radiation

Dioxide – Absorbs a part of terrestrial radiation and and reflects back some
part towards earth surface
– Nitrogen and Oxygen do not have this property
– This property is exhibited by GHGs
 – As a result of evaporation and transpiration
– Variable gas
– Decreases with increase in altitude- Mountain regions
Water Vapor – More in sea, warm, and tropics- Due to evaporation
– Less in dry and cold regions
– Decreases from equator to poles generally – Latitude- Exceptions
are there
 – Winters- less water vapor
– Summer- more water vapor
– Daily variation
– Coolest time- less WV- 3 am to 5am
Water Vapor – Hottest time- more WV- 12 to 4pm
– Humidity is the measure of water vapor
– 90% of WV found below the height of 5 km
– 50% of WV found below 2km
– GHG
 – Small solid particles
– Sources- sea salts, fine soil, ash, pollen, dust- Broad
Dust particles – Concentrated on lower layers
– Convectional current may bring them to upper
 – Less weight
– Air can hold
– Pollen
Particulate – Dust- soil, rock, industrial

matter – Soot
– Ash
– Burning residue
– Natural and manmade – Broad interpretation
 – Height- 16000 km- approximately
Structure – Effective atmosphere- Lower 80 km
 – Atmosphere consists of different layers with varying density and
temperature
– Density of the atmosphere decreases outward, because
the gravitational attraction of the planet is greatest close to the
Structure of surface
the – Density is highest near the surface of the earth and decreases with
increasing altitude
atmosphere – Column of atmosphere is divided into 5 depending upon the
temperature condition
– They are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
and exosphere
 – Troposphere
Structure of – Stratosphere
the – Mesosphere

atmosphere – Thermosphere
– Exosphere
 – Energy movement from one place to another
– Temperature increases; energy in motion increases ( kinetic)
Heat – Conduction, Convection and Radiation
 – Heat transferred without any contact
– Transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves
Radiation – Does not require a medium
– Hotter the source, more heat radiation it emits
 – Transfer of heat between object through direct contact
– Conduction is the process by which heat energy is transmitted
through collisions between neighboring atoms or molecules
– Conduction occurs more readily in solids and liquids, where the
particles are closer together than in gases, where particles are
further apart.
Conduction – Think of a frying pan set over an open camp stove.
– Air is a poor conductor- Most energy transfer through conduction
occurs right near earth’s surface ??
– Dayà Sunlight heats the groundà heat the air directly above
 – Heat transfer by movement of a fluid such as air or water when the
heated fluid is move away from the source of heat
– When fluid heatedà Molecules gains energyà move faster
àLess densityà Riseà displaces the cooler denser fluid , which
sinks
Convection – The rising and sinking of fluid creates a continues circulation
pattern called a convection current
– This circulation pattern distributes heat
 – Heat transferred without any contact
– Transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves
Radiation – Does not require a medium
– Hotter the source, more heat radiation it emits
 – When you turn on your oven, heat from the heating element is
transferred to the food through conduction.
– When you boil water, heat from the bottom of the pot is
transferred to the water through convection.
Ask them – When you sit in the sun, heat from the sun is transferred to your
skin through radiation.
– When you wear a sweater, heat from your body is transferred to
the sweater through conduction.
 – Lowermost layer of the atmosphere – Layers of extremes for
UPSC
– Most dense layer
– Heat is transported to great heights in equator by strong
convectional currents –What about stability ?
– Temperature decreases as height- Lapse rate- 6.5 Celsius per Km
Troposphere – Avg height 13km ,8 km in poles 18km in equator
– The temperature at tropopause over equator is minus 80 and over
poles in minus 45???
– Contains water vapor( wettest layer), GHGs and dust particles
– 99% of water vapor?
– All changes in climate and weather takes place in this layer
– Atmospheric pressure- drops
– Tropopause- Border between troposphere and stratosphere
– Temperature is nearly constant so its called tropopause
 – Found above tropopause
– Variation in lower boundary of stratosphere in winter in polar region
??
– Extends to a height of 50km
– Contains ozone
– Absorb UV radiation and shield life from intense radiation-( incoming
UV radiation)
– Temperature increases due to the presence of ozone- Negative lapse
Stratosphere rate
– Temperature rises upwards- Inverse of troposphere
– Little convection and mixing- So quite stable
– Commercial jet fly in lower stratosphere to avoid turbulence
– Air is thinner- Less atmospheric drag
– Upper boundary Stratopause
– Mount Everest ???
– Very less water vapor, few clouds
– Polar stratospheric clouds are exception- appear near the poles in
winter
– High stability- Less convection- Material that get into stratosphere
can stay for long times like CFC
 – Lies above stratosphere
– Extends up to a height of 80 km
– Temp starts decreasing with an increasing altitude – Positive lapse
rate
– Coldest temperatures of earth atmosphere found near top of it ?
– Upper limit is called mesopause- Coldest place
– Do not know much about the layer

Mesosphere – No aircraft- Less oxygen- Cannot carry flights- Air thin and less
denser
– Polar mesospheric clouds or Noctilucent clouds- Very small water
vapor- High cold conditions
– Most of the meteors burn up in this layer on entering from the
space- Air friction
– Waves and tides in troposphere can influence mesosphere
 – Located between 80 and 400km
– Temp starts increasing with height- Negative lapse rate
– Sun direct rays causing this
– Electrically charged particles known as irons- UV rays causing this
Thermosphere – Southern and northern lights ( Auroras )
/Ionosphere – Radio waves transmitted from earth are reflected back to the
earth by this layer
– The upper part of ionosphere is known as exosphere
– Karman Line- Boundary between earth atmosphere and outer
space
 – Outer most
Exosphere – Merges with outer space