Where does most of the heat in the atmosphere come from?
the sun
What causes the atmosphere to heat up?
Due to the chemical composition of the earth’s atmosphere, most of the infrared radiation emitted by the warm surface never reaches space. Instead the radiation is reflected or absorbed by compounds known as greenhouse gasses. When these compounds absorb the infrared radiation from the surface, the atmosphere heats up.
Which is the most important process of heating the atmosphere?
Since the atmosphere is a gaseous medium, convection is the most significant mechanism of heat transfer. Heat gained by the layers of air at or near the earth’s surface from radiation or conduction is usually transferred to the upper atmospheric layers by the process of convection.
What is the least important mode of heat?
Radiation is the least important mode of heat transport in the Earth. The process of heat exchange between the Sun and the Earth, through radiation, controls the temperatures at the Earth’s surface.
How does heat travel through space?
Radiation is the primary way that heat travels in space. That means that heat is not spread out through the medium it travels through as on Earth. On Earth on a sunny day, the heat radiating from the Sun warms the molecules of the atmosphere, and they warm other molecules and they warm others in turn.
What are the three process of heat transfer?
Heat can be transferred in three ways: by conduction, by convection, and by radiation. Conduction is the transfer of energy from one molecule to another by direct contact.
How do convection affect the temperature of the earth?
Convection works by areas of a liquid or gas heating or cooling greater than their surroundings, causing differences in temperature. These temperature differences then cause the areas to move as the hotter, less dense areas rise, and the cooler, more dense areas sink.
Does convection heat the earth?
Convection is the transfer of heat energy in a fluid. Air in the atmosphere acts as a fluid. The sun’s radiation strikes the ground, thus warming the rocks. As the rock’s temperature rises due to conduction, heat energy is released into the atmosphere, forming a bubble of air which is warmer than the surrounding air.
What happens because of convection?
Weather activity happens when wet air goes up into the atmosphere and cooler air comes down from the atmosphere. One cause of rising air in our atmosphere is from the process called convection. Warm air rises above cold air by convection. Clouds form when water vapor condenses and molecules cling to each other.
What is convection responsible for?
Convection currents transfer heat from one place to another by mass motion of a fluid such as water, air or molten rock. The heat transfer function of convection currents drives the earth’s ocean currents, atmospheric weather and geology.
What role does Heat play in convection currents?
Convection currents are the result of differential heating. Lighter (less dense), warm material rises while heavier (more dense) cool material sinks. It is this movement that creates circulation patterns known as convection currents in the atmosphere, in water, and in the mantle of Earth.
What would happen if convection currents stopped?
On earth, this happens in air (which causes our weather), and in ocean currents. If for some reason convection stopped, air would not circulate, and weather would stop. Air wouldn’t flow over the waters, suck up moisture and then rain it out on land. Without this rain, all plants and crops would die.
What would cause the convection current of earth to stop?
If Earth’s interior cools down, the convection currents in the mantle will stop.
What would happen to convection currents of the Earth cooled?
Explanation: Convection currents within the Earth’s mantle are caused by hot material rising upwards, cooling, then dropping back toward the core. If the interior of the Earth were to cool enough for convection currents to stop, then the motion of the plates would cease, and the Earth would become geologically dead.