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18) Low, thick stratus clouds have little effect on the Earth's climate.
19) High altitude cirrus clouds can act as insulators, absorbing terrestrial longwave radiation.
20) Latent heat transfer and convection are examples of nonradiative energy transfer from the
Earth's surface.
21) Between the tropics, low angle of insolation, variable day lengths, and high seasonal
variations create an energy deficit.
22) In equatorial and tropic regions, energy surpluses prevail, whereas energy deficits prevail at
higher latitudes.
23) The greenhouse effect refers to the differential transmissivity properties of atmospheric
constituents.
24) While energy budgets vary latitudinal, they are fairly constant at specific locations
throughout the year. For instance, the energy budget at 32° does not vary throughout the day or
year.
25) The daily temperature curve exhibits a lag of about three hours relative to the insolation
curve.
26) In the Northern Hemisphere, the coldest time of the year occurs in December at the time of
the winter solstice.
27) NET R refers to the balance of all radiation—both shortwave and longwave.
28) As water changes states from liquid to vapor, energy is absorbed.
29) The climate of a large urban area doesn't typically differ from the climate of nearby rural
areas.
30) The average building in the United States does not receive enough solar energy required to
heat the inside of the building.
31) The energy received in just 35 minutes at the surface of the United States exceeds the
amount of energy derived from the burning of fossil fuels in a year.
32) In developing countries, there is a pressing need for decentralized energy sources to aid in
everyday needs such as cooking and heating water.
33) Government support and subsidies for solar energy could make it more cost competitive with
other energy sources.
34) Rooftop photovoltaic electrical general remains far more expensive than power line
construction to rural areas.
35) Relative to expenditures of NET R, LE refers to the heat transferred back and forth between
air and surface through convection.
36) Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on recond in 1979.
37) Continued urbanization will likely worsen the heat-island effects in the coming years.
38) Aerosols and other particulates can have been a cooling and warming effect on the climate.
39) Though oceans cover 70% of the Earth, scientists still have limited knowledge of the ocean's
role in the Earth-atmosphere heat balance.
4.3 Essay Questions
1) Describe the energy pathways of insolation as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
2) What does "albedo" mean? Discuss the albedo of different surfaces including several not
explicitly discussed in the textbook.
3) Describe the different methods of heat transfer.
4) What is Rayleigh scatter? What is mie scatter? How does scattering contribute to the color of
the sky.
5) What have recent studies shown regarding the relationship between cirrus clouds generated by
aircraft and the Earth-atmosphere energy balance?
6) Follow the flow of energy from the Sun, into Earth's atmosphere and to the surface, and back
out into space.
7) Discuss the similarities and differences of cloud-albedo forcing and cloud-greenhouse forcing.
8) What is the "greenhouse effect" as applied to Earth's atmosphere? How is Earth similar and
different than a greenhouse?
9) Why do the tropics have a positive net radiation while the poles have a negative value? How is
the energy difference equalized?
10) What are the factors that tend to raise the temperature of an urban area relative to its
surrounding rural areas?
11) Review the climatic differences in urban and rural environments.
12) Why is there a lag in daily temperature patterns? Discuss the roles of different sources of
surface heating.
13) Discuss the components of the surface energy budget.
14) Describe the components of net radiation (NET R).
15) Describe and analyze the various methods of tapping solar energy and explain why they do
not enjoy more widespread use.
16) Describe different ways in which anthopogenic activity can affect the energy balance.
