Energy and Matter in the Atmosphere

TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER

• What Is the Atmosphere?
• What Is Energy and How Is It Transmitted?
• What Are Heat and Temperature?
• What Is Latent Heat?
• What Is Electromagnetic Radiation?
• What Controls Wavelengths of Radiation?
• What Causes Changes in Insolation?
• Why Does Insolation Vary from Place to Place?
• Why Do We Have Seasons?
• What Controls When and Where the Sun Rises and Sets?
• How Does Insolation Interact with the Atmosphere?
• What Is Ozone and Why Is It So Important?
• How Much Insolation Reaches the Surface?
• What Happens to Insolation That Reaches the Surface?
• How Does Earth Maintain an Energy Balance?
• How Do Insolation and Outgoing Radiation Vary Spatially?
• Why Do Temperatures Vary Between Oceans and Continents?
• CONNECTIONS: How Are Variations in Insolation Expressed Between the North and South Poles?
• INVESTIGATION: How Do We Evaluate Sites for Solar-Energy Generation?