Weather &

Notes

Weather & Climate — A Complete Reference Cheat Sheet Detailed, warm-toned single-page cheat sheet compiled from course notes Compiled from: Weather and Climate.docx 1. Introduction to Geography & Atmospheric Science • What is Geography? - The study of spatial distribution of phenomena at/near Earth's surface. - Five core geographic questions: where, how different, why located, interaction, change over time. • Subfields - Human Geography, Mapping Sciences (Cartography & GIS), Physical Geography (focus here). • Systems & Spheres - Four spheres: Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere. - Systems thinking: Earth is open for energy (sunlight in, heat out) and closed for matter. • Feedback Mechanisms - Positive: amplifies change (e.g., ice-albedo feedback). - Negative: reduces change (e.g., increased cloud cover reflecting solar energy). 2. The Atmosphere — Structure & Composition • Definition & Extent - Thin envelope of gases surrounding Earth (interactions mainly within first ~80 km). Exosphere begins ~480 km. • Composition - Permanent gases: N₂ ~78%, O₂ ~21%, Ar ~0.93%. - Variable gases: H₂O (most abundant variable), CO₂, O₃ (ozone), aerosols (condensation nuclei). • Layers (b...