Study Guide for Quiz #1
                           Environmental Physics

Key ideas, concepts and equations

* The electromagnetic spectrum  -rays to radio waves.  What properties do
all types of electromagnetic radiation have in common?
* The concept of a photon = wavepacket = particle
* Know the units used in the measurement of wavelengths, especially, �,
nanometers and microns, and be able to convert from one to the other
* Equation relating wavelength to energy for a photon
* Blackbody radiation.  What types of objects will emit a blackbody
spectrum?  Wien's law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law.  Know where & how to
use these equations
* The sun, the solar constant, diameter, distance, and effective
temperature
* The solar spectrum is "well" represented by a blackbody spectrum.  But
how and why does it differ from a blackbody?
* The production of line (i.e. emission and absorption) spectra by atoms
and molecules.  The characteristics of the molecular spectrum (vibrational
and rotational bands, electronic transitions).  How is an absorption
spectrum produced?
* Know the important sources of molecular absorption in the Earth's
atmosphere in the UV, the visible and the IR.
* The concept of Planck or Blackbody temperature for a planet.  Albedo,
solar constant; solar energy absorbed (short wavelength) = energy radiated
from planet (long wavelength).  What assumptions did we make in the
calculation of the Planck temperature.  Why did the Planck temperature
agree with the actual surface temperature only for Mars?
* The effect of an atmosphere:  Why is CO2 such an important greenhouse
gas, even though its abundance in the earth's atmosphere is only 0.7%?  The
simple two-layered model of the atmosphere and surface of the earth (EBM0). 
Be able to identify and explain the various terms in the two equilibrium
equations (for the surface and the atmosphere).  Daisy world and the effect
on the climate of feedback mechanisms.  What is a feedback mechanism?  What
is a "positive" feedback mechanism, a "negative" feedback mechanism?  The
one-dimensional energy balance model (EBM1).  What feedback mechanism is
incorporated into this model?  The dual equilibrium state nature of the
Earth's climate (i.e. ice ages versus temperate conditions).
* The Ozone layer and UV radiation.  The formation of Ozone in the
stratosphere, destruction of ozone by chlorine (from CFC's and other
sources).  Breakdown of ozone facilitated by polar stratospheric clouds
(and, in general, aerosols); chlorine acts as a catalyst in this process. 
The Montreal Protocol; what is it, and is it working?






*The Origin of planetary atmospheres, contraction of interstellar cloud,
formation of protosun and protoplanetary disk, temperature distribution in
protoplanetary disk and formation of terrestrial and jovian planets.  The
Great Bombardment and the formation of the primordial atmospheres of the
terrestrial planets
*Evolution of planetary atmospheres
- formation of carbonate rock
- UV photodissociation of H2O
- H2O and CO2 are potent greenhouse gases
- role of biological processes in the modification of planetary 
atmospheres
- role of gravity in retaining an atmosphere
Know in general terms how the atmospheres of Venus, Earth and Mars evolved
to their present states
*The Evolution of the Climate of the Earth
- the faint early sun paradox, and its possible solution
- the history of glaciation on the earth
- Astronomical causes of the ice ages - the Milankovitch theory
- Solar variability as a cause of the ice ages - the "Maunder Minimum" and
the "Little Ice Age"
- Other possible causes of the ice ages, including weakening of the Gulf
Current
- How do ice cores and ocean sediments record the temperature history of
the Earth?
- Know the meaning of the following terms: Holocene, Eemian, Younger Dryas