Describe and give examples of the various ways that heat can be transported in the atmosphere

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: The main methods of transporting heat in the atmosphere are conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction is heat transferred from a warmer region to colder region. Air is a very poor heat conductor, thus, in calm weather hot ground actually only warms a shallow layer of air a few centimeters thick.
Convection is the transfer of heat by the mass movement of a fluid (such as water and air). Because liquids and gases are able to move freely, heat transfer occurs. Convection occurs naturally in the atmosphere. On a warm, sunny day certain areas of Earth's surface absorb more heat from the sun than others. As a result, the air near Earth's surface is heated somewhat unevenly. Air molecules adjacent to these hot surfaces bounce against them, thereby gaining some extra energy by conduction. The heated air expands and becomes less dense than the surrounding cooler air. The expanded warm air is buoyed upward and rises. In this manner, large bubbles of warm air rise and transfer heat energy upward. Cooler, heavier air flows toward the surface to replace the rising air. This cooler air becomes heated and rises, and the cycle is repeated. In meteorology, the vertical exchange of heat is called convection, and rising air bubbles are known as thermals.
Radiant energy is the energy Earth receives from the Sun. Radiation travels in the form of waves that release energy when they are absorbed by objects. Because these waves have magnetic and electrical properties, they are called electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves do not need molecules to propagate them, but can move through a vacuum.