Understanding Solar Energy, Atmospheric Layers, and Geological Processes
Solar Energy and Radiation
Solar energy travels in the form of electromagnetic waves, collectively known as solar radiation. This includes:
- Infrared: Heat energy, largely absorbed by the atmosphere and Earth’s surface.
- Visible: Light energy, which passes through the atmosphere and reaches the surface.
- Ultraviolet: The most energetic and potentially harmful to living organisms, but mostly absorbed by the atmosphere.
Ozone Formation
Ozone (O3) is formed through a process involving oxygen molecules (O2) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation:
O2 + UV -> O + O2 -> O3
Atmospheric Layers
The Earth’s atmosphere is divided into several layers:
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
- Exosphere
Atmospheric Phenomena
Atmospheric phenomena are influenced by humidity, air temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Precipitation refers to solid or liquid water falling from clouds. Wind is the movement of air masses in the atmosphere.
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. An isobar is a line connecting points with the same atmospheric pressure. Fronts are formed when air masses of different temperatures meet.
Climate is the long-term pattern of atmospheric phenomena that characterize a region.
Geological Processes
External geological agents include water, wind, and living beings.
Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks. Types of weathering include:
- Thermoclastism: Sudden temperature changes causing expansion and contraction, leading to rock fragmentation.
- Crioclastism: Water accumulates in pores, freezes, expands, and cracks rocks.
- Haloclastism: High salt concentrations in water accumulate in fissures, and salt crystals exert pressure, widening cracks.
- Biological Weathering: Roots of living beings and animal excavations create and widen cracks.
Erosion and Transportation
Erosion is the process of wear and fragmentation of rocks (abrasion and detachment). Transportation involves moving particles from weathering and erosion (physical and chemical processes).
Deposition
Deposition is the accumulation of materials transported by water and wind (sudden and gradual).
Torrents
Torrents consist of a reception basin, drainage channel, and alluvial fan.
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the Earth’s surface.
Oceans and Seas
Oceans and seas are large accumulations of water.
Glaciers
Glaciers are large masses of ice located on mountain tops and in polar regions, including cirque glaciers, glacier tongues, and glacier fronts. Wind erosion can also cause detachment.
Rock Formation
Litification is the set of transformations experienced by sediments until they form compact rock, including compaction, cementation, and diagenesis.
Types of Rocks
- Sedimentary: Debris from erosion of other rocks (clays, sandstone, conglomerate).
- Chemical: Rocks formed from chemical precipitation processes (gypsum and rock salt).
- Organic: Rocks formed from the transformation of living beings (coal and oil).
Topographic Maps and Landscapes
Topographic maps identify surface features of an area. Scale represents a proportional reduction of reality. Profiles are topographic representations of vertical relief.
Landscape is the result of the coordinated action of geological processes, climate, and human intervention.
Examples of Landscapes
- Mediterranean Landscape: Characterized by dry summers and precipitation (storms) in autumn and spring (Badlands).
- Oceanic Landscape: Characterized by a humid climate, abundant vegetation cover, regular rainfall, and cold temperatures (floodplains).