Eduqas A-Level Geography A110QS
Coastal LandscapesLandscape
Glaciated LandscapesLandscape
Changing Places
Water and Carbon Cycles
Global Migration
Global Governance of the Oceans
Tectonic Hazards
EcosystemsContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: IndiaContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: ChinaContemporary theme
Development in an African ContextContemporary theme
Energy Challenges and DilemmasContemporary theme
Weather and ClimateContemporary theme
Geographical Skills
Weather and Climate
The atmospheric heat budget
- 3 things to know
- Component 3 Section B
Overview
Atmospheric heat budget, ice-albedo feedback and latent heat transfer in the context of the heat budget.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Define insolation.
Why do the tropics receive more insolation per unit area than the poles?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the atmospheric heat budget?
Model answer
The atmospheric heat budget is the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the Earth. Over the planet as a whole the two are equal.
- 2
Define insolation.
Model answer
Insolation is incoming solar radiation received at a surface. The amount depends on the angle of the sun and the length of day.
- 3
Why do the tropics receive more insolation per unit area than the poles?
Model answer
Sunlight strikes the tropics from close to overhead, so a beam is concentrated on a small area. The same beam is spread over a far larger area at high latitudes.
- 4
Why does a low sun angle also mean more atmospheric absorption?
Model answer
A low-angle beam passes through a greater thickness of atmosphere. More radiation is scattered, reflected and absorbed before reaching the ground.
- 5
Define albedo.
Model answer
Albedo is the proportion of incoming radiation reflected by a surface, expressed as a percentage or a fraction.
- 6
Give approximate albedo values for fresh snow and for the open ocean.
Model answer
Fresh snow reflects about 80 to 90% of incoming radiation. The open ocean reflects around 6 to 10%.
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