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Chapter 5: Problem 9

List the physical aspects of land and water that produce their different responses to heating from absorption of insolation. What is the specific effect of transparency in a medium?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Land heats up and cools down faster than water because of its lower specific heat and higher albedo. Water absorbs more insolation and distributes it through various depths due to its transparency, hence its temperature changes more gradually. Transparency in a medium spreads out the insolation, leading to a more moderate temperature change.

Step by step solution

01

Discuss Specific Heat

Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a given substance or item per unit mass. Water has a higher specific heat capacity than land. This means that for the same amount of insolation, the temperature of water will rise slower than the temperature of land.
02

Discuss Albedo Effect

The albedo effect is the measure of how much a surface can reflect sun's radiation back to the atmosphere. It plays a significant role in the absorption of insolation. Water has a lower albedo than land and therefore absorbs more of the sun's radiation, while land reflects it.
03

Discuss Transparency

Transparency refers to the property of a medium to allow light or insolation to pass through. Water is more transparent than land. This means that insolation penetrates deeper into water, causing a slower heating of its surface compared to land. This property of water also leads to the distribution of heat energy through various water depths, unlike land where heat is largely confined to the surface.
04

Discuss the Effect of Transparency

Transparency in a medium affects the absorption of insolation by distributing the energy throughout, instead of just at the surface. In a transparent medium like water, the insolation is spread out, leading to a more moderate temperature change. In an opaque medium like land, insolation heats up only the surface, leading to a more drastic temperature change.

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