28.1 Flashcards
Troposphere
A layer extending an average of 12km above earths surface, where earths weather takes place
temperature inversion
occurs when air temperature increases with altitude and the air becomes stable
greenhouse effect
A natural process in which certain gases in the atmosphere warm a planet as they absorb and emit infrared radiation
how are the atmospheric layers divided
separated based on composition and temperature
what is the majority of the troposphere made up of
78% Nitrogen
what is the second most common gas in the tropospere
21% oxygen
what is the remaining 1% of gases
trace gases, mostly argon
does the temperature increase or decrease within the troposphere
it gets colder when going up
how many layers are there in the earths atmosphere
5 layers
what are the names of the layers of the atmosphere
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
which layer is the ozone found
stratosphere
in the stratosphere, does temp increase or decrease with altitude
its increasing
within the mesosphere, does the temp increase or decrease
it decreases
do the last two layers of the atmosphere affect weather
no
what percent of of solar radiation is absorbed by earths surface
50%
what percent of solar radiation is reflected by earths surface
5%
what percent of solar radiation is absorbed by particles in earths atmosphere
20%
what percent of solar radiation is reflected back by clouds and other particles
25%
what are the three basic cloud types
cirrus, cumulus, and stratus
what does a stratus cloud looks like
layered sheet like clouds
what does a cumulus cloud looks like
puffy and occur in fair weather
what does a cirrus cloud looks like
wispy, high altitude clouds
what is it called when water from the land goes in the atmosphere and back down in a cycle
the water cycle
what are the stages of the water cycle
evaporation and transpiration, condensation, precipitation, run off or infiltration
a narrow band of fast moving wind
jet stream
apperent deflection of an object due to earths rotation
coriolis effect
large volume of air with uniform moisture and temperature throughout
air mass
air masses interact in zones called _______
weather fronts
is there only one jet stream in the world
no, there are four
how many pressure systems are there
2, a low and high pressure systems
what is the low pressure system know as
a low (L)
which way does the air flow in a low pressure system
counterclockwise
what are the results of a low pressure system
clouds form and precipitation takes place
what is a high pressure system also know as`
a high (H)
which direction does a high pressure system flow
clockwise
what are some results of a high pressure system
the air sinks causing clear skies
what are the 4 air fronts
cold, warm, stationary, and occluded fronts
what happens during a cold front
cummulus clouds form
what is a cold front represented by on the news
blue triangles
what happens during a warm front
stratus clouds or fog with steady rainfall
what would warm front be represented by on the news
red half circles
what happens with stationary fronts
rain for days and
what are stationary fronts represented by
alternating red half circles and blue triangles
thunderstorms and strong wind occurs
occluded front
what is an occluded front represented by on the news
purple alternating triangles and half circles
