6 Flashcards
Absolute instabilty results when the environmental lapse rate is ______ than the ___ adiabatic rate.
Greater, Dry
The dry adiabatic rate is the rate at which
Temperature changes in a rising or descending parcel of unsaturated air.
Which environmental lapse rate represents the most unstable atmosphere in a layer of unsaturated air?
11 degrees Celsius per 1,000 m
If an air parcel is given a small push upward and it continues to move upwards on its own accord, the atmosphere is said to be: ____
Unstable
Inversions that form as air slowly sinks over a large area are called:
Subside inversions.
If the environmental lapse rate is less than the moist adiabatic, the atmosphere is ________
Absolutely Stable
An afternoon sky full of cumulus humilis clouds with little verticals growth indicates ____ weather
Fair
A rising parcel of air that does not exchange heat with its surroundings is an example of :
An adiabatic process
T/F: The atmosphere is normally most stable in the late afternoon and most unstable in the early morning.
False
The rate at which the temperature changes inside descending (or rising) parcel of saturated air is called _______ rate
Moist adiabatic
An air parcel in an unstable atmosphere has an _____-_____ force acting on it.
Upward-Directed
T/F: Subsidence has no effect on atmospheric stability.
False
T/F: the environmental lapse rate is almost always the same as the adiabatic rate
False XXXX
AN inversion represents an extremely stable atmosphere because air that rises into the inversion will eventually become ______ (temp) and more dense than/as the surrounding air.
Colder
Inversions that form as air slowly sinks over a large area are called ____ inversions. They. Sometimes occur at the surface, but more frequently, they are observed aloft and are often associated with large high-pressure area because of the sinking air motions associated with these systems.
Subsidence
T/F: The combination of warming the surface and warming the air aloft we creates the greatest atmospheric stability.
False
T/F: Sinking air sometimes cools adiabatically
False
Which cloud type would most likely form in an unstable atmosphere?
Cumulonimbus
In all seasons, the largest amount of latent heat gets released in a _____ parcel of ____ saturated air.
Rising, Warm
Which condition would be described as the most stable independent of the season or the location on Earth?
An inversion
Which of the following is not a mechanism primarily responsible for most clouds observed?
Difference in air pressure caused by a rapidly increasing moist adiabatic rate in a thermal.
T/F: The atmosphere is normally the most stable in the early mornings and most unstable in the afternoons
True
In a conditionally stable atmosphere, the environmental lapse rate will be greater than the moist adiabatic rate and __________ the dry adiabatic rate.
Less than <
T/F: warm saturated air produces more liquid water than cold saturated air
True
T/F: a rising parcel of air expands and cools, whereas a sinking parcel compresses and warms
True
T/F: A conditionally unstable atmosphere is stable with respect to unsaturated air and unstable with respect to saturated air
True
Most thunderstorms do not extend very far into the stratosphere because the air in the stratosphere is _____
Stable
Altocumulus clouds that show verticals development and produce tower-like extensions are called?
Altocumulus Castellanus
Air that _____ vertical displacement is considered to be stable
Resists
What is a condition in which the environmental lapse rate is equal to the dry adiabatic rate?
Neutral stability
A small volume of air is referred to as a ?
Parcel of air
What transfers heat upwards into the atmosphere?
Thermals
If rising air cools to the dew-point , the relative humidity does what?
Becomes 100%
The atmosphere is always absolutely stable when the _________________ is less than the moist adiabatic rate
Environmental lapse rate
Rising air will eventually cool to its dew-point temperature. At that point, what is its relative humidity?
100
If the environmental lapse rate is less than the moist adiabatic rate, the atmosphere is ______
Absolutely stable
Conditional instability occurs whenever the:
environmental lapse rate is between the moist adiabatic rate and the dry adiabatic rate.
For a layer of altostratus clouds to change into altocumulus it is necessary for the :
Top part of the cloud deck to cool while the bottom part warms
The rate at which the actual air temperature changes with increasing height above the surface is referred to as the ___________ rate
Environmental lapse
T/F: Rain shadows do not form on the leeward side of mountains.
False
If an air parcel is given a small push upwards and continues to move upwards on its own accord, the atmosphere is said to be _____
Unstable
T/F: Sinking air sometimes cools adiabatically
False
Force lifting along a topographic barrier is called:
Orthographic uplift
T/F: The temperature of rising air at a given level inside a cumulus cloud is normally warmer than the air around the cloud.
True
AN example of orthographic clouds would be clouds
Forming on the windward slope of a mountain
Conditionally instability depends on the condition of ______.
Saturation
Elevation where clouds form is called the _______ level.
Condensation
