8.2 ENV 11 Flashcards
What are extreme weather events?
Hurricanes, tornadoes and droughts
How do floodwaters spread pollution?
floodwaters spread pollution from overflowing sewers and industrial sites’
In Sep 2017 what did the World Economic Forum note?
Countries produced the most CO2 emissions, “had experienced the highest number of hydrological, meteorological and climatological disasters in recent years
Define Weather
refers to short-term variations in temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in a specific place
Define Climate
the long term average of weather conditions for a given region
Weather reports consist of
expected temperatures, humidity, precipitation, air pressure, cloudiness, winds for today and the rest of the week
National Weather Service defines the climate
for a particular regions of the country using a 30 year average of regional weather conditions
What is temperature?
a measurement of the hotness of coldness of something using a thermometer
Local variations of heat gain and loss are also affected by
bodies of water and land features
Define Humidity
the amount of water in a given volume of air, affects evaporation
extended periods of low humidity can cause
droughts & a factor leading to wildfires
What do Meteorologist measure, ___ of air in order to understand weather conditions
relative humidity
what is relative humidity?
the amount of water in the air as a percentage of the maximum amount of water that the air can hold at a given temperature
When air cannot hold anymore water vapor, we call it?
Saturated
Evaporations from our bodies occurs more readily in____ with lower relative humidity that it does in humid heat of the same temperature, leaving us feeling cooler and more comfortable
dry heat
Define Barometric pressure
a measure of the pressure exerted by Earth’s atmosphere at any given point is rising (indicating increasing air pressure) or falling (indicating decreasing air pressure)
A barometer is
an instrument that detects the weight of the air in the atmosphere as it presses against a confined substance, such as mercury & moderns day its electronic devices, that measure the electrical resistance of atmospheric pressure
What is air mass?
a large volume of air typically several kilos thick and a thousand or more kilos wide
High-pressure-system
associated with clear and dry conditions. They contain cooling air that is becoming denser and heavier which sinks to form areas of high pressure, big H’s on weather maps
What does the Sahara, Kalahari and Gobi Deserts exist?
Because of semipermanent high pressure conditions
Low Pressure System
system of air where warm, rising air cools as it expands into higher and colder altitudes. The cooling can cause the water vapor in the air mass to condense into clouds that may cause rain
The more moisture in the air or are the heavier
the rains or snow
Wind is
air in motion as it flows from high pressure to low pressure areas
Cold Front
cold air mass replacing a warm air mass
