Atmospheric and Crysospheric Processes Flashcards
…rain occurs when 2 air masses meet
Frontal
When a colder air mass meets a warmer air mass they don’t mix. Instead, the warmer air mass (what does it do) as it’s less dense than the cooler air mass
Rises over the top of the colder air
Weather front meaning
The boundary between 2 air masses and is where frontal rain occurs
3 types of rain
Frontal
Orographic
Convective
Process of how frontal rain forms
1) Warmer air mass meets colder air mass at a front (boundary between the 2 air masses)
2) The warmer, less dense air rises over the top of (is forced over) the denser, colder air
3) As the warm air rises, it is in contact with the cold air so cools and condenses, forming clouds along the front where the rainfall then occurs
With frontal rain, why does the rainfall occur specifically along the front (the boundary between the warm air mass and the cold mass)
Because when the cold air mass and warm air mass meet, the warmer air which is less dense is forced over the denser cold air. As the warm air rises, it stays in contact with the cold air which cools it and makes it condense into clouds.
Therefore the front (boundary) where the warm air is in contact with the cold air is where the clouds form so it’s also where the rainfall occurs
The boundary between 2 air masses is called the
(Weather) front
The type of rain to do with the sun is called…rain
Convective
Process of convective rain forming
The sun heats the ground and the warm air directly above it rises
As this warm air rises, the water vapour cools and condenses to form clouds before the water falls as rain
In the first stage of convective rain forming, the sun heats the…which causes the warm air directly above it to…
Ground
Rise
In the first stage of convective rain forming, the sun heats the…which causes the warm air directly above it to…
Ground
Rise
Which part of the UK experiences the most convective rain
South East England due to warm sunny spells
(As convective rain requires the sun to heat the ground before the warm air directly above it can rise and then cool and condense to form clouds and then fall as rain)
Convective rainfall is very common in…areas e.g rainforests as due to the Earth’s sphere shape, here the sun is most concentrated so easily heats the ground.
Convective rainfall is also quite common in South East England due to sunny spells which cause the ground to heat up
Tropical
…rain is the type of rain linked to topography (the relief of the land)
Orographic (also called relief)
Process of Orographic rain forming
1) Where there is high ground, warm moist air is forced upwards (e.g over hills/ mountains)
2) As the warm, moist air rises it cools and condenses to form clouds
3) Precipitation then occurs
As well as high land e.g hills/ mountains, what else is needed for orographic rain to occur
A prevailing wind bringing warm, moist air
E.g in the UK the prevailing wind brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic which causes orographic rain in the north and west where there are high altitudes (e.g the mountains in Scotland)
In the UK, the prevailing wind brings …, … air from the …
Warm, moist
Atlantic
In the UK, orographic rainfall is most common in the…and…due to the prevailing wind (which brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic) and the high…
North, West
Altitudes e.g mountains in Scotland (in the north)
In the UK, orographic rainfall is most common in the…and…due to the prevailing wind (which brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic) and the high…
North, West
Altitudes e.g mountains in Scotland (in the north) and the Pennines mountain range in northern England
A mountain range in the UK that experiences lots of orographic rainfall is the…
Pennines
A mountain range in the UK that experiences lots of orographic rainfall is the…
Pennines
The … refers to the side of the mountain where there is little rain
Rain shadow
Accumulation meaning
The build up of a glacier due to snow being compacted into ice
Ablation meaning
The melting of ice (usually during the summer months and at the snout end of the glacier)
…is the build up of a glacier due to snow being compacted into ice
Accumulation
…is the melting of ice (usually during the summer months and at the snout end of the glacier)
Ablation
The quaternary period refers to …years ago to the present day
2.6 million
Why doesn’t permafrost normally form under ice
The temperature isn’t low enough as ice insulates the ground beneath it
