Chapter 1 Flashcards
Meteorology
The study of weather and climate
Weather
The condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and moment
Meteorology
The study of these weather variables that cause weather, and the interaction of the atmosphere with the Earth’s surface, ocean, and life
Fundamental Cause of Weather
The effect of the sun on the earth
Climate
The condition of the atmosphere over many years
Climatology
The study of climate
Main focus of Climatology
How oceans, landforms, and living organisms affect the atmosphere
Main concern of meteorology
The atmosphere, the thin ocean of air that we live in
________ of Earth’s surface is water
70%
Gravity
The mutual attraction between objects, is the force that holds the atmosphere in place
Keeps the moon orbiting the Earth, the planets orbiting the Sun, and you from floating into space
Permanent gases composing todays atmosphere are:
Nitgoren (78%) - N
Oxygen (21%) - O2
and argon (1%) - Ar
Some gases in the atmosphere, however, experience changes in their concentraitions. These variable gases include:
water vapor, and the trace gases which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and CFC’s
Nitrogen is a __________ gas
chemically stable- does not interact with other gases on the Earth’s surface
Photosynthesis
The process plants use to convert solar energy, water, and carbon dioxide into food
The development of an atmospheric “ozone layer” allowed +>
life to move out of the oceans and onto land
3 major variable gases in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ozone
Source
A mechanism that supplies a gas to the atmosphere
Sink
Removes a gas from the atmosphere
Cycle
The routes by which a gas enters and leaves the atmosphere are known collectively as a cycle
Nearly half of the carbon dioxide that enteres the atmosphere moves between the:
ocean and plants
Dead plant tissue and other dead organisms are therefore a source of ______________________
atmospheric carbon dioxide
Through respiration, animals inhale atmospheric oxygen and exhale____________________
carbon dioxide, and are, therefore, another source of atmospheric carbon dioxide
__________________ drives the seasonal cycle of peaks and valleys of carbon dioxide
the life cycle of plants in the Northern Hemisphere
___________ is the only substance that exists naturally in the atmosphere in all three phases: gas, solid, and liquid
water
Hydrologic cycle
Describes the circulation of water from the ocean and other watery surfaces to the atmosphere and the land.
A major source of atmospheric water vapor is evaporation from the oceans
Evaporation
The change of phase of liquid water to water vapor
Transpiration
The process by which plants release water vapor into the atmosphere, is also a source of atmospheric water vapor
The change of phase from water vapor to liquid is called ______________
condensation
_______________ is a sink of atmospheric water because it removes water from the atmosphere
Precipitation
A decrease in the amount of cloud cover over land during the day =>
will allow more solar energy to reach the surface and warm the ground and the atmosphere above
____________ is a by-product of cows’ digestive process and accounts for 28% of human-related methan emissions globally
Methane
Chlorofuorocarbons (CFCs) ____________ occur naturally
do not
anthropogenic
human made
Areosols
Smoke, salt, ash, smog and dust are examples of particles suspended in the atmosphere
The size of an aerosol particle is measured in ____________
microns - varies with the type of aerosol
*they are needed to make clouds
Pressure
the force exerted on a given area
The concentration of molecules is measured in terms of ______________
density - mass per unit volume
The atmospheric density at sea level for a standard temperature of __________
15 degrees Celsius
Constant =
Pressure / (Density x Temperature)
Atmospheric pressure and density __________ rapidly as you go up from the Earth’s surface
decrease
One millibar (mb) equals _____________
100 Pascals and 0.76 millimeters of mercury
Pressure is also sometimes expressed in terms of _______________
pounds per square inch (psi)
Barometer
Atmospheric pressure measuring device
Pressure x Volume =
k x Temperature
Pressure =
R x Density x Temperature
R is a constant that depends on the gases that compose the atmosphere
Barometric pressure
The height of this column is a measure of ______
Pressure always _________ with altitude
decreases
Standardizing to ___________________ removes the effect of altitude on pressure and allows the meteorologists to focus on the smaller, but important, surface pressure differences resulting from weather systesm
sea-level pressure
Troposphere
The region of the atmosphere closest to Earth, where the temperature decreases as you go up
The top of the troposphere is referred to as the ____________
tropopause
The height of the tropopause is a function of ____________
latitude
It is higher in the equatorial regions, where the tropospheric air is warmer and expands upward to about 16 km, than in the cold polar regions
Above the tropopause lies the _____________, where temperature increases with altitude
stratosphere
The ______________ marks the top of the stratosphere
stratopause
Above the stratopause lies the ______________
mesosphere - temperature decreases with altitude in the mesopshere, just as it does in the troposphere
The ___________ separates the mesosphere from the termosphere at an average altitude of about 85 kilometers
mesopause
The region of the mesosphere and thermosphere is sometimes called the ____________
ionosphere
Surface chart
depicts weather at the Earth’s surface
Front
a boundary between two regions of air that have different meteorological properties, such as temperature and humidity
Cold front
A region where cold air is replacing warmer air
Warm front
Indicates that warm air is replacing cooler air
Stationary front
A front that is not moving
Occluded front
Represented as a purple line with alternating triangles and semicircles, has characteristics of both cold and warm fronts
Lines of constant temperature are called ____________
isotherms
Isobars
Connect locations with the same sea level atomspheric pressure
Isotachs
Connect locations with the same wind speed
Isopleth
A more general term describing contours along which any particular variable is constant
Station model
A compressed graphical weather report
Dew point
A measure of the amount of moisture in the atmosphere
Watch
Implies that you should be aware that a weather hazard may develop in your area
Warning
Issued when the hazard is developing in your area
Advisory
A less urgent statement issued to bring to the public’s attention a situation that may cause some inconvenience or diffuclty for travelers or people who have to be outdoors
