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Geology > Chapter 17 > Flashcards

Chapter 17 Flashcards

1
Q

How is heat energy measured?

A

Measured in calories – one calorie is the heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius

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2
Q

What is latent heat?

A

Stored or hidden heat
Not derived from temperature change
Important in atmospheric processes

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3
Q

Describe evaporation

A

Liquid is changed to gas

600 calories per gram of water are added – called latent heat of vaporization

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4
Q

Describe condensation

A 
Water vapor (gas) is changed to a liquid 
Heat energy is released – called latent heat of condensation
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5
Q

Describe melting

A

Solid is changed to a liquid

80 calories per gram of water are added – called latent heat of melting

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6
Q

Describe freezing

A

Liquid is changed to a solid

Heat is released – called latent heat of fusion

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7
Q

Describe sublimation

A

Solid is changed directly to a gas (e.g., ice cubes shrinking in a freezer)
680 calories per gram of water are added

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8
Q

Describe deposition

A 
Water vapor (gas) changed to a solid (e.g., frost in a freezer compartment)  
Heat is released
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9
Q

Describe humidity

A

Amount of water vapor in the air
Saturated air is air that is filled with water vapor to capacity
Capacity is temperature dependent – warm air has a much greater capacity
Water vapor adds pressure (called vapor pressure) to the air

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10
Q

What is “Mixing Ratio” in relation to humidity

A

Mass of water vapor in a unit of air compared to the remaining mass of dry air
Often measured in grams per kilogram

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11
Q

What is relative humidity?

A

Ratio of the air’s actual water vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor required for saturation at that temperature (and pressure)

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12
Q

How can the relative humidity be changed?

A

-Add or subtract moisture to the air
Adding moisture raises the relative humidity
Removing moisture lowers the relative humidity
-Changing the air temperature
Lowering the temperature raises the relative humidity

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13
Q

What is a dew point temperature?

A

Temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation

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14
Q

What do we use to measure humidity, and what are the two types?

A

Hygrometers- Psychrometer, Hair hygrometer

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15
Q

What is a Psychometer?

A

compares temperatures of wet-bulb thermometer and dry-bulb thermometer
If the air is saturated (100% relative humidity) then both thermometers read the same temperature
The greater the difference between the thermometer readings, the lower the relative humidity

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16
Q

What is a hair hygrometer?

A

reads the humidity directly

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17
Q

When do adiabatic temperature changes occur?

A

When air is compressed, when air expands,

18
Q

What is the Dry adiabatic rate?

A

Unsaturated air
Rising air expands and cools at 1˚C per 100 meters (5.5˚F per 1,000 feet)
Descending air is compressed and warms at 1˚C per 100 meters

19
Q

What is the wet adiabatic rate?

A

Commences at condensation level
Air has reached the dew point
Condensation is occurring and latent heat is being liberated
Heat released by the condensing water reduces the rate of cooling
Rate varies from 0.5˚C to 0.9˚C per 100 meters

20
Q

What is Oragraphic lifting?

A

Elevated terrains act as barriers

Result can be a rainshadow desert

21
Q

What is frontal wedging?

A

Cool air acts as a barrier to warm air

Fronts are part of the storm systems called middle-latitude cyclones

22
Q

What is Convergence?

A

where the air is flowing together and rising (low pressure)

23
Q

What is localized convective lifting?

A

Localized convective lifting occurs where unequal surface heating causes pockets of air to rise because of their buoyancy

24
Q

What are the types of stability with air?

A

Stable air, absolute instability, conditional instability
Determines to a large degree
Type of clouds that develop
Intensity of the precipitation

25
Q

Describe stable air

A 
Resists vertical displacement 
Cooler than surrounding air 
Denser than surrounding air 
Wants to sink 
No adiabatic cooling 
Absolute stability occurs when the environmental lapse rate is less than the wet adiabatic rate
26
Q

Describe absolute instability

A 
Acts like a hot air balloon 
Rising air
Warmer than surrounding air
Less dense than surrounding air 
Continues to rise until it reaches an altitude with the same temperature 
Adiabatic cooling 
Environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic rate 
Clouds are often towering
27
Q

Describe conditional instability

A

occurs when the atmosphere is stable for an unsaturated parcel of air but unstable for a saturated parcel

28
Q

What are condensation nuclei?

A

Possible condensation surfaces in the atmosphere are called condensation nuclei
Dust, smoke, etc.
Ocean salt crystals that serve as hygroscopic (“water seeking”) nuclei

29
Q

What are the three basic forms of clouds and describe them

A

Cirrus – high, white, thin
Cumulus – globular cloud masses often associated with fair weather
Stratus – sheets or layers that cover much of the sky

30
Q

How do we classify clouds

A

Based on hight - High, middle, lower

31
Q

What does Nimbus mean

A

Rainy

32
Q

Why does most fog form?

A

Radiation cooling, or movement of air over a cold surface

33
Q

How does advection fog form?

A

Warm, moist air moves over a cool surface

34
Q

How does radiation fog form?

A

Earths surface cools rapidly. Forms during cool, clear, calm nights

35
Q

How does upslope fog form?

A

Humid air moves up a slope, adiabatic cooling occurs

36
Q

How does steam fog form?

A

Cool air moves over warm water and moisture is added to the air
Water has a steaming appearance

37
Q

How does frontal fog, or precipitation fog, form?

A

Forms during frontal wedging when warm air is lifted over colder air
Rain evaporates to form fog

38
Q

What is the Bergeron process?

A

Temperature in the cloud is below freezing
Ice crystals collect water vapor
Large snowflakes form and fall to the ground or melt during descent and fall as rain

39
Q

What is the Collision-coalescence process?

A 
Warm clouds 
Large hygroscopic condensation nuclei 
Large droplets form 
Droplets collide with other droplets during their descent 
Common in the tropics
40
Q

What are the forms of precipitation?

A

Rain, Snow, Sleet, Hail, Rime

41
Q

What is the general ration for the water equivalent of snow?

A

10 snow units to 1 water unit

Geology (3 decks)

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