Exam 1 Flashcards
Climate trends are
Averaged over a 30 year period
What is weather?
The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, described in terms of the current value of such quantitative variables as temperature, humid, cloudiness, precipitation, and wind speed and direction.
High air pressure
Anticyclones
Descending air and are usually accompanied by fair weather.
Northwestern Canada =cold,dry,winter … Cool/dry summer
Further south= mild,dry / winter … Hot/dry summer
Humidity - calm conditions or light winds
Blow clockwise and spirit outward
Low air pressure
Cyclones - stormy weather systems
Ascending air
Typically produce cloudy, rainy, and snowy weather
Cancellation of heating from the ground pushes the low ridding of stormy weather.
Blow counterclockwise and spirit inward
What direction does wx moves across the mid latitudes
Generally west to eAst
How many days does it take wx to move across the U.S.?
3-5 days
Pressure
The weight of a column of air over a unit area of Earth’s surface.
Temperature
A measure of average kinetic energy of the individual atoms or molecules composing a substance
Humidity
A general term referring to any one of describing the amount or concentration of water vapor in the air.
What is a front?
A narrow zone of transition between air masses of contrasting air density, that is different temperature, humidity or both. Fronts are classified as stationary, warm or occluded
What kind of weather is associated with a cold front?
Front that moves in a way that relatively cold (more dense) air advances and replaces warm (less dense) air.
Cold.
What kind of weather is associated with a warm front?
Front that moves in a way that relatively cold (more dense) air retreats allowing warm (less dense) air to advance. May be associates with a broad band of cloudiness and precipitation
Warm
National service watch vs. warning
Watch- potential exists
Warning- it is occurring other is going to happen soon based on the radar
Visible vs. infrared imagery
Visible satellite image- image processed from radiometers onboard a satellite that sense visible solar radiation reflected or back scattered from surfaces in the earth atmosphere system
The day with sun
Infrared image- picture or Image processed fro, radiometers onboard a satellite that sense thermal radiation signals emitted by earth and cloud surfaces of the earth atmosphere infrared radiation signals are routine are routinely calibrated to give the surface temperature of objects in the sensors field of view
No natural light
When do the days minimum temps occur?
Sunrise
Radar
Emits microwave energy
Doppler detect motion
Radio detection and ranging. A remote sensing tool broadcasts and receives microwave signals back from targets for the purpose of deter,omg the location, height, movement, and intensity of precipitation.
What was the principle gas in the early stages of earth
Hydrogen
What is the atmosphere and its basic composition
A relatively thin layer of gases and tiny suspended particles that envelopes the globe. Hydrosphere- oceans, glaciers, rivers, lakes, groundwater.) Geosphere- (rocks, minerals, soil) Biosphere -(plants, animals)?
What are the basic clouds?
Stratiform cloud- clouds that form in horizontal layers
Cumuliform cloud- clouds that appear puffy
Cirrus clouds- look fibrous because they are composed of mostly tiny ice crystals
Cumulus clouds- small white clouds that look like puffs of cotton
usually vaporize rapid
Cumulonimbus clouds- cumulus clouds that build vertically and merge laterally and turn into thunder clouds
What are the layers of the atmosphere in order?
Lowest to highest Troposphere Tropopause Stratosphere Stratopause Mesosphere Mesopause Thermosphere
What layer is the ozone shield located in?
Stratosphere
What layer is considered the weather layer?
Troposphere
What are the temperature trends in their separate layers?
Troposphere- falls with increasing altitude. 6.5 degrees Celsius every 1000m increase.
Stratosphere- does not change with increasing altitude- isothermal. Lower than sea level.
Mesosphere- temp is -95 degree Celsius -139 Fahrenheit
Thermosphere- at first they are isothermal and then they rise rapidly with increasing altitudes
What are the seasons and earth’s position related to the sun?
Solar altitude- the angle of the sun above the horizon.
Northern hemisphere- earth is closest to the sun in winter and farthest from the sun in summer.
Perihelion- earth is closet
Aphelion- farthest from the sun
Solar radiation consists of ?
Infrared, visible, ultraviolet radiation
How do the seasons effect daylight/night hour?
K
What is albedo?
The fraction or percent of radiation striking a surface that is reflected by that surface usually applied to the reflectivity of an object to visible radiation
What substances have and high albedos?
High- snow ground
Low-cities
The earths albedo is?
31%
How can sky conditions effect temperature during the day and night?
O
CFC’s threaten the ozone and and what effects a thin ozone can have?
D
What do the bright and dark colors on a infrared imagine mean?
Bright- 1. High clouds… the lowest temps
Dark- 1. Low clouds…highest temps
What is the boiling and freezing points of sharer F, C, and K.
Boiling- 100 C….. 212 Fahrenheit…
Freezing - 0 C….. 32 Fahrenheit
Absolute zero means
No electromagnetic radiation is emitted
What substance is used in thermometers in places where temps fall to -40 or lower
Alcohol
Conductors of heat/heat
Goes from warmer to cooler
Cold is more _______ than warm air
Dense
Maritime climates vs. continental climates
Maritime climate- the climate immediately downwind of an ocean, or large lake that experiences less contrast between winter and summer temperatures due to greater thermal inertia of water
Continental climate- an inland climate that experiences greater contrast between summer and winter temperatures due to a large landmasses thermal inertia
Conduction
Transfer of kinetic energy of atoms or molecules via collisions between the neighboring atoms or molecules
Convection
The transport of heat within within a fluid via motions of the fluid itself: generally occurs only in liquids and gases. Convection is much more important than conduction in transporting heat vertically within the troposphere
Radiation
Emission of transfer of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves
What does air mass consist of?
A huge volume of air covering thousands of square kilometers that has relatively uniform temperature and water vapor concentration horizontally. The specific characteristics of an air mass depend on the type of surface over which the air mass forms.
