Exam 1 (Lessons 1-3) Flashcards
Define weather
the atmospheric state of a particular place and time of the current variables (temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, and wind speed and direction
Define climate
The average weather conditions at a specific location; measured over at least 30 years
Weather watch vs weather warning
Weather watch = possible hazardous weather
Weather warning = hazardous weather is imminent or happening
Define wind direction
The direction the wind is blowing FROM
What are time zones based on?
They are based on lines of longitude and distance from prime meridian (Greenwich England)
What is the longitude of the prime meridian?
0 degrees longitude
How many degrees of longitude different changes the time by 1 hour?
15 degrees
What is the preferred time zone?
UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
Does air move from areas of low to high pressure? Or high to low pressure?
High to Low pressure
What is a cyclone?
A low pressure system
What is an anticyclone?
A high pressure system
How does air move in a low pressure system/cyclone?
Air moves inward and upward in a counter clockwise motion
How does air move in a high pressure system/anticyclone?
Air moves outward and down in a clockwise motion
What are the 4 general types of air masses
Cold, warm, wet (maritime), and dry (continental)
What are the different types of fronts?
Cold, warm, and stationary
Where do fronts develop?
Where low pressure systems bring contrasting air masses together
What is a warm front?
Boundary of an advancing warm from and a retreating cold front
What is a cold front?
Boundary of an advancing cold front and a retreating warm front
Is severe weather a characteristic of a warm or cold front and why?
Cold front because an advancing cold front causes the warm air to rise rapidly which creates unstable air that can cause severe weather
What are the key differences of a visible and infrared satellite?
Visible can only be used during the day, while infrared can be used day or night
Infrared allows for the comparison of high and low clouds
Infrared can measure the temperature of the surface where there is no cloud cover
What are the 4 most abundant gases in our atmosphere? From most to least abundant
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Argon
Carbon Dioxide
Difference between a hypothesis and a theory?
Hypothesis = testable idea Theory = an idea supported by data
How did the early atmosphere form?
Through the process of outgassing
What is outgassing?
The process in which gases are released from Earth rocky surface due to volcanic activity and then are held near Earth’s surface
What is the Stefan-Boltmann law? Simplified
Hot objects emit more energy than cold objects
What is relative humidity?
Percentage of actual water vapor concentration vs water vapor concentration if air was saturated
What is air pressure?
The weight per unit area of a column of air
What do radiosondes and dropsondes measure?
They measure temperature, dewpoint, and pressure
What is the key difference of a radiosonde and a dropsonde?
Radiosonde is launched from ground via weather balloon and a dropsonde is released from an aircraft
Layers of the atmosphere from lowest to highest
Troposphere Tropopause Stratosphere Stratopause Mesosphere Mesopause Thermosphere
Shortest wavelength to longest wavelength of different forms of electromagnetic radiation
UV Visible Infrared Microwaves Radio waves
What is the inverse square law?
Doubling the distance that radiation must travel reduces its intensity by 1/4 its initial value
Solar radiation entering our atmosphere can be…
Absorbed, scattered, or reflected by gasses and aerosols or Earth’s surface
Why is the ozone layer important?
Protects us from dangerous UV radiation that would make the planet inhabitable
What is causing the ozone layer to deplete?
The use of CFCs
What is the Wien’s displacement law?
The peak wavelength increases as the temperature decreases/The peak wavelength decreases as the temperature increases
