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Meteorology > Exam 3 (Lessons 7-9) > Flashcards

Exam 3 (Lessons 7-9) Flashcards

(45 cards)

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1
Q

How are clouds classified?

A

1) General appearance (texture) as observed from ground
2) Altitude of cloud base
3) Temperature
4) Composition

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2
Q

Characteristics of high clouds

A

Bases above 16,000ft
Average temperature below -25 degrees Celsius
Composed of ice crystals, have fibrous appearance
Include the prefix cirro

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3
Q

What are the 3 types of high clouds?

A

Cirrus (Ci) clouds
Cirrostratus (Cs) clouds
Cirrocumulus (Cc) Clouds

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4
Q

Characteristics of middle clouds

A

Bases between 6,600 and 16,000ft
Average temperature between 0 and -25 degrees Celsius
Composed of supercooled water droplets or a mixture of droplets and ice crystals
Include the prefix alto

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5
Q

What are the 2 types of middle clouds?

A

Altostratus (As) clouds

Altocumulus (Ac) clouds

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6
Q

Characteristics of low clouds

A

Bases from Earth’s surface (fog) to 6,600ft
Average temperature above -5 degrees Celsius
Composed of water droplets

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7
Q

What are the 3 types of low clouds?

A

Stratocumulus (Sc) clouds
Stratus (St) clouds
Nimbostratus (Ns) clouds

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8
Q

What clouds have vertical development?

A

Cumulus clouds

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9
Q

Where do clouds that have vertical development form?

A

In updrafts of convection currents

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10
Q

When does fog form?

A

When the air is saturated by radiational cooling, advective cooling, addition of water vapor, or expansional cooling

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11
Q

What are the different types of fog?

A

Radiation Fog
Advection Fog
Upslope Fog

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12
Q

What are the two basic methods for cloud particle growth?

A

Collision-Coalescence (warm clouds)

Combination of Bergeron-Findeisen process and collision-coalescence (cold clouds)

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13
Q

What is Collision-Coalescence process?

A

Droplets grow by colliding and merging (coalescing); only coalesce if droplets are of significantly different size
Eventually droplet grow large enough and terminal velocity overcomes updraft and precipitation occurs

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14
Q

What are the forces that act on the wind?

A

Air Pressure Gradient
Centripetal Force
Coriolis Effect
Friction Gravity

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15
Q

When does an air pressure gradient exist?

A

Whenever air pressure varies from place to place

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16
Q

What is a horizontal pressure gradient?

A

When air pressure varies along a surface of constant altitude

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17
Q

What is a vertical pressure gradient?

A

Air pressure changes above Earth’s surface

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18
Q

How does air pressure gradient cause water or air to move?

A

It causes it to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

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19
Q

What is the Coriolis Effect?

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A

Earth’s rotation causes fluids to be deflected away from a straight path; strongest at the poles and decreases moving away from the poles and is 0 at the equator

20
Q

The Coriolis Effect causes fluids to deflect ____ in the Northern hemisphere and ____ in the souther hemisphere

Study These Flashcards
A

Right… Left

21
Q

How does the Second Law of Thermodynamics relate to pressure gradient?

Study These Flashcards
A

When a horizontal pressure gradient develops, air flows in a direction to eliminate the pressure gradient (Second Law of Thermodynamics)

22
Q

What are the 4 interaction of forces that effect wind?

Study These Flashcards
A

Hydrostatic Equilibrium
Geostrophic Wind
Gradient Wind
Surface and Horizontal Winds

23
Q

What is hydrostatic equilibrium?

Study These Flashcards
A

Balance between vertical air pressure gradient and gravity

24
Q

What is geostrophic wind and what causes it?

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A

Un-accelerated, horizontal movement of air that follows a straight path at altitudes above the atmospheric boundary layer
Caused by a balance between the horizontal air pressure gradient force and Coriolis Effect

25
What is gradient wind?
Large-scale, horizontal, frictionless wind that blows parallel to the isobars; similar to geostrophic winds but has a curved path
26
How does air in anticyclones move?
Clockwise and parallel to isobars
27
How does air in cyclones move?
Counterclockwise and parallel to isobars
28
How does air move in an anticyclone when affected by friction and the Coriolis Effect?
Surface winds blow clockwise and outward; opposite wind directions in the southern hemisphere
29
How does air move in a cyclone when affected by friction and the Coriolis Effect?
Surface winds blow counterclockwise and inward; | opposite wind directions in the southern hemisphere
30
Why do cyclones favor cloud development over anticyclones?
In cyclones rising air cools due to expansional cooling causing relative humidity to rise and as it nears 100% saturation will be reached and condensation will occur causing cloud formation In anticyclones sinking air warms due to compressional warming causing relative humidity to decrease resulting in the suppression of cloud formation
31
What are the 4 levels of atmospheric circulation?
Planetary-Scale Systems Synoptic-Scale Systems Mesoscale-Scale Systems Microscale Systems
32
What are planetary-scale systems?
large-scale wind belts encircling the planet
33
What are synoptic-scale systems?
continental or oceanic in scale
34
What are mesoscale-scale systems?
circulation systems that influence weather in part of a large city or county
35
What are microscale systems
weather systems covering a very small area such as several blocks
36
What areas of the globe have persistent highs and what type of weather is found there?
At the poles and 30 degree N and S latitude; weather is generally fair and desert climates often form
37
What areas of the globe have persistent lows and what type of weather is found here?
Around the equator and 60 degree N and S latitude; rainy climates usually occupy these areas
38
What are the 4 semi-permanent pressure systems?
Subtropical anticyclones Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) Subpolar lows Polar highs
39
How does the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) shift?
It follows the sun; Furthest North in July and furthest South in January
40
In flowing into a trough westerlies ____ and induces speed ____ aloft.
Slow... Convergence
41
When flowing into a ridge westerlies ____ and induces speed ____ aloft.
Accelerate... Divergence
42
El Nino is a ____ phase and La Nina is a ____ phase.
Warm... Cold
43
What happens during an El Nino?
Air pressure falls over Eastern tropical Pacific and rises over Western Pacific Pressure gradient and trade winds weaken SST drops in Western tropical Pacific and rises in Eastern tropical Pacific
44
What happens during a La NIna
Trade winds are stronger in the tropical Pacific | SST is lower in Central and Eastern tropical Pacific
45
What winds does the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) impact?
Governs the strength of westerly winds, mid-latitude jet stream, and North Atlantic storm tracks

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