fog & clouds quiz

Question 1

what is fog?

Answer 1

near saturation conditions which forms a cloud close to the ground (RH = 100%)

Question 2

in what two basic ways does fog form?

Answer 2

• cooling
• adding moisture (by evaporation and mixing)

Question 3

what are the four types of fog?

Answer 3

radiation
advection
upslope
mixing

Question 4

what is radiation fog?

Answer 4

• lots of radiational cooling
• no/slight breeze
• can help evaporate & supply moisture

Question 5

what is advection fog?

Answer 5

horizontal movement at air = advection
warm, humid air to move over a cold surface

Question 6

what is upslope fog?

Answer 6

sloping terrain lifts air, cooling it adiabatically to its dew point and saturation

Question 7

what is mixing fog?

Answer 7

warm surface provides enough moisture to saturate a dry air parcel (short-lived)

Question 8

what are cirrus clouds?

Answer 8

thin, wispy clouds of ice

Question 9

what are stratus clouds?

Answer 9

horizontally layered clouds
flat appearance

Question 10

what are cumulus clouds?

Answer 10

vertical development
puffy picture appearance

Question 11

what are nimbus clouds?

Answer 11

rain (storm) clouds
tinted (grey, black, green)

Question 12

what are the height factors?

Answer 12

low, mid, high, vertical

Question 13

what are the appearance factors?

Answer 13

shape, density, color

Question 14

cirro prefix…

Answer 14

high
>5000m or 16,000 ft

Question 15

alto prefix…

Answer 15

2000-7000 m
6500-23,000 ft

Question 16

what clouds extend through all levels of atmosphere?

Answer 16

clouds with vertical development

Question 17

what are scud clouds?

Answer 17

fractus cloud at low height above ground
often ragged or wispy in appearance

Question 18

what are mammatus clouds?

Answer 18

• formed by cold air sinking down to form the pockets
• indicate convectively induced turbulence

Question 19

what are lenticular clouds?

Answer 19

normally develops on the downwind side of a mountain or mountain range

Question 20

what are nacreous (stratosphere) clouds?

Answer 20

• form in the lower stratosphere over polar regions when the sun is just below the horizon
• ice particles are much smaller than those that form more common clouds

Question 21

what are nocticulnet (mesosphere) clouds?

Answer 21

• diffuse scattering layer of water ice crystals near the summer polar mesopause
• resemble cirrus clouds

Question 22

what are the four importances of clouds?

Answer 22

• release heat to the atmosphere
• help regulate energy balance
• provide precipitation for the surface
• indicate physical processes

Question 23

what are cloud coverages divided into?

Answer 23

8ths

Question 24

what is used at airports to determine cloud height?

Answer 24

ceilometer