hydrogen cycle Flashcards
large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals
clouds
height and types of cirrus cloud rgoup
above 20,000 feet
cirrus
cirrostratus
cirrocumulus
alto
6, 500 to 20, 000 feet
altostratus
altocumulus
stratus
up to 6, 500 feet
stratus
stratocumulus
nimbostratus
clouds with vertical growth
cumulus
cumulonimbus
special clouds
mammatus
lenticular
fog
contrails
most common of the high clouds. composed of ice and are thin, wispy clouds blown in high winds into long streamers.
cirrus clouds
when you see this cloud, it usually indicates that a change in the weather will occur within 24 hours
cirrus clouds
thin, sheetlike high clouds that often cover the entire sky. usually come 12-24 hours before a rain or snow storm
cirrostratus clouds
appear as small, rounded white puffs that appear in long rows. the small ripples in the cirrocumulus clouds sometime resemble the scales of a fish
cirrocumulus clouds
in tropical regions, they may indicate an approaching hurricane
cirrocumulus clouds
gray or blue-gray mid level clouds composed of ice crystals and water droplets. often form ahead of storms with continuous rain or snow
altostratus
mid level clouds that are made of water droplets and appear as gray puffy masses. if you see this on a warm sticky morning, be prepared to see thunderstorms late in the afternoon
altocumulus clouds
uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky. they resemble fog that doesn’t reach the ground
stratus
low, puffy, and gray. most form in rows with blue sky visible in between them. rain rarely occurs with this kind of clouds however, they can turn into nimbostratus clouds
stratocumulus clouds
form a dark gray, wet looking cloudy layer associated with continuously falling rain or snow. they often produce precipitation that is usually light to moderate
nimbostratus clouds
white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton. often called FAIR-WEATHER CLOUDS. the base is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers.
cumulus clouds
thunderstorm clouds. high winds can flatten the top into an anvil-like shape. associated with heavy rain
cumulonimbus clouds
low hanging bulges that droop from cumulonimbus clouds. usually associated with severe weather
mammatus
caused by a wave wind pattern created by the mountains. look like discs or flying saucers that form near mountains
lenticular clouds
cloud on the ground. composed of billion of tiny water droplets floating in the air.
fog
condensation trails left behind jet aircrafts
contrails
often associated with sever weather. it is thought to have something to do with having a high amount of liquid water drops and hail inside the clouds
green clouds
small, ragged clouds fragments that are usually found under an ambient cloud base. they form or have broken off from a larger clouds, and are generally sheared by strong winds, giving them a jagged appearance
fractus clouds
main parts of water cycle
evaporation and transpiration
condensation
precipitation
collection
process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water. crucial to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds
condensation
any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds
precipitation
main forms of precipitation
rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel, and hail
precipitation that falls the surface of the Earth as water droplets
rain
refers to liquid raindrops that freezes when it hits the surface of the road or other object. it forms icicles
freezing rain
rain that falls from the clouds but freezes before it reaches the ground
sleet
frozen water vapor that falls to the ground
snow
it is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam
evaporation
process by which plants lose water out of their leaves. it gives evaporation a bit of a hand in getting the water vapor back up into the air.
transpiration
water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land
collection
how does the water cycle affect out lives
water to drink
gardens
weather
the oceans contain __% of earth’s water
97%
winds move clouds through the atmosphere
advection
snow and ice accumulate, later melting back into liquid water, or turning into vapor
accumulation, snowmelt, meltwater, sublimation, desublimation/deposition
water flows above ground as runoff, forming streams, rivers, swamps, ponds, and lakes
surface runoff, channel runoff, reservoirs
plants take up water from the ground, and later transpire it back into the air
plant uptake, interception, transpiration
water is soaked into the ground, flows below it, and seeps back out enriched in minerals
infiltration, percolation, subsurface flow, aquifer, water table, seepage, spring, well
