Lecture 1: Introduction Flashcards
Name the 6 different air masses affecting the UK.
Arctic air maritime mass
Tropical continental and Tropical Maritime masses
Polar Continental, Polar Maritime and returning Polar Maritime mass.
Where do typhoons and hurricanes occur?
Typhoons in the Pacific
Hurricanes in the Atlantic
The thunderstorm that produces the may 2013 Oklahoma tornado developed rapidly, along with ‘super cells’ - what causes their formation?
Wind shear, moisture and instability within the warm sector.
What was the atmosphere first comprised of, and how did the sun change this?
First comprised of Hydrogen and Helium, the latter of which was then evaporated off by the sun.
What caused the thick anaerobic atmosphere that then developed, and what gases were present in this?
Volcanic outgassing - includes CO2, H2O, N2, H2
When was O2 first produced and by what?
blue-green algae, 3.5billion years ago (although only started to accumulate 1 billion years ago)
Name the gases that comprise 78%, 21% and 0.9% of the permanent gases in the atmosphere.
78- Nitrogen
21 - oxygen
0.9 - argon
The variable gases are important for climate regulation, but what are they?
H2O, CO2, CH4, N2O, O3, Particles.
In which atmospheric layers does temperature increase with height and why?
Stratosphere and Thermosphere as UV radiation is absorbed by atomic oxygen in the thermosphere and ozone in the stratosphere.
In which two sections of the atmosphere does temperature decrease with height due to heating from below?
The mesophere and troposphere (where heating is from land).
Give examples of atmospheric phenomena that occur on micro, meso and synoptic scales.
Micro - turbulence
Meso - thunderstorms, tornadoes
Synoptic - tropical cyclones / climate variation such as ENSO
Weather varies due to factors internal to the system - what does this include?
Variation in the atmosphere, geosphere, oceans and biosphere.
Why does a predictability limit exist on weather forecasting, and roughly how long is it?
Weather is very dependent on initial conditions
2 weeks
What does climate variability depend on?
Factors external to the system - GHGs, volcanoes, solar output, Earths orbital position.
Also depends on boundary conditions - the changes over time in external factors.
Why do differences exist between areas of the same latitude?
The overturning circulation of the atmosphere.
