Quiz 2 Flashcards
Types of Fog
Radiation, Upslope, Advection, Evaporation (Steam and Frontal)
Radiation Fog
forms at night when ground cools through radiation; air above ground is cooled to dew point
Upslope Fog
air is forced upwards by topography and cools to dewpoint as it rises
Advection Fog
warm moist air is blown across cool surface causing air to cool to the dew point (SF)
Evaporation Fog (2 types)
warm air evaporates water to become to moist, then mixes with cool dry air that cools it to the dew point. Steam - warm surface water evaporates then condenses in cooler air. Frontal - warm raindrops into a cold region, resulting in evaporation to saturation air (warm over cold)
Stratus (def)
“layer”
Cumulus (def)
“clumpy”
Cirrus (def)
“wispy”
Nimbus (def)
“rain”
Low Clouds (3)
(0-2 km)
Stratus - gray, can’t see sun.
Stratocumulus - fist sized, sky between
Nimbostratus
Middle Clouds (2)
(2-7 km)
Altostratus - watery sun
Altocumulus - thumb sized
High Clouds (3)
(5-18 km)
Cirrus
Cirrostratus - halo around sun
Cirrocumulus
Clouds of Vertical Development (3)
(0-18 km)
Cumulus - flat base, bulging top, cotton
Cumulus congestus - cauliflower
Cumulonimbus - anvil shaped top, heavy rain + thunder
Lenticular Cloud
Lens shaped clouds formed by mt waves
Lapse Rate
remember that the sign is opposite (i.e, if positive T decreases with height)
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
unsaturated parcel. 10 c/km
Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate
saturate parcel. 6 c/km. less b/c of latent heat release upon water condensation with rising
Types of Inversions (5)
E < W -> absolutely stable E = W -> saturated neutral D > E > W -> conditionally unstable E = D -> unsaturated neutral E > D -> absolutely unstable
Inversion Thickness
Ztop - Zbase
Inversion Strength
Ttop - Tbase
Cloud Formation (4)
surface air must rise
1) surface air heated by sun
2) topographic barrier forces uplift
3) convergence at surface low pressure areas
4) frontal forcing
Dew Point lapse rate
2 c/km. important for cloud formation
Cumulus Cloud Development
Bottom of cloud forms when Dew Point Lapse rate intersects dry adiabatic rate. Top of cloud is where wet adiabatic rate from pt of cloud bottom meets enviro lapse rate
Rain Drops and Precipitation (2 effects)
Curvature Effect. Solute Effect
