Test 4 Flashcards
what do clouds require to form?
water vapor, at or below dew point, condensation nuclei
list condensation nuclei
salt, dust, bacteria, sand, dirt, volcanic ash
when water changes from liquid to gas (water vapor)
Evaporation
when water vapor condenses to a liquid
condensation
when water gets heavy and falls from clouds
precipitation
when water penetrates crust
infiltration
the movement of water underground
percolation
when plants release water from their stoma
transpiration
lakes, rivers, etc that flow across earth
surface water flow
comes from glacier and mountains (like run off)
ground water flow
these are part of water cycle because of sweat/pee
organisms
why do we have world wide water shortages if we have so much water
Most of the water is salt water and you can’t drink it. In some places it doesn’t rain and it can’t be collected.
97% earth is saltwater, 3% fresh water (rivers and streams make up 0.03% is on earth’s surface)
cirro
highest altitude cloud, curly, wispy
cumulo
heap or pile, puffy
strato
lowest altitude cloud, thick and dense
alto
mid altitude cloud
nimbus
rain bearing
Altocumulus
mid altitude, patchy, larger than cirrocumulus and smaller than stratocumulus
stratocumulus
large, very dense wavy texture
altostratus
water vapor and icy crystals
cirrocumulus
has little cloudlets, curly, wispy, thick, dense
cumulonimbus
dense, build upward, formed from water vapor, condenses in the lower troposphere,
nimbostratus
dark, no lightning, continuous rain or snow
What layer of the atmosphere do we live in?
troposphere
Where does troposphere end?
10 km above sea level
What happens in troposphere?
weather
How much volume and mass does the lowest layer (troposphere) account for?
97% volume and 3% mass
How does the temperature change as you move up in altitude?
gets colder
what is an isobar
lines on a map that indicate areas with the same barometric pressure
weather with low barometric pressure
rainy, windy, bad
weather with high barometric pressure
dry, clear
A high pressure system sinks or rises
sinks bc more dense
a low pressure system sinks or rises
rises bc less dense
how do low and high pressures spin and in what directions?
low-inward, counterclockwise
high-outward, clockwise
Does air move from high to low or low to high pressure?
high to low
what causes wind?
the flow of gases or air from an area of high pressure to low pressure resulting from uneven heating of the ground.
Explain convection as it relates to movement of air
High pressure heats the ground and then air rises and cools.Reaches a point where is loses energy and sinks again.
Understanding a station model
The tail spins away from the feathers indicating clockwise or counterclockwise. The tail also points to the direction the wind is coming from. Cloud cover is shown by filling in the circle. Feathers show how many knots of wind. Full feather is 10 knots and half a feather is 5 knots.
what instrument measures pressure
barometer
what units does a barometer use?
millibars, inches, centimeters, millimeters
How are LPS and fronts associated/similar?
Fronts are LPS bc they bring rainy, cloudy weather
what is dew point
the point at which air is saturated with water vapor
How do cold fronts differ from warm fronts?
cold-cold air mass takes the place of a warm one, rapid weather changes, widespread cloud coverage, fog
warm-a warm air mass takes the place of a cold one, slow weather changes, intense sun coverage, thunderstorms during summer
5 major air mass types
continental polar, continental arctic, continental tropical, maritime polar, and maritime tropical.
cP
continental polar-dry and cold
cA
continental arctic-cold and dry
mP
maritime polar-cool and moist
mT
maritime tropics-warm/hot and moist
cT
continental tropical-warm/hot and moist
mA?????
maritime arctice-cold and moist
stationary front
color:red and blue
symbol:Alternating red semi-circles and blue triangles on opposite sides of line
drawing:
4 fronts
cold, warm, stationary, occluded
occluded front
color:purple
symbol:alternating semicircles and triangles
drawing:
warm front
color: red
symbol:semicircles
drawing:
cold front
color: blue
symbol:triangles
drawing:
cold front
Before southerly winds, thunderstorms
after temp decreases
warm front
before easterly winds, some precipitation and clouds
after southerly winds, temperatures rise and clouds disappear
stationary front
before clear and dry
after light precipitation and clouds
occluded front
change in temperature
winds shift direction
Almost ALL fronts bring what type of weather conditions
rain, thunderstorms, gusty winds
