Water Cycle Flashcards
Water Cycle
The continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the earth.
Accumulation
The process where water pool (gathers together)
Evaporation
The process where liquid water becomes water vapor ( a gas) ; cooling process
Precipitation
The process where (rain, snow, sleet, hail) falls from clouds in the sky
Subsurface Runoff
Rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in underground streams, drains, or sewers
Surface Runoff
Rain, snow melt , or other water that flows in surface streams, rivers or canals
Transpiration
The process where some water in plants evaporates into the atmosphere
Sublimation
The process of changing a solid straight to a gas. Skips the liquid phase
Deposition
The process where of changing a gas straight to a solid. Skips liquid phase.
Define Thunderstorm
Any storm containing lighting
Characteristics of a thunderstorm
- Tall cumulonimbus
- Lightning is about 50,000 F
- 80% all lightning is cloud to cloud
3 kinds of Thunderstorms
- Thunderstorm
- Supercell
- Severe Thunderstorm
Define Hurricane
Strong tropical cyclone with minimum sustained
Stages of a Hurricane:
Tropical Wave Tropical Disturbance Tropical Depression Tropical Storm Hurricane
How do you measure Tornado’s
Enhanced Fujita scale 0 - 5
Stages of a Tornado
Dust Whirl Organizing Mature Shrinking Decaying
Define storm
A disturbance in the the normal condition of the atmosphere
Define vortex
A whirling mass of air, water, debris or fire
Define cloud
Visible ice and water high above the ground on a layer of condensation nuclei
Dew Point
Temperature where water vapor condenses
Relative Humidity
Percent of water vapor in the air at a certain temp
What is thaw Coriolis Effect
Northern Hemisphere - Counterclockwise
Southern Henisphere - Clockwise
Define air mass
A large bulk of air that has the same temperature and moisture content throughout
4main kinds of air masses
Continental and Maritime Polar and Tropical
