Water Cycle & Precipitation Flashcards
Hydrological Cycle
Is the movement of water among the great global reservoirs
states of water
- A change of state from solid to liquid or liquid to gas absorbs latent heat from the surroundings which means latent heat is released when clouds form and absorbed when water evaporates from the planets surface
Evaporations is associated with…
Net radiation energy
Condensation releases…
Energy
Humidity
Is a measure of the water vapour in the air
- The max quantity of moisture that air can hold increases with air temperature - warm air holds more moisture than cool air
Dew point temperature
Is the temperature at which a mass of air holds its maximum capacity of water vapour
Adiabatic Processes
- Is a change in temperature within a gas that occurs only as a result of change in pressure
Why is the adiabatic process important in studying weather and the motion of air?
Because the atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, if you lift a parcel of air away from the surface, the pressure in the parcel decreases
Condensation occurs depending on…
Dew point temperatures, and the need for water droplets to form on a solid surface
Clouds
Are composed of water droplets and ice crystals.
- They also contain tiny supercooled water droplets
What do clouds require?
Microscopic particles known as cloud condensation nuclei
High clouds
Cirro
Middle clouds
Alto
Low clouds
strato/stratus
Clouds with vertical development
Cumu
Flat, thin, blanket-like cloud
Stratiform
Puffy mass cloud
Cumuliform
Wispy, made of ice cloud:
Cirroform
Stormy or rainy cloud
Nimbo
Fog
Is a cloud at the surface instead of the atmosphere
Radiation Fog
Forms when a surface cools the air directly above, often forming night
Valley Fog
Is when a cold air descends down a valley like a radiation fog
Advection Fog
Forms when air migrates to a place where the conditions allow saturation to occur which happens along coastlines and is called sea fog
Almost all precipitation begins as…
snow or ice
What happens when ice crystals descend down??
The temperature warms and we get rain
Atmospheric Stability
Is the tendency of an air parcel, to either remain in place of change vertical position
Stable
Resists vertical movement and returns to its starting place if disturbed
Unstable
Continues to rise until reaching an altitude where the air has a similar density
What indicates how an air parcel will behave?
The temperature
What happens to an air parcel when the air is warm?
The parcel moves up
What happens when the temperature of the air parcel is less than the air//
The air parcel goes down to the bottom
If unstable..
You will get clouds and rain
Absolute Instability
The air parcel is warmer than the surrounding environment
- ELR>DALR>MALR
Absolute instability forms what type of clouds?
Clouds with vertical development which is associated with thunderstorms and precipitation
Absolute Stability
Is when the air parcel is cooler than the surrounding environment which means it is stable
Absolute stability is associated with what type of weather?
Calm weather
