Weather and Climate Flashcards
weather
state of the atmosphere at a given time in RELATION to meteorological phenomena
climate
the meteorological condition of an area in general over a LONG period of time
what is a climate normal
30-year averages for climate variables like temperature and precipitation
how long is a climate normal
30 years
what happens to climate normal every 10 years
it changes and evolves
average temp in Lethbridge
5.9
Net radiation is made up of
- incoming shortwave radiation from sun
- reflected shortwave radiation
- longwave radiation radiated BY the earth
- longwave radiation reflected BACK towards the earth
energy balance is the
accounting of energy
what is the principal heat source at earth’s surface
solar energy
what is the difference between diffuse and direct radiation
diffuse = radiation that is not direct on an object (like through clouds)
direct = direct sunlight shinning on something
outputs of energy balance at the earth’s surface
- evaporation
- convection
- radiated longwave energy
true or false
energy budgets at specific places or times on earth are always the same
FALSE - not always the same
light-coloured surfaces are ______ reflective
more
______ amounts of longwave radiation are lost from ________
Greater AND subtropical deserts
whee is the least amount of LW radiation lost
, polar regions, tropics
true or false
between the tropics, less energy is gained than lost
false, more is gained than lost
between the tropics more energy is gained than lost =
energy surplus
true or false
in the polar region more energy is lost than gained
true
in the polar regions, more energy is lost than gained=
energy deficits
the imbalance of energy from the tropical surpluses and the polar deficits drives
the global circulation pattern
the unequal heating of earth drives
weather
what causes the variety of solar radiation at the equator
based on when the planet is closest to the sun
incoming energy arrives during
daylight
when does incoming energy begin to arrive
sunrise
when does incoming energy peak
at noon
when does incoming energy end
at sunset
when does the air temp peak between
3 pm and 4 pm
when does the air temp dip to its lowest point
right at or slightly after sunrise
the warmest time of the day occurs NOT
at the moment of maximum insolation
when does the warmest time of day occur
when a maximum of insolation has been absorbed and emitted from the ground
why doesn’t the hottest time of day occurs at the moment of max insolation
because there is a lag
are there short-wave fluxes at night
NO, there is no sun
lag
time between occurrence of something and WHEN something happens
what does a lag cause
energy to buildup
planetary boundary line
energy and moisture are continually exchanged with the LOWER atmosphere at earth’s surface
microclimatology
science of physical conditions (radiation, heat and moisture) at given locations
Net radiation
sum of ALL radiation gains and losses at any defined location on earth’s surface
sensible heat
when heat transfer is assocaited with temperature changes
latent heat
heat transfer associated with phase changes
latent heat of vaporization
energy that is stored in water vapor as water evaporates
sensible heat is the heat transferred back and forth between
air and surface in turbulent eddies
how is sensible heat transferred between air and surface
convection and conduction within materials
what is the layer of the atmosphere associated with the planetary boundary layer
troposphere
environments with lots of bodies of water will have
no large shift in temp fluxes because of water’s high specific heat capacity
what makes up the radiative heat transfer fluxes
K* = shortwave inputs and outputs
L* = longwave inputs and outputs
by day, the net radiation is
Both shortwave and longwave fluxes
by night, the net radiation is
JUST the longwave fluxes
negative and positive heat transfers
positive = energy is moving towards the surface
negative = energy is moving away from the surface
why is L-down relatively stable
there are no big swings in atmosphere temp in ONE day
what time is sunrise
wherever K down starts
what is the value of albedo
precentage difference between shortwave out and shortwave in
what does L up depend on
temp - it’s at its highest when the air temp is its highest
when Q* is positive there is a
radiation surplus
in a radiation surplus, energy will flow
AWAY from the surface
non-radiative heat transfer elements
Qh
Qe
Qg
non-radiative heat transfer element Qh
convective sensible heat flux into the air
non-radiative heat transfer element Qe
convective latent heat flux into the air
non-radiative heat transfer element Qg
conductive sensible heat flux into the surface
____ and ____ both depend on wind to carry heat away from the surface
Qh and Qe
what is the total radiative heat transfer equation
+sw - Sw + lw - lw =Qh + Qe + Qg
true or false
radiated and non-radiated fluxes are equal
true
what is the energy surplus divided into in dry conditions
Qh and Qg
what will happen in dry conditions
the temp of the ground and air near the surface will both increase
division of the energy into the two fluxes during dry conditions is dependent on
the relative ease of the fluxes
in moist conditions, there the energy surplus is divided into
Qg, Qh, Qe
in moist conditions, the larger the Qe
the LESS temp will rise because energy is going into evaporating water NOT rasing temp
how do plants control Qe in moist environments
by transpiration/evaporation
non-radiative heat transfer by DAY
- Q* is positive
- ground and air becomes warmer
- water vapour in the air increases
why during the day is water vapour increased in the air
evaporation is happening
why during the day is the ground and air becoming warmer
the sun is present
non-radiative heat transfer by NIGHT
- Q* is negative
- ground and air become cooler
- water vapour decreases
why is water vapour decreased at night
- there is condensation or sublimation
what does Q* look like in a desert
it is low because of a high albedo
what does temp look like in a desert during the DAY
temp increase during the day is large
why is there a large temp increase during the day in the desert
- there is a low specific heat capacity
- little moisture for evaporation
- low heat conductivity
what does temp look like in a desert at NIGHT
there are large temp decreases at night
what fluxes are high in a desert surface
- L up
- K down
- K up (relatively high)
what flux is low in a desert surface
L down
what does Q* look like in the ocean
it’s HIGH due to the low albedo
what does temp look like in the ocean during the DAY
temp increase during the day is LOW
why is there a low temp increase during the day in an ocean
- water has a high specific heat capacity
- lots of evaporation
what does L up look like in the ocean
it’s LOW
what does temp look like in the ocean at NIGHT
there are SMALL temp decreases at night
why is K up so SMALL in the ocean
because the ocean is transmissive in respect to energy which means light can pass through
what is a large flux in the ocean
K down
what fluxes stay relatively the same in the ocean
L up and L down
what flux is very small in the ocean
K up
what are the 7 elements of climate
- temperature
- precipitation
- wind speed
- wind direction
- relative humidity
- evaporation
- insolation
temp is the measurement of
average kinetic energy
what influences precipitation
temperature
how is air temp measured
by a thermometer is a result of its energy balance
how to avoid major errors in measuring temp
- use shields and shade
- enhance convective exchange with fans
- build very small sensors
precipitation is
moisture that falls from the sky
precipitation can be either
liquid (drizzle or rain) or solid (snow or hail)
wind is the
horizontal movement of air (advection)
wind is the horizontal movement of air due to
the unequal heating of the surface
wind influences
- temperature
- evaporation
- snow distribution
wind travels from ____ pressure to ____ pressure
high to low
the relative humidity is the
ratio of water vapor in the air compared to the max water vapor the air could hold at that temp
relative humidity affects
temperatures and environments
when is relative humidity high
morning because of the water is in a fixed amount of air
when is relative humidity low
during the day as the air is changing shape
what is relative humidity dependent on
the time of day
100% relative humidity is also known as
saturation (can’t hold any more water)
what is the humidex
relates the sensed heat to temp and relative humidity
true or false
there is less discomfort with high humidity
false - more discomfort
as humidity increases
evaporation decreases
true or false
humid air feels hotter than it actually is
true
evaporation can be either ____ or _____
potential or actial
potential evaporation
the ability to evaporate water IF there is water in the environment
evapotranspiration is made up of both
transpiration and evaporation
transpiration
results in a cooling of the surface and occurs during photosynthesis
evaporation is associated with
latent heat
insolation and cloudcover affects
how much direct sunlight is recieved
insolation affects
temp and evaporation
what can affect what types of plants exist in an environment
insolation and cloudiness
insolation and cloudiness is ____ dependent
moisture
the amount of solar radiation in an area is based on
cloud-cover
the 7 elements of climate describe
what a climate is in an area
the 7 influences of climate describe
why we see differing climates in different areas
what are the 7 influences on climate
- latitude
- altitude/elevation
- distribution of land and sea
- distribution of mountain barriers
- ocean currents
- wind patterns
- locations of high and low pressure
latitude affects ____
insolation
what region has very LITTLE seasonality
the tropics
what moderates temperature changes
water bodies
what happens to temp as the latitude increases (away from equator)
there is a larger definition of seasonality
continental
location within the land mass
continental locations have ____ fluxes in temp
large
maritime
located near large bodies of water
maritime locations have ____ fluxes in temp
low - because of their proximity to large bodies of water
what are two examples of areas which have low variability in climate
Andes
Himalayas
range of temp
the mean temp in January and the mean temp in July
what is altitude
hight above a surface
elevation
height above the global sea level
temp _____ at higher elevations
cools
what happens to a rising parcel in the atmosphere
it expands which causes it to consume energy and cool in temp
why is it colder higher up on a mountain
because of the amount of ground in contact with the air
what is an exception to the elevation rule
inversions
_____ is better at distributing heat compared to _____
convection AND conduction
continentality has temps that are
more extreme as the land cools and warms rapidly
Maritimes have temps that are
more moderate because water warms and cools slowly
what causes the ocean to be better at controlling temp than land
- ocean has 4x higher specific heat
- water has mobility and mixes heat while land doesn’t
- water is transparent that allows light to enter the depths
- water has greater evaporation (higher latent heat)
how do major mountain barriers influence temp
by affecting precipitation
rain-shadow effect
a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather.
according to the rain-shadow effect, what will the different sides of the mountain look like
On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of the mountain all that precipitation is blocked.
why do chinooks occur
because moisture is lost as the air climbs up and down the mountains
air _____ as it climbs mountains
cools by 6Degrees Celcius/km
air _____ as it descends mountains
warms by 10 Degrees Celcius/km
true or false
Lethbridge has more sensible heat than Vancouver
true
is climbing dry air saturated
NO
is climbing wet air saturated
YES
the tropics have what prevailing wind pattern
Hadley’s cell
jet streams
fast-moving winds that separate fronts
what separates the tropical air zone from the polar air zone
polar jet stream
ITCZ
the intertropical convergence zone
what is the ITZC
the area near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern hemisphere come together
what can affect K(d)
clouds and shadows as they can block sunlight
what flux represents the GH effect
L(d)
why is it colder at night when its clear
there are less clouds to trap long wave radiation and less radiated back down
why are cloudy nights hotter
there are more clouds to trap longwave radiation and send it back down to the surface
what is the L(u) flux dependent on
surface temp
water or land gets hotter faster
land
why do the tropics not continue to get warmer and warmer
based on wind and ocean currents
