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Definition
| air rising rapidly in a way that causes storms |
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Definition
| if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will RETURN to its original position |
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Definition
| if the parcel is displaced vertically it will REMAIN in its new position |
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Definition
| if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will accelerate away from its new position |
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Term
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Definition
process in which a parcel of air does not mix with its environment or exchange heat energy with its environment
-air parcel will either compress to heat or condense to cool
-expand as they rise, compress as they fall (pressure)
-use lapse rate to predict temperature |
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Term
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Definition
| the rate at which temperature decreases (lapses) with increasing altitude |
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Term
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Definition
-the rate at which an air parcel that is not saturated will cool
10C/km |
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Term
| Adiabatic rate for SATURATED parcels |
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Definition
rate at which a saturated parcel will warm as it falls
-lower atmosphere: 4C/km
-In the middle atmosphere: 2C/km |
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Term
| Moist adiabatic lapse rate |
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Definition
-determined by the combined effects of expansional cooling and latent heat
-lower= 10C/km-4C/km= 6C/km
-Middle: 8C/km
-near tropopause: about 10C/km |
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Definition
| the atmosphere outside the parcel |
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the rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude
-varies from 4C/km-9C/km |
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Term
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Definition
| in the atmosphere, a parcel of air is less dense that its environment if the parcel is warmer than the environment |
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Term
| Determining stability of air parcels |
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Definition
we determine stability by comparing the parcel's temperature after lifting to the temperature of the surrounding environment
-If its warmer, it will continue to rise
-if its cooler, it will sink
both unstable |
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Term
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Definition
| -if the temperature of the air parcel is different than that of the air, it will sink/rise back to its original position |
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Definition
| a parcel will have the same temp as its environment at all levels only if the environmental lapse rate is 10C/km |
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Definition
| the condition required for instability is that the displaced parcel of air be saturated |
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Term
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Definition
the level where saturation first occurs
-seen at cloud base |
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Term
| Lifting condensation level |
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Definition
| the air is lifted to cloud base (where saturation occurs) |
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Term
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Definition
| level at which an air parcel first becomes buoyant (its temperature first exceeds the surrounding environment's temperature) |
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Definition
| what lifts air parcels or causes them to rise in the atmosphere |
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Definition
| the boundary between a cold airmass and warm airmass when the cold air is advancing forward, lifting the warmer airmass |
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Definition
| a circulation that develops along shore lines during daytime in which warm air rises over land and moves shoreward aloft, while cool air offshore descends and moves onshore to replace the warm air |
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Definition
| a snowstorm along the east slope of the rocky mountains caused by air flowing westward across the plains and up the slope of the rockies |
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Term
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Definition
| net inflow of air molecules into a region of the atmosphere with the result of increasing surface pressure. convergence can be caused by changing wind speeds and or changing direction of air flow |
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Term
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Definition
a measure of atmospheric stability, defined as the difference between the temperature of the environment at 500mb and an air parcel lifted from near the surface to 500mb
LI= T(environment)- T(parcel)
-the smaller the value, the warmer the parcel is relative to its environment
-negative LI indicates instability |
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Term
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Definition
| a horizontal or vertical change in pressure divided by the distance over which the change occurs |
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Definition
the force applied to a small parcel of air due to the variation of pressure over a small distance around the parcel
-acts from high pressure (south) towards low pressure (north) perpendicular to isobars, accelerates air parcel northwards |
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Term
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Definition
| attractive force between any two objects. earth's attractive force acting on air parcels has essentially a constant magnitude throughout the atmosphere and is directed toward the center of earth |
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Definition
| drag force acting in a direction opposite the motion of air; always acts to reduce the speed of the flow |
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Definition
| an apparent force associated with the rotation of the Earth. causes air to deflect to the right of the motion in the northern hemisphere |
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| rapid variations of air motion that develop when moving air encounters obstructions associated with ground roughness |
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| turbulence created in the atmosphere by the ascent of buoyant air particles and subsequent mixing of the parcels with the environmental air |
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| the rate of change of wind speed and/or direction with distance or altitude |
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| turbulence created in the atmosphere under conditions where winds increase rapidly with altitude |
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| layer of the atmosphere adjacent to the earth's surface where friction is important. depth can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand meters. also called friction layer |
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Definition
the product of an object's mass, rotational velocity, and radius from the axis about which it is rotating
Ang Momentum= M x V x R |
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| Newton's 2nd Law of Motion |
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Definition
| force exterted on an object equals its mass times its acceleration F= ma |
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Definition
| the balance between the upward pressure gradient force and the downward force of gravity |
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Definition
| the balance between the pressure gradient force and the coriolis force |
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Term
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Definition
the wind that would exist if the pressure gradient and coriolis forces were in balance
-in northern hemisphere, higher pressures are to the right of the geostrophic wind |
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Definition
| band of strong winds that encircle the earth in the mid latitudes |
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| a large swirling low pressure system that forms along the jetstream due to imbalances between the coriolis and pressure gradient forces |
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Term
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Definition
net inflow of air molecules into a region of the atmosphere with the result of increasing surface pressure. convergence can be caused by changing wind speeds and or changing direction of air flow
-means increasing surface pressure because the mass/unit area increases with time |
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Term
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Definition
net outflow of air molecules from a region of the atmosphere with the result of decreasing surface pressure
-can be caused by changes in wind speeds and directions |
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Term
| Low pressure center (cyclone) |
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Definition
| a location at which the pressure is less than the pressure at all surrounding points; generally associated with rising air, clouds, and precipitation |
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Term
| High pressure center (anticyclone) |
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Definition
| a location at which the pressure exceeds the pressure at all surrounding points; generally associated with subsiding air and clear skies |
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Definition
| the acceleration toward the center of rotation experienced by a parcel of air in a rotational fluid |
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| the state of curved flow in which the residual between the pressure gradient and coriolis forces exactly balances the centrifugal acceleration experienced by an air parcel |
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Definition
| a curved pattern either in the pressure or height field in which air flows counterclockwise in the N Hemisphere |
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Definition
| a curved pattern either in the pressure or height fields in which air flows clockwise in the n hemi |
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Definition
| the creation of divergence within the jetstream due to the change of flow curvature from cyclonic flow (around trough) to anticyclonic flow (around a ridge) |
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| a region of exceptionally strong winds within the jetstream. convergence and divergence associated with jetstreaks directly influence the development of cyclones |
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Definition
the side of a jetstreak in which the height gradient is increasing along the flow direction and the air is accelerating
-air parcels displaced NORTHWARD in jetstream |
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Definition
the side of a jetstreak in which the height gradient is decreasing along the flow direction and air is deccelerating
-air parcels displaced SOUTHWARD in jetstream |
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Term
| Curvature vs. Jetstreak (divergence and convergence) |
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Definition
-South of the jetstream axis, divergence and convergence of jetstream and curvature counteract each other
-north of the jetstream axis, the effects reinforce each other (same) |
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Term
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Definition
-forces are imbalanced unlike geostrophic balance
-friction disrupts balance by reducing wind speed- therefore coriolis force is reduced
-since PGF is unchanged, it is the dominant force |
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Term
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Definition
friction always acts to deflect wind direction to the left of the geostrophic wind direction, toward the low pressure side of isobars
-friction always acts to turn the wind such that the flow has a component from higher to lower pressure |
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Term
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Definition
| a process in which an air parcel mixes with its environment and or exchanges heat with its environment |
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Term
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Definition
| a process that involves forces |
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Term
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Definition
| a process involving heating or cooling of the atmosphere |
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Term
| Divergence (temp and pressure) |
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Definition
-surface pressure decreases over time
-low pressure system will develop
-changes in the curvature in the flow, jetstreaks, and heating of the atmospheric column |
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Term
| Convergence (temp and pressure) |
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Definition
high pressure systems are enhanced by convergence associated with the jetstream as these cool airmasses move out of their source regions
-air flows clockwise aroudn the high, outward and away due to friction |
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Term
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Definition
a large body of air with relatively uniform thermal and moisture characteristics
-typically several hundred thousand km in area
-forms over relatively flat regions with homogenous surface characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
an airmass characterized by bitter cold temperatures
-considered arctic if it forms over the Arctic Ocean |
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Definition
| a large mass of cold, dry air that decelops over the northern part of the North American continent |
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Definition
| an airmass that originates in tropical regions and is characterized by very warm to hot temperatures |
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| an airmass that has formed over the oceans and hence is relatively moist |
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Definition
| airmass that forms over land and is characterized by low moisture content |
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Term
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Definition
boundary between airmasses of differing density
-classified on the basis of the thermal and moisture characteristics of the airmasses, the direction of movement of the airmasses, and whether teh boundary between the airmasses in in contact with the ground or can only be found aloft |
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Term
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Definition
the boundary between a cold airmass and a warm airmass when the cold air is advancing forward, lifting the warmer airmass
-frontal boundary is typicall shaped like a dome
-if the wind on the cold side blows towards the front, its a cold front
-if warm air is unstable = thunderstorms |
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Definition
| a cold front that marks the boundary of an extremely cold airmass in wintertime |
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Term
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Definition
a boundary between airmasses where the cold airmass is retreating and the warm air is advancing at the surface
-if warm air is conditionally unstable, thunderstorms will form
-if the wind on the cold side blows away from the front its a warm front |
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Term
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Definition
a boundary between airmasses where the colder airmass is neither advancing nor retreating at the surface
-unstable air can cause a line of thunderstorms
-if the wind on the cold side blows along the front, its stationary |
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Term
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Definition
the airmass boundary that occurs when the air behind a cold front comes in direct contace with the cool air north or east of a warm front.
-develops in the latter stages of an extraropical cyclone's life cycle when the cold front catches up to the warm front |
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Term
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Definition
| an occluded front in which air behind the cold front is more dense (colder) than the air behind the warm front |
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Definition
| an occluded front in which air behind the cold front is less dense (warmer) than the air behind the warm front |
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Definition
| a front characterized by a sharp moisture contrast, but little temperature change. often found in the southern plains |
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| a boundary between 2 airmasses that is present in the middle or upper-troposphere but does not extend to the earth's surface |
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