Term
| what are the constituents of the dry atmosphere? |
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Definition
1. nitrogen (78%) 2. oxygen (21%) 3. Argon (1%) 4. carbon dioxide (.037%) 5. methane (.00017%) 6. ozone (.000004%) 7. CFCs (.00000002%0 |
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Term
| what percent of the earth's surface is water? |
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Definition
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Term
| where does the ozone occur |
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Definition
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Term
| which gas is most abundant in the stratosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| what level in the atmosphere is warm enough to cook you but cold enough to freeze you? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| when ice changes directly to water vapor |
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Term
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Definition
| atmospheric motions that are predominatly vertical |
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Term
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Definition
| the transfer of heat by molecular activity from one substance to another, or through a substance. always from warmer region to colder region. |
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Term
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Definition
| horizontal transfer of any atmospheric property by the wind |
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Term
| when is the first day of winter for meteorolgy |
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Definition
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Term
| what is not a heat transfer mechanism |
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Definition
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Term
| what factors control the amount of energy absorbed at the earths surface |
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Definition
1. length of day 2. day of year |
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Term
| what factor does not contribute to radiation inversion |
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Definition
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Term
| why should thermometers be read in the shade? |
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Definition
| because we do not want shortwave radiation to hit the bulb |
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Term
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Definition
| the condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and moment |
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Term
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Definition
| the condition of the atmosphere over many years |
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Term
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Definition
| the study of weather variables, the process that causes the weather |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| mechanism that supplies a gas to the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| mechanism that removes a gas from the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| the routes by which a gas enters and leaves the atmosphere |
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Term
| when is carbon dioxide the lowest and highest |
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Definition
| lowest in the fall and highest in the spring because of the life cycles of plants in the northern hemisphere |
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Term
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Definition
evaporation from oceans, lakes and glaciers transpiration (release of water vapor by plants) |
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Term
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Definition
condensation (gas to liquid) precipitation |
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Term
| what are the sources of methane |
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Definition
| decay of organic substances, burning of forests, coal mining, cattle |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| how long will cfcs stay in the atmosphere |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
tiny liquid and solid particles in the air ex. smokes, salt, ash, smog, dust |
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Term
| what are anthropogenic aerosols |
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Definition
| particles generated by human activity |
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Term
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Definition
force exerted on a given area. P=Force/Area measured with a barometer |
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Term
| when does air pressure occur |
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Definition
| when air molecules move and collide with objects |
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Term
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Definition
| the concentration of molecules, or mass per unit volume |
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Term
| what is average sea level pressure |
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Definition
| 29.92 inches of mercury or 1013.25 millibars |
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Term
| what happens to atmospheric pressure when altitude increases |
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Definition
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Term
| what are the atmospheric layers from least altitude to greatest |
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Definition
1. troposphere 2. stratosphere 3. mesophere 4. thermosphere 5. exosphere |
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Term
| what does temp do in the troposhpere |
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Definition
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Term
| what does the temp do in the stratosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| what does the temp do in the mesosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| what does temp do in the thermosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| where does almost all weather occur |
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Definition
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Term
| how much of the atmospheres mass does the troposphere hold |
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Definition
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Term
| where does the ozone occur |
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Definition
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Term
| why does temp increase with height in the stratosphere |
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Definition
| because the ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet light and warms up |
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Term
| where is ionosphere(charged gas atoms) found |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| a boundary between two regions of air that have different meteorological properties, such as temp and humidity |
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Term
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Definition
| a region where cold air is replacing warmer air |
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Term
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Definition
| a region where warm air is replacing colder air |
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Term
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Definition
| a front that is not moving |
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Term
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Definition
| a front where warm air is forced aloft |
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Term
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Definition
| connect points of constant temp |
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Term
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Definition
| connect constant pressure |
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Term
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Definition
| connect points of equal wind speed |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| region from the base of the thermosphere to the top of the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
| the rate at which an atmosphere variable (usually temp) decreases with height. |
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Term
| how to find sea level from pressure given on a station model |
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Definition
ex. 138 written for pressure add a 9 and 10 to get 9138 and 10138 add decimal point between last 2 digits 913.8 and 1013.8 whichever one is closest to 1000 millibars, so 1013.8 |
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Term
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Definition
convert to military central daylight: add 5 hours to get Z central standart time: add 6 hours to get Z |
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Term
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Definition
| a particular weather hazard may develop in a particular area later on |
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Term
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Definition
| a particular weather hazard is occuring in a particular area |
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Term
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Definition
| a less urgent statement issured to bring to the publics attention a situation that may impact them |
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Term
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Definition
| the amount of time between the issuance of the watch, warning or advisory and the time of occurance |
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Term
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Definition
| the average kinetic energy of a substance |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the total kinetic energy of a substance |
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Term
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Definition
| amount of heat required to increase the temperature of one gram of that substance one degree celsius |
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Term
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Definition
the heat that is either released or absorbed by a unit mass of a substance when it undergoes a change of state, such as during evaporation, condensation, or sublimation. hidden heat. not felt |
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Term
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Definition
| the heat we can feel and measure with a thermometer |
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Term
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Definition
| the distance between two wave crests |
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Term
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Definition
| half the height from the peak of the wave crest to the lowest point of the wave trough |
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Term
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Definition
| emitted by the sun (UV, visible, near-IR) |
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Term
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Definition
| responsible for tanning our skin and can lead to skin cancer |
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Term
| longwave radiation/terrestrial radiation |
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Definition
| emitted by the earth (mostly IR) |
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Term
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Definition
λmax=constant/T T=Temp Constant= 2897 μmK |
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Term
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Definition
E=σT4 E= maximum rate of radiation σ= 5.67x10-8w/m2 xK4(SI) T=Temp in Kelvin |
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Term
| Ideal gas law/Equation of State |
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Definition
P=ρRT p=air pressure ρ=air density R= 287 J/kg•K(SI) |
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Term
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Definition
| percentage of light that is reflected off an object. The higher the albedo the whiter the object. The average albedo for earth is 30% |
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Term
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Definition
| Earth is farthest from the sun (about July 3) |
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Term
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Definition
| earth is closest to the sun (about January 3) |
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Term
| what is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect |
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Definition
| the selective nature of radiation absorption by atmospheric gases |
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Term
| what kind of wave passes through the atmosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| what kind of wave is absorbed by the atmosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| what are the greenhouse gases |
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Definition
| water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and CFCs |
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Term
| what do seasonal variations on the earth result from |
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Definition
1. different amount of solar energy received at a given location 2. different length of day 3. different response of the earth surface to incoming solar energy |
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Term
| what is an energy balance |
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Definition
| the earth-atmosphere system averaged over a year |
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Term
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Definition
| daily. warmest in the afternoon and coolest near dawn |
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Term
| what influences temperature |
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Definition
| latitude, surface type, elevation and aspect, effects of large bodies of water, cloud cover |
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Term
| what is the wavelength of AM radio waves |
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Definition
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Term
| what is the wavelength of television waves |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| wavelength of infrared waves |
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Definition
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Term
| wavelength of visibl light |
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Definition
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Term
| wavelength of ultraviolet waves |
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Definition
10-7 meters shorter than .4 um |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| departures from the normal value (30 yr average). Caused by volcanic eruptions |
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Term
| what causes diurnal temp changes |
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Definition
| difference in insolation vs. ougoing energy losses |
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Term
| why does air temperature increase |
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Definition
| because insolation offsets outgoing emmision, when enegry loss exceeds gain then temp decreases |
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Term
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Definition
| the temp difference between the environment and an air parcel |
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Term
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Definition
| the environment as a lapse rate greater than dry adiabatic. Parcel will always be warmer. Only exist very near the ground (form mirages) |
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Term
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Definition
| the environment has a lapse rate less than moist adiabatic. Parcel will always be colder |
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Term
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Definition
| temperature increases with height. extreme case of stable atmosphere |
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Term
| which layers have in inversions |
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Definition
1. stratosphere 2. thermosphere 3. troposphere whenever warm air is above cold air |
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Term
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Definition
| the increase of temperature with altitude which results from the fast cooling of the ground through IR radiation. occurs of calm, clear nights |
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Term
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Definition
| increased loss of heat by the movement of air. |
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Term
| when do the coldest temperatures occur |
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Definition
| calm, clearn (starry) nights over land with little vegetation during the winter just before sunrise |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| when does water evaporate |
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Definition
| water is warm, pressure is low, wind speed is high, low atmospheric humidity |
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Term
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Definition
| the amount of water in the air |
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Term
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Definition
| the mass of water vapopr in a unit volume of air |
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Term
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Definition
the mass of the water vapor compared to the TOTAL MASS of the air parcel q=SH=mass of water vapor/total mass of air |
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Term
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Definition
| the pressure of each gaeous component on a mixture of gases |
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Term
| Daltons Law of Partial pressure |
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Definition
the total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of the partial pressures of each gas component |
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Term
| saturation vapor pressure |
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Definition
| partial pressure of water when the air is saturated. Maximum water partial pressure before the water molecules condense out |
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Term
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Definition
| unstable condition, occurs in the absence of condensation nuclei |
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Term
| the saturation vapor pressure depends on what? |
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Definition
| the temperature. it increases with temperature |
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Term
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Definition
how close the air is to being saturated. RH=water vapor content/ water vapor capacity RH=100% the air is saturated (clouds, fog, rain) RH<100% the air is not saturated RH>100% the air is supersaturated. Clean air with no condensation nuclei (rare) |
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Term
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Definition
| the temp to which the air has to be cooled with no change in the air pressure or water content for saturation to occur |
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Term
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Definition
| when the temperature is below freezing, saturation of the air results in deposition rather than condensation |
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Term
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Definition
| when the dew point is below freezing |
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Term
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Definition
| composed of tiny cloud droplets and ice crystals |
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Term
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Definition
| the initial formation of a cloud droplet around any type of particle |
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Term
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Definition
| tiny aerosols that assist in the formation in liquid droplets |
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Term
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Definition
| particles that make the deposition process easier |
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Term
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Definition
| dissolved aerosols suppress evaporation in a drop. salt molecules attract water molecules better than other water molecules. |
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Term
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Definition
| the smaller the drop, the larger the curvature. Prevents small droplet from forming unless the RH is much greater than 100% |
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Term
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Definition
| a layer of small nuclei. if a droplet does not grow it leaves haze |
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Term
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Definition
| vapor deposits onto ice nucleus when air is supersaturated |
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Term
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Definition
| suercooled water droplet freezea at about -11 c |
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Term
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Definition
| ice nucleus is immersed in liquid, drop can freeze later |
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Term
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Definition
| drop freezes immediatly upon contact with ice |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| on clear, calm nights the gound cools rapidly by radiation and as the air cools, the relative humidity increases |
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Term
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Definition
| warm air is advected (blown horizontally) over a cold surface, as the air cools the RH increases |
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Term
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Definition
| occur near warm fronts and are also called frontal fogs. water evaporates from rain that falls from warmer air above the ground into cold air near the surface |
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Term
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Definition
| air that reaches a mountain is forced to rise, as air cools RH increases |
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Term
| what mechanisms lift the air |
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Definition
| orographic lifting (topography), frontal lifting, convection, convergence |
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Term
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Definition
| flat, layered, featurless |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Definition
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