Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| lines of equal air temperature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| lines of equal rainfall amount |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| lines of equal pressure change over a given time period |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| lines of equal dew point temperature change |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| lines of equal wind speed |
|
|
Term
| standard pressure at sea level |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| international standard of height where temperature is measured |
|
Definition
| 5 ft above the ground, in the shade |
|
|
Term
| attributes of upper air maps |
|
Definition
| as you go up in elevation, less turbulence with earth's atmosphere |
|
|
Term
| attributes of surface maps |
|
Definition
| fronts are present as well as isobar analysis |
|
|
Term
| surface map station model |
|
Definition
| http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~hopkins/aos100/stamod2.gif |
|
|
Term
| upper air map surface model |
|
Definition
| http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS7KVcPxEsq8Kw6VLmz7-pZs6AY4_ppXDmqKUmvzt-sOzbo-Z5AJA |
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1593 |
|
Definition
| thermometer invented (Galileo) |
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1843 |
|
Definition
| telegraph invented (communication) |
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1920 |
|
Definition
| air mass theory (fronts) *Norwegians proposed frontal theories* |
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1940's |
|
Definition
| WWII helped us understand atmosphere as multi-dimensional |
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1950's |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1957 |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| important occurrence 1960 |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| 7 Causes of Weather (Gedzelman) |
|
Definition
1. sun's heating varies over earth
2. difference in air temps. over earth causes wind
3. rotation of earth destroys simple wind patterns
4. precipitation is generally caused by cooling the air
5. pressure in atmosphere ALWAYS decreases with increasing height
6. process of decreasing air pressure causes temps. to drop; process of increasing air pressure causes temps. to rise
7. clouds/precipitation caused by rising air (lows); clear skies are caused by sinking air (highs) |
|
|
Term
| composition of atmosphere |
|
Definition
PERMANENT GASES (98%): Nitrogen-78.08%, Oxygen-20.95%, Argon, Neon
VARIABLE GASES (2%): water vapor-most variable gas in atmosphere, carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases |
|
|
Term
| proposed atmospheric origins |
|
Definition
| particles from solar winds cooled, outgassing formed clouds that rained, oceans were created and radiation & photosynthesis created oxygen for atmosphere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| angle of sun above horizon; the higher the angle, the more "atmospheres" sun rays must traverse (with 90 degrees overhead having the least amount of atmospheres |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
21 March - vernal equinox (sun directly over equator)
21 June - summer solstice (sun directly over tropics)
21 Sept - autumnal equinox
21 Dec - winter solstice
*tropic of cancer @ 23.5 degrees N latitude
tropic of capricorn @ 23.5 degrees S latitude |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| boundary separating light from dark part of planet |
|
|
Term
| heat budget/heat transfer |
|
Definition
what goes out can't exceed what comes in
51% absorbed by earth
20% reflected by clouds
19% absorbed by clouds/atmosphere
6% scattered from atmosphere
4% reflected by surface |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| transfer of hot to cold; close to ground |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| vertical transfer of heat in a fluid (ex: thunderstorms) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| horizontal transfer of heat (ex: cold front) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| shortwave (solar) & longwave (terrestrial) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
rayleigh scattering: shortwave; mostly gases (cause of blue appearance of sky)
mei scattering: lower levels, pollen, dust, smoke, clouds, fog |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| total fraction of total radiation that's reflected by a given surface |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| transmission of shortwave (solar) radiation by atmosphere coupled with selective absorption of long wave radiation (esp. by CO2 & H2O) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
all radiation received is absorbed; emits all radiation possible (ex: sun and earth)
EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE IS NOT A BLACK BODY OBJECT |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| property of system that enables it to work |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| form of energy transferred between objects by virtue of temperature differences |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| ratio of heat absorbed (or released) by a system compared to corresponding temperature rise or fall |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
heat energy required for change of state
*evaporation is a cooling process
condensation is a warming process |
|
|
Term
| latent heat absorbed during: |
|
Definition
| melting, evaporation/vaporization, sublimation |
|
|
Term
| latent heat released during: |
|
Definition
| condensation, deposition, freezing |
|
|
Term
| proper thermometer placement |
|
Definition
| no direct sunlight at ANY time, white in color, faces north, 5 ft above ground, above a grassy area |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
widely used only in U.S., based upon a "zero point" and uses mercury-in-glass
98.6 = human body temp
212 = water boils |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
used worldwide (except U.S.), decimal scale & "zero point"
37 C = human body
100 C = water boils
*larger than Fahrenheit degree by a factor of 1.8 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
"zero point" is cessation of molecular motion
273 K = freezing point of water
373 K = boiling point of water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
ratio of air's actual water vapor content compared to amount of water vapor required for saturation at a given temperature
- tells us how close we are to saturation
*does NOT tell how much moisture is in the air |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to in order to reach saturation w/ constant air pressure & moisture content
*always less than or equal to air temperature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| largely used to measure humidity today |
|
|
Term
| methods of measuring humidity |
|
Definition
| dew cell, sling psychrometer (dry/wet bulb thermometers), electronic hygrometers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| refers to a state of equilibrium of the atmosphere; to measure, we look at temperature of a parcel of air as it rises/sinks in the atmosphere & compare to temperature of surrounding air |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when a given parcel of air expands/cools or compresses/warms with NO interchange of heat with its outside environment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when a given parcel of air expands/cools or compresses/warms WITH interchange of heat with outside environment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| air cools/heats at a rate of 5.5F/1000ft |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| air cools/heats at a rate of 3.3F/1000ft |
|
|
Term
| primary temperature control |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| heating/cooling degree days |
|
Definition
practical method of evaluating energy demand and consumption
- based on assumption that heating/cooling in buildings is NOT required where the daily mean temperature is 65 F/ 18.3 C |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 2 factors: temperature and humidity, based on evaporative cooling process, temperature and humidity combined feel hotter |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 2 factors taken into account in computation: air temperature and wind speed, clothing and body dependent |
|
|
