Metr ch. 1
Assume surface air pressure is 1000 mb, there is _____ of air between 600 mb and 500 mb pressure levels. what is the air BETWEEN 600 and 500 mb. so that would be 100 mb
10%
Almost 99% of the atmosphere lies within of the earth's surface.
30 km
Much of Tibet lies at altitudes over 18,000 feet where the pressure is about 500 mb. At such altitudes, the Tibetans live above roughly __________
50% of the air molecules in the atmosphere.
In the Earth's lower atmosphere, if measured by the volume of the gasses, there are about ______ of nitrogen and ______ of oxygen.
78%, 21%
The "ozone hole" is observed above ____.
Antarctica
A south wind ____ blows from what direction
Blows from the south
The greenhouse gas that has been increasing in concentration, at least partly due to deforestation is _____.
Carbon dioxide
The greenhouse effect is directly enhanced by ____.
addition of water vapor to the atmosphere
Tiny solid or liquid particles of various compositions that are suspended in the atmosphere are called ____.
aerosols
The earth's atmosphere is divided into four layers according to the vertical change of ______.
air temperature
The vertical profile of ____ is variable in each layer of Earth's atmosphere.
air temperature
Areas of high atmospheric pressure are also known as ____.
anticyclones
The thermosphere is where charged particles from the sun interact with air molecules to produce ____.
auroas
Many common sayings about the weather, such as "red sky at morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight" are rooted in ____.
careful observations
Which process is an example of condensation?
cloud droplet formation
In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow ____ and ____ around an area of surface low pressure.
counterclockwise; inward
In general, in the Earth's troposphere ______. A) the atmospheric density decreases with increasing height. B)the atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing height. C) the air temperature decreases with increasing height. D) all the above
d) all the above
The number of air molecules in a given space or volume is called _____.
density
Middle-latitude cyclonic storm systems are also known as ____.
extratropical cyclones
What pattern is most likely associated with clear skies and fair weather?
high pressure regions
A tropical storm system with winds in excess of 74 mi/hr in the eastern Pacific is called a(n) ____.
hurricane
Earth's first atmosphere (approximately 4.6 billion years ago) was most likely composed of ____.
hydrogen and helium
Average atmospheric CO 2 concentrations have ____ over the past 100 years.
increased
In a temperature inversion, air temperature ____.
increases with increasing height
Water vapor _____.
is invisible
What is a region in the atmosphere where air temperature remains constant with height?
isothermal zone
The rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the _____.
lapse rate
Typically, water vapor occupies about what percentage of the air's volume near the earth's surface?
less than 4%
The term "meteorology" goes back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who, about 340 B.C., wrote a book called ____.
meteorologica
On average, the highest water vapor content in the Earth's atmosphere is found at ____.
near surface of tropics.
The most abundant gas in the stratosphere is _____.
nitrogen (dont let it trip you up) IT WILL ALWAYS BE THE MOST ABUNDANT
Lines of latitude on a map represent the distance ____ from the ____.
north or south; equator
You are facing north and the wind is blowing in your face. This wind would be called a(n) ____.
north wind
The primary source of water vapor and carbon dioxide for Earth's early atmosphere was most likely ____.
outgassing
Extratropical cyclones are found ____.
outside the tropics
Which of the following ingredients are needed for ozone formation in the stratosphere?
oxygen molecules (O 2) and oxygen atoms (O)
Which of the following would remain constant if you traveled up through the troposphere?
oxygen percentage concentration
About 97% of the in the atmosphere is found in the stratosphere where it absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation.
ozone
Which gas in the upper atmosphere shields Earth's surface from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays?
ozone
The amount of force exerted over an area of surface is called _____.
pressure
The letters H and L on a surface weather map refer to regions of high and low ____.
pressure
Which of the following weather elements always decreases as we climb upward in the atmosphere?
pressure
The instrument that measures temperature, pressure, and humidity in the vertical is ______.
radiosonde (forecasting love kdrama)
Clouds often form in ____.
rising air in the center of a low pressure area
The majority of atmospheric ozone (about 97%) is found in the ____.
stratosphere
The word "weather" is defined as____.
the condition of the atmosphere at any particular time and place
In meteorology, the word "weather" means ______.
the instantaneous state of the atmosphere
A towering cloud, or cluster of clouds, accompanied by thunder, lightning, strong gusty winds, and heavy rain is called a(n) ____.
thunderstorm
Jet streams are usually found within the ____.
tropopause
All of the weather we are familiar with on Earth occurs in the ____.
troposphere
On average, air temperature decreases with height at a rate of 6.5 °C/km in ______.
troposphere
The flat top of a thunderstorm about 30,000 or 10 km high would mark the top of the _____. (think about it, what layer does weather occur?)
troposphere
The only substance found naturally in the lower atmosphere that can exist as a solid, a liquid, and a gas is ____.
water
The most abundant gas emitted from volcanoes is _____.
water vapor
Which of the following is considered a variable gas in the earth's atmosphere?
water vapor
The gas that shows the most variation in concentration from place to place and from time to time in the lower atmosphere is _____.
water vapor (H 2O)
What is the weather element that involves the horizontal movement of air?
wind