WC CH 4
is a measure of specific humidity
10 g/kg
given the following relative humidities of different air masses which has to cool the least in order to reach its dew point
85% (this was the highest option)
all cumulus clouds are puffy in appearance and indicate unstable air conditions: _____ are found at mid-level in the troposphere, ____ are higher and are both puffy and wispy, and ____ are lower and occur in discrete layers
Alto - cirro - strato - CUMULUS
Match the cloud forms to their appropriate descriptions
Cumuliform: tall and wide; lumpy. Stratiform: One or more layers. Cirriform: Feathery; wispy
How does the urbanization affect local atmospheric stability? Choose all that apply
Dark-colored materials decreased albedo AND light colored materials increase albedo
Radiation
Fog forms as a quick drop in surface temperatures causes near-surface air temperatures to drop to the dew point and become saturated
Describes vapor pressure
Is symbolized by e Increases with increasing number of water molecules. Is represented in millibars
Stratocumulus
Low clouds in discrete layers composed of tiny liquid water drops
Altocumulus
Mid-level clouds that contain both liquid water and ice particles
stable air
Rising air is cooler than the surrounding environment and has a tendency to sink.
Conditionally unstable air
Rising air will either continue to rise if it is saturated or cease rising if it is unsaturated
Unstable air
Rising air, whether saturated or unsaturated, is warmer than the surrounding air continues to rise
Which of the following describe the effects of deforestation on local atmospheric stability?
Shading is reduced, and more insulation is used to heat the ground. Less transpiration occurs, which results in less water (and heat) added to the atmosphere
Which area of the world shows a drastic change in seasonal humidity due to a significant change in wind direction that brings warm, moist air from the ocean resulting in summer monsoon conditions?
Southeastern Asia
The ____ hemisphere has high humidity in January and low humidity in July, whereas the ____ hemisphere has low humidity in January and high humidity in July
Southern and Northern
T/F Fog is just a low-level cloud
TRUE
Cumulonimbus
Tall clouds composed of liquid neat their base and ice near their top
describes relative humidity
The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere compared to the water vapor-capacity
How does a warm ocean surface current influence the overlying atmosphere?
These conditions create a steep environmental lapse rate. AND Warm air created by the water will rise adiabatically if warmer than the surrounding air and cause an unstable atmosphere, forming clouds and rain.
match region to seasonal pattern of specific humidity
Tropics: Highest humidity year-round. Poles: Lowest humidity year-round. Southern Hemisphere: High humidity in January, low humidity in July. Northern Hemisphere: Low humidity in January, high humidity in July
T/F Urbanization can either increase or decrease the albedo of an area
True
What happens to a parcel of saturated air as it rises in the atmosphere?
Water vapor condenses, freezes, or is deposited. It releases heat It cools
urbanization
What is the name of the process through which natural land cover is replaced by asphalt, concrete, and building's?
What is the oropgraphic effect?
When surface area encounters a mountain and flows upward
Why does dew typically form in the evening?
air cools in the evening
Forced Convection
air rising due to external factors
what is the primary difference between adiabatic and diabatic parcel of air?
an adiabatic parcel does not exchange energy with its surroundings, whereas a diabatic parcel does
The hydrogen atoms in a water molecule are arranged
asymmetrically
wind
brings moist or dry air into an area
water-vapor _____ is the maximum amount of water air can hold
capacity
Dew forms when air becomes ____ and can no longer hold the same amount of water vapor as it did previously
colder
proximity to big water
contributes abundant moisture to the air
topography
controls temperatures and influences air movement
saturated air ____ as it rises in the atmosphere. Some of the water vapor changes state, condenses or freezes and releases ____ to the surrounding environment
cools and heat
the arrival the arrival of a front is often accompanied by precipitation because the difference in, ________, caused by differences in temperature, between the two air masses causes the warmer one to rise, which then cools adiabatically and quickly reaches the dew point.
density
gas to solid
deposition
Water vapor begins to condense at a temperature called the ____ point when a given volume of air becomes saturated
dew
A rising parcel of air that exchanges energy with its surroundings is ________, whereas a parcel of air that does not exchange energy with its surroundings is ________.
diabatic; adiabatic
Why does southeastern Asia experience such a dramatic change in seasonal humidity?
during the summer, the winds switch direction and bring warm, moist air from the ocean
Fog that forms when cold air encounters a warm lake does so due to _______
evaporatoin
Liquid water molecules have more energy, in general, than molecules of water vapor.
false
T/F dew-point temperatures are highest in the winter in the US
false
upslope
fog forms as air is forced uphill due to wind forming a cloud along the surface
Advection
fog forms from the lateral movement of warm air over a cold surface; the warm air cools to the dew point
Free convection results from air rising due to unstable conditions, whereas ____ convection is air rising due to external factors
forced
Clouds are classified based on ____ and ____ and whether or not they are associated with precipitation
form and altitude
unstable air rises due to the ____ convection whereas air forced to move because of external factors does so due to forced convection
free
liquid to solid
freezing
moving air masses may encounter surface irregularities, causing the front of the mass to slow down due to _______; the back of the mass starts to pile up, resulting in the air rising
friction
Absolute humidity is a measure of how much water vapor is in a given volume of air and is measured in _____ per cubic meter
grams
Air mass 2 - relative humidity 60%
has to cool a moderate amount in order to reach its dew point
Air mass 3 - relative humidity 90%
has to cool the least in order to reach its dew point.
Air mass 1 - relative humidity 15%
has to cool the most in order to reach its dew point
Ice cover and cold temperatures in _____ latitudes result in low specific humidities at the poles
high
Water molecules in the air tend to have ____ energy levels compared to liquid water molecules.
higher
Water has a relatively high specific heat capacity, which means that it ____
holds heat well
the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is called ____
humidity
The two ____ atoms in a water molecule are arranged asymmetrically
hydrogen
a parcel of air that does not gain or lose energy to its surroundings will _____ in volume and ____ in temp as it rises in the atmosphere
increase or expand AND decrease or drop
Climate
is a reflection of latitude and influences temperature
describes lapse rate
is measured in degrees C/km AND is the temp change experienced by a moving parcel of air for a given change in elevation
what happens to a rising parcel of air
its temperature decreases AND its volume increases
measured in units of degrees per vertical distance, the ____ rate is the measure of how much a rising parcel of air cools for a given rise in elevation
lapse
Global patterns of specific humidity vary primarily due to ___
latitude
Deforestation exposes more soil to incoming solar radiation, which results in more heating of the ground, less transpiration, and ___ energy stored as latent heat in the local atmosphere
less
low temperatures in the northern US during the winter result in low humidity and very ____ dew-point temperatures
low
the general trend of dew-point temperatures in the US during the winter is ___ dew points in the north that get ___ to the south
low and higher
Cirrocumulus
lumpy, wispy clouds high in the atmosphere composed almost entirely of ice
solid to liquid
melting
Low-level winds may encounter a mountain, causing them to slow down, _________, and rise.
pile up
affect measurements of specific humidity
precipitation AND evaporation
____ humidity is usually represented by a percentage and is the ratio of how much water vapor is in the air relative to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can hold
relative
free convections
results from air rising due to unstable conditions
Wind may ______ due to friction with land surface, causing air behind it to pile up and rise.
slow down
water exists in which forms
solid liquid gas
The mass of water vapor in a body of air compared to the total mass of that air is ____ humidity
specific
the mass of water vapor in a body of air compared to the total mass of that air is _____ humidity
specific
solid to gas
sublimation
Which describe the movement of water molecules between a solid and a vapor
sublimation and Deposition
In which season are dew-points the highest in the US
summer
Humidity is the term used to describe
the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
environmental lapse rate
the temp change with height undergone by air surrounding an adiabatically moving air parcel
What is dew point
the temperature at which a volume of air becomes saturated with water vapor
humidity
the typical moisture condition of an area
saturated air conditions
the weather is likely cloudy and foggy AND the air contains as much water vapor as it is able to hold
The thermal qualities of water and land are often compared. Water has a high specific heat capacity and more ____ inertia than land does, which means that it can hold more heat and it's temperature is not readily changed by outside influences such as the Sun
thermal
Absolute humidity changes as air expands or contracts in the atmosphere
true
primary factor controlling global patterns of specific humidity is latitude
true
_____ air continues to rise due to its warmth, unconditionally unstable air may either rise or sink, depending on saturation level, and ____ rising air is likely to sink
unstable and stable
The amount of atmospheric pressure contributed by the weight of water vapor in the atmosphere is known as ______ pressure
vapor
a warm ocean current that travels to higher latitudes will likely ____ the overlying air; causing it to ____ create clouds and precipitation
warm - rise
explain the high specific humidity of the atmosphere in the tropics
warm air AND high amount of evaporation
Air on different sides of a mountain may _____ during the day, causing it to rise and converge at the summit.
warm up
when two masses of different temperatures meet, the ____ mass is forced upward.
warmer and less dense
specific humidity will only change if ______ ______ is added or subtracted through the processes of evaporation or condensation.
water vapor
the maximum amount of water vapor that air can hold is called
water-vapor capacity
describes unsaturated air conditions
weather if likely fair AND the air contains less water vapor than it is able to hold
what factors are used to classify clouds?
what altitude they exist at - whether they are related to precipitation - what their form is
Advection Fog
where cold ocean currents extend into warm coastal areas
When two air masses collide, air is forced upward ___
whether it is stable or unstable