weather and climate

water on earth

70%

reflection

A portion of insolation bounces directly back into space without being absorbed

convergence lifting

Air flowing into same low-pressure area converges and displace air upward

Hadley cell

Air is heated through high solar angles and constant day length → Ascending surface air forms the equatorial low, or intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

Coriolis force always

Always deflects to right in theNorthern Hemisphere

why is the sky blue at noon and red/orange at dusk and dawn?

At noon, blue light (shorter wavelengths) most readilyscattered That's what you see!!!!• At low sun angles, blue light is so scattered that it is eventually absorbed and only scattering of red light is visible

Ferrel Cell

Cell that moves air form 30 degrees to 60 degrees latitude

Coriolis force

Coriolis deflects (turns)anything that flies or flows across Earth's surface( wind, airplanes, etc.)

The ____ force is an apparent force created by Earth's rotation.

Coriolis effect

This apparent force deflects surface and upper-level winds in the northern and southern hemisphere

Coriolis force/effect

Lapse rate used to describe the warming and cooling of unsaturated parcel of air

DAR

nimbostratus clouds

Dark stratus clouds that usually produce light to heavy, continuous rain.

Rossby waves

Disturbances with waving undulations that bring cold airs outh and warm air north

transmission

Energy that passes through the atmosphere without interacting with the gas or other particles in. the atmosphere

pressure gradient force

High- and low-pressure areas exist because Earth's surface is unequally heated

advection

Horizontal dominant movement (wind)

The acronym used to describe the converging low pressure system that produces precipitation within the equatorial zone of earth

ITCZ cell (intertropical convergence zone)

Acronym used to describe the altitude at which the air parcel becomes saturated-

LCL (lifting condensation level)

isobar

Line of constant pressure value (equal)on weather maps

radiometer

Measures the flux of radiation over aunit area of the surface

jet stream

Most prominent movement in the upper-level westerly wind flows

Polar cell

Polar cell lies poleward of each Ferrel Cell, Circulate air between the polar highs and the sub polar lows

conduction

Process by which energy is transferred through a substance or between objects in direct contact

radiation

Process by which wave energy travels through the vacuum of space or through a physical medium such as air or water

process by which light bounces off an obstacle in many directions

Rayleigh scattering

radiation fog

Results when the ground radiates heat away at night, cooling the air above it to the dew point. Does not happen over water.

ELR

The actuallapse rate at a particular place and time

humidity

The amount of water vapor in the air

absorption

The assimilation of radiation by molecules of matter and its conversion from one form of energy to another

sensible heat

The back-and-forth transfer of energy between air and surface

latent heat

The energy stored in water vapor as it evaporates

frontal lifting

The lifting of air resulting when cold air acts as a barrier over when warmer, light air rises

scattering

The process by which light bounces off (not absorbed )an obstacle in many directions

MAR

The rate of adiabatic warming and cooling of saturated air

DAR

The rate of adiabatic warming and cooling of unsaturated air

convection

The transfer of heat through movement of mass within a fluid

adiabatic

Warming and cooling rates for a parcel of expanding/compressing air (cool by expansion, warm by compression)

convective lifting

When air passes over a warmer surface (air masses, urban heat island, low albedo), the heating causes air to lift

fog

a cloud with its base at or very near the ground

cumulus loads

a floating or puffy cotton appearance, has dome or tower shaped structure

stratus cloud

a uniform gray cloud base, often mistaken for fog

Water molecules join to other objects through

adhesion

meteorologists assume an air parcel expands (cooling) and compressing (heating) by a ______________ process

adiabatic

Time of day when temp is normally at its HIGHEST temperature-

afternoon (1-4)

a middle level cloud commonly referred to as a "watery sun"

altostratus

A high level cloud described by its long streamers and rails appearance

cirrus clouds

The winds around a surface HIGH pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere blow with a ____ rotation and a(an) ____ spiral.

clockwise; outward

Water molecules join to other water molecules through

cohesion

the relatively of an object or type of surface influence by its

color, light color= high albedo, darker color= low albedo

__________ lifting occurs when air flows (merges) into the same low-pressure area at which the air get displaces or ascends upward into the atmosphere.

convergence

A geostrophic wind is a wind that results from a balance between the ____ force and the ____ force in the UPPER atmosphere of Earth.

coriolis; pressure gradient

The orientation or rotation that air flows around a low pressure system in the northern hemisphere

counterclockwise

Pushing down on the sealed glass container causes the volume to ____ and the pressure to ______.

decrease; increase

wind vane

determines wind direction

this is the prevailing wind direction that originates from polar high pressure center

easterlies (east to west)

During the process of adiabatic cooling, the temperature decreases with elevation because the air has ___________.

expanded to a larger volume

A thunderstorm is a wind system that experiences a "reversal" of direction due to seasonal thermal differences between landmasses and large water bodies.

false

frontal fog

forms when warm air is lifted over colder air

evaporation (stream fog)

forms when water vapor evaporates from a warm body of water and condenses in the cool air above

A fog described when warm air is lifted over colder air

frontal fog

Charles' Law

gas changes volume if temp changes

this effect influences or helps regulate the global average temperature of earth

greenhouse

Horizontal pressure variations cause air to move from areas of _____ pressure to areas of ____ pressure.

high, low

surface tension and capillary occurs with because of

hydrogen bonding

Adding more water vapor without changing its temp will cause the relative humidity to

increase

relative humidity

is the ratio of the amount of water vapor that is in the air compared to the maximum water vapor possible in the air at a given temperature

The moist adiabatic lapse rate (MAR) is __________ than the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DAR) because __________.

less, condensation heats the air

barometer

measures air pressure

anemometer

measures wind speed

At the surface, prevailing westerly winds are most often observed in the ________.

mid-latitudes

lowest sensible heat is

moist and vegetation surfaces

An equation that describes the balance between the inputs and outputs of short and longwave energy of earth

net radiation balance

orographic lifting

physical barrier(mountain) forces air upward

Boyle's Law

pressure changes if the volume changes

These THREE variables influence the speed of the direction of how surface winds travel across the earth

pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, and frictional force

Isobars CLOSER together = wind blows FASTER=

pressure gradient is stronger

Isobars FARTHER apart = LITTLE or NO wind=

pressure gradient is weaker

Breeze that forms when the land becomes WARMER than the ocean

sea breeze (ocean)

Tendency of an air parcel to remain in place or to move vertically

stability

The general term that refers to the tendency of a parcel of air to either remain in place or change from its initial position is called _

stability

highest sensible heat

subtropics desert

altocummulus cloud

tend to form in large patches composed of rounded masses of rolls

refraction

the bending of light as it passes through one medium to another

advection fog

the horizontal movement of air, warm wet layer and overlooks the ocean

Hydrogen bonding results from the fact that _____________

the hydrogen end of a water molecule is positively charged and the oxygen end is negatively charged

albedo

the relative quality of a surface

Winds that blow predominantly from the northeast and the southeast are called the "________" winds.

trade

In the field of meteorology, winds are usually named for the direction from which they blow from. (e.g., For a northerly wind, air blows from the north toward the south)

true

a fog described by humid air being pushed along hills and mountains and cools to its dew point

upslope

what is a cloud?

visible collective of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air

warm or cold air? which has a higher saturation vapor pressure value

warm air

Highest rate of evaporation appears where on earth?

warm subtropical waters

The wetter, intercepting slope (left side) of a mountain is termed the __________ slope, whereas the drier, downwind slope (right side) is termed the __________ slope.

windward, leeward