Weather and climate exam 2
Latent Heat
- heat absorbed in evaporation - breaks molecular bonds of liquid - cannot be felt or measured - released when condensation occurs.
W. impervious surfaces
- i mainly artificial structures—such as pavements that are covered by impenetrable materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick, stone—and rooftops. Soils compacted by urban development are also highly impervious -more example roofs, decks, patios, and paved, gravel, or crushed stone driveways, parking areas, and walkways
Factors that moderate temperatures at maritime locations
- influence by a large body of water 1. surrounded by water- high specific heat S.H= amount of heat per unit mass require to raises temp by 1 c 2. transparency- water below surface 3. ocean current - mix heat allow more
Temperature unit with an absolute 0
- its called Kelvin - scientific uses - C + 273.5 - example: 20c + 273.5= 293.5 K
frictional force
- near surface, friction (f) work against preassure gradient force (pgf), so resulting wind direction is between preassure gradient force and coriolis force (cf)
Air Pressure
- weight of air exerting pressure on surface of earth - air pressure decreases with altitude - warm air is lighter than cool air, so i tends to rise - cool air sinks lower density, lower pressure - sky higher density, higher pressure - ground
coriolis force
-due to the rotation of the earth - pulls wind to right in northen hemisphere - pulls wind to left in southern hemisphere - strongest at poles - none at at equator
Why is the sky blue?
Due to Rayleigh scattering
Sweat evaporates more readily when humidity is low
True
What layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone layer?
stratosphere
Y. Sprawl
- "Sprawl is defined as the process in which the spread of development across the landscape far outpaces population growth. - Urban sprawl or suburban sprawl mainly refers to the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning.
Heat Index
- How warm air feels to human in hot, humid environment - uses air temperatures and humidity to determine the temperature the body feels on very hot days. the heat index temperature assumes shady conditions. - higher humidity -> higher heat index
How does sweating cool the body?
- Sweat is water based. Now, to evaporate water—you'll need heat. When your body produces too much heat it will start releasing the sweat to absorb that heat. - In order for water to evaporate from the surface of the body, it must draw thermal energy from somewhere. It draws thermal energy from the surface of the skin, thus cooling the body.
Troposphere (temperature trend)
- The lowest layer of atmosphere, to ~ 12 km - thicker over equator - most organism and weather here - cools with rising altitude at environmental lapse rates, 3.5f/1000 ft avg - upper limit- troposphere- cooling stops - environmental lapse rate, temps vs altitude - ELR= 3.5 f/1000 ft - Colder
Layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs
- Troposphere - altitude 80 - 480 km - warms dramatically with rising altidude, up to 1200 c in upper reaches - few oxygen molecules to transfer heat - radio waves bounce off this layer from surface
X. Pervious Surfaces
- a surface that allows water to percolate through. example grassy land, anything that water can absorbs
BB. Urban Heat Islands and factors that create them
- darker surface- less reflection - less forest cover - less vegatation -> evapotranportation - less water on surface take away natural soils - heat from human energy use - plane, cars, fabrites - wind blocked - low albedo surface - building block the cooling wind
Maritime vs. continental effects
-The difference between maritime and continental climate is that there is less of a temperature variation in a maritime climate, while in a continental climate the climate does fluctuate, such that summers can be hot and winters very cold. In a maritime climate, summers can be cool, and the winters are not very cold.. - The reason for this is that maritime climates are located near the coast of water sources like the sea. Water bodies tend to retain their heat during winter, which causes temperature near coastal areas to be warmer in winter. Continental climate are found away from bodies of water, so temperature extremes between the summer and winter seasons are more noticeable. - Another difference in these two climate types is in the amount of precipitation. In maritime climates, precipitation amounts are greater than in continental climates because there is more moisture due to its location near a body of water.
doldrums
-a frequently windless area near the Equator -a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage, which refers to those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm
About what percent of sunlight (on average) makes it directly to the surface of the earth?
28
Q. Approximate Percent direct radiation at surface
28 %
The environmental lapse rate is _______degrees F per 1000 ft.
3.5
A. Convert from degrees C to degrees F.
40 c to F (1.8 x 40) + 32= 104 f
If it is 50°F at the surface (assume height=0ft), estimate the temperature at 1400 ft (assume average conditions).
45.1 deg. F How to solve: top height = 1400 ft bottom height =0 ft 1400-0=1400 ft 1400 ft X (3.5F/1000ft)= 4.9 deg. F Starting temp=50 deg F 50-4.9=Temperature at 1400 ft
If it is 20 degrees F at the surface, estimate the temperature at 3000 ft elevation. -use the ELR to solve this problem
9.5 deg. F
B. Convert from degrees F to degrees C.
90 f to c (90 - 32) / 1.8 = 32.22
D. How are winds named?
A wind is always named according to the direction from which it blows. For example, a wind blowing from west to east is a west wind.
Albedo
Ability of a surface to reflect light the more light the highest albedo the more dark the lowest albedo
The movement of air horizontally is known as
Advection
E. How does atmospheric pressure change with height? Where does it change the fastest?
At an elevation of 10 km (6 miles or about 30,000 feet), roughly the height of Mt. Everest, pressure drops to 265 millibars. That's less than 30% of the pressure at sea level! Both atmospheric pressure and the density of air decrease with altitude. above thermosphere
P. difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees
Celsius - Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius, and boils at 100 degrees C -Celsius has 100 degrees between the freezing and boiling point -One degree Celsius is 1.8 times larger than one degree Fahrenheit. - to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply the Celsius temperature by 1.8 or 9/5, then add 32. - F = (1.8 x C) + 32 Fahrenheit -in Fahrenheit, water freezes at 32 degrees F and boils at 212 degrees F. -whereas Fahrenheit has 180 degrees between these two points - Fahrenheit temperature, first subtract 32, then divide the result by 1.8 or 9/5 -C = (F - 32)/1.8
Wind is stronger where isobars are
Closer together
What type of uplift are urban heat island areas most likely to generate?
Convective
The change of liquid water to water vapor by absorption of heat is _______.
Evaporation
Copper has a higher specific heat than water.
False
The troposphere is thicker around the poles than at the equator.
False
Which of the following is NOT a contributor to urban heat island development?
High Albedo
Anticyclones (surface pressure)
High preasure - also called anti cyclones - circulating body of air - descending air - clockwise circulation in northern hemisphere
What can be done to reduce the heat island effect (see Heat Island Mitigation strategies)?
Increasing tree and vegetative cover creating green roofs (also called "rooftop gardens" or "eco-roofs") installing cool—mainly reflective—roofs using cool pavements
ITCZ
Intertropical Convergence zone. Belt of low pressure around the equator. formed by the vertical ascent of warm, moist air from the latitudes north and south of the equator. Lots of precipitation. - zone of low pressure around the equator - warmed by direct sunlight - converging surface air called the trade wire - from NE and SE trades wind from tropical Esterline
U. isobars
Line of equal air pressure on a map
______ pressure systems are associated with cloudy conditions, and ______ pressure systems are associated with fair weather.
Low, High
In what layer of the atmosphere do you find the ozone layer?
Stratosphere
Layer of the atmosphere with ozone layer
Stratosphere - Immediately above the troposphere - altitude ~ 12km- ~50km - contains ozone layer - filters UV radiation - warms with rising altitude due to uv absorption - upper limit - stratosphere, where warming stops
Evaporation
The process through which water change to liquid to vapor phase
Specific heat of water
The specific heat of water is 1 calorie/gram °C = 4.186 joule/gram °C which is higher than any other common substance. As a result, water plays a very important role in temperature regulation.
What mitigation strategy is being used in Columbus?
Trees and Vegetation
In what layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur?
Troposphere
In the Northern Hemisphere, low pressure systems rotate counterclockwise?
True
Temperature increases with height in the stratosphere.
True
Temperatures change more rapidly in continental locations that maritime ones.
True
global circulation models
Used to predict atmospheric changes on a global scale.
Westerlies
Winds that blow from west to east
T. Convection
a circular cell of moving matter that contain warm material moving up and cooler matter moving down
convergence
a location where airflows or ocean currents meet, characteristically marked by upwelling (of air) or downwelling
Isobars on a surface weather map that are far apart indicate
areas of light winds
In a low pressure system in the Southern hemisphere, the surface flow of air ________ in a ____ direction
converges; clockwise
Daily air temperature patterns vs. insolation patterns
daily temp - lowest temp at 6 am, highest temp at around 4 insolation temp pattern - u curve
Convective Loops
develop over tropic and mid latidute
F. What are some differences between Tornado Alley and Dixie that may contribute to unique risks for
dixie alley have greatest risk because -in high population -mostly during night -more moisture bc near ocean - more tree or hills tornado alley less risk because -mostly in less population - not much moisture - in dessert -not much treee
C. Use the average environmental lapse rate to determine temperature changes with altitude near the surface.
elr= 3.5f/1000f if its is 20 f at the surface, appt what is the temp at 4000 ft in elevation? (3.5f/1000f) x 4000 = 14 f 20f - 14f = 6f
R. Radiation
energy that is transmitted in the form of rays or waves
Geostrophic flow occurs when the pgf and Coriolis are not in balance.
false
Latent heat can be measured with a thermometer.
false
Temperature increases with elevation in the troposphere.
false
Sensible Heat
heat that can be felt and measured with a thermometer
pressure gradient force
high pressure to low pressure, perpendicular to isobars
The wind chill index and heat index are measures of
human comfort
Average Environmental lapse rate (3.5 degrees F/1000 ft)
if it is 20 degree F at the surface, Approximately what temp at 4000 feet in elevation? 3.5/1000 x 4000 = 14 F 20 F- 14 F = 6 F
On an idealized day, when does the high temperature occur?
in the afternoon
Wind Chill Index
is a measure of how cold it feels when exposed to cold temperature and wind. the windchill temperature is also a measure of how quickly someone may get frostbite- based on air temp, windspeed, etc. - higher wind speed -> lower windchill
Z. Evapotranspiration
is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's land and ocean surface to the atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbodies
polar jet stream
jet stream that can bring down cold weather conditions from the north
Tradewinds
located 30^o to the equator, blow east to west.
Cyclones (circulation)
lower preasure system - also called cyclones - circulating body of air - rising air - counterclockwise circulation in northern hemisphere
barometer
measure air pressure in millibars
Air Pressure changes rapidly
near the Earth's surface
The gradient pressure force pushes air
perpendicular, straight across the isobars
Which surface will likely have the highest albedo?
sidewalk
Coriolis force (where is it strongest/weakest)
strongest - at the poles weaknest- equator
Temporal lag between insolation peak and high temperature
temperature lag is when change in temperature lags change in radiation -Diurnal temperature variation: peak daily temperature typically occurs after noon - seasonal lag: peak annual temperature typically occurs after the summer solstice
Condensation
the process through which water change from the vapor to liquid phase
Which of the following is a direct measure of sensible heat?
the temperature as measured by a thermometer
S. Conduction
the transfer of heat energy from one substance to another by direct physical contact
Advection
the transfer of heat or matter by the flow of a fluid, especially horizontally in the atmosphere or the sea
Rossby waves
upper troposphere waves that play a large part in the formation of cyclones and anticyclones
