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Intro to met > chapter 1 > Flashcards

chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Meteorology:

A

the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena

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2
Q

meteors

A

all substances that fell from the sky

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3
Q

meteoroids

A

falling objects from outside the atmosphere

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4
Q

hydrometeors

A

water and ice particles falling from clouds within the atmosphere

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5
Q

Meteorologist:

A

a scientist that uses scientific principles to explain or forecast atmospheric phenomena

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6
Q

Weather vs. climate: The difference between weather and climate is

A

a measure of time

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7
Q

Weather is

A

what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time

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8
Q

climate is

A

how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long period of time.

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9
Q

The Earth’s four spheres: Everything in Earth’s system can be placed into
one of four major subsystems

A

land, water, living things, or air.

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10
Q

These four
subsystems are called

A

spheres.

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11
Q

These four subsystems are called “spheres.” Specifically, they are the

A

“lithosphere” (land), “hydrosphere” (water), “biosphere” (living things), and “atmosphere” (air)

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12
Q

The atmosphere

A

contains all the air in Earth’s system

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13
Q

Atmosphere
The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth’s system. ****It extends from

A

less than 1 m below the planet’s surface to more than 10,000 km above the planet’s surface

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14
Q

weather occurs when

A

When air temperature in the lower portion of this sphere changes

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15
Q

As air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it

A

moves around the planet

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16
Q

As air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves around the planet. The result can be

A

as simple as a breeze or as complex as a tornado

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17
Q

The atmosphere is made up of many layers that differ in

A

chemical composition and temperature

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18
Q

Atmosphere

A

Envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth

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19
Q

Atmosphere - Envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth. Used by life as a
reservoir of

A

chemical compounds used in living systems

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20
Q

Atmosphere - Envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth. Used by life as a
reservoir of chemical compounds used in living systems. Atmosphere has no

A

outer boundary, just fades into space

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21
Q

Dense part of atmosphere (….. of mass) lies within ………….. km of the earth which is the same thickness as

A

97%

30 km

continental crust

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22
Q

Chemical Composition Today

A

Nitrogen (N2)- 78%,

Oxygen (O2)-21%,

Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) - 0.03 %,

plus other miscellaneous gases (H2O for one).

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23
Q

water vapor is a ……………………. gas

A

variable

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24
Q

Variable and Trace Gases: Water Vapor (H2
O)
1. Water vapor is an ………… gas

A

invisible

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25
Q

clouds are

A

liquid water droplets and ice crystals

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26
Q

water vapor is a critical component of atmosphere in regards to

A

weawther and climate

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27
Q

“Latent heat”

A

an important source of energy that powers storms, is released during condensation of water vapor to liquid water

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28
Q

water vapor is a critical …………. gas

A

greenhouse

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29
Q

water vapor Concentration in the atmosphere is highly variable in regard to

A

both place and time

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30
Q

Concentration in the atmosphere is highly variable in regard to both place and time
a. Depends mostly on

A

temperature, with near 0% in the arctic and up to 4% in the tropics

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31
Q

Ozone (O3)

A

The vast majority (97%) is found in the stratosphere at height 24-45 km, above the layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs

32
Q

importance od ozone

A

it is critical to maintaining life on earth. ozone absorbs harmful, high energy UV rays from the sun so that they do not reach earth’s surface

33
Q

CO2

it is variable by the effect of

A

human activity especially in cities

34
Q

CO2 is responsible for

A

global heating

35
Q

CO2 trace gas contributing only

A

0.039% of the volume of the atmosphere

36
Q

CO2 is an important

A

green house gas

37
Q

carbon dioxide cycle

A

a. removed from atmosphere as dissolves in oceans

oceans contain 50x the amount of CO2 than the atmosphere

b. removed by plants through photosynthesis
c. enters atmosphere by evaporation from oceans, decay ad burying of plant matter, respiration and volcanic activity

38
Q

the carbon cycle creates

A

an equlilibrium that had maintained stable levels of CO2 in the atmsphere (280 parts per million) for thousands of years

39
Q

CO2 increased during the industrial revolution by ……………. due to …………………………………

A

40%

burning fossil fuels

40
Q

clouds are composed of

A

liquid water droplets

41
Q

aerosols

A

The atmosphere is also filled with numerous tiny solid or liquid suspended particles of various composition

42
Q

The atmosphere is also filled with numerous tiny solid or liquid suspended particles of various composition, called aerosols
b. Examples include

A

dust and soil picked up by the wind, salt from sea spray, smoke from fires and ash from volcanic eruptions

43
Q

Examples include dust and soil picked up by the wind, salt from sea spray, smoke from fires and ash from volcanic eruptions
c. These aerosols serve an important function as they act as

A

surfaces which facilitate the condensation of water droplets to form clouds

44
Q

the atmosphere is divided into different layers based upon these

A

chaning vertical temperature profiles

45
Q

show the atmospheric layers giving temperature, height and main charactaristics

A
46
Q

Troposphere
The word troposphere derived from the Greek word tropo and it means

A

turbulence or mixing

47
Q

The word troposphere derived from the Greek word tropo and it means
turbulence or mixing. This is the lower most layer of the atmosphere and
is known as troposphere and is the most important layer because

A

almost all the weather events ( e.g fog, cloud, dew, frost, hailstorm, storms, cloud-thunder, lightning etc) occur in this layer

48
Q

In the troposphere Temperature decreases with increasing height at the average rate of

A

6.5 0C per 1000m

(1 kilometer)

49
Q

Temperature decreases with increasing height at the average rate of 6.5 C per 1000m (1 kilometer), which is called as

A

normal lapse rate

50
Q

The height of
troposphere changes from

A

equator towards the poles (decreases) and from one season of a year to the other season (increases during summer while decreases during winter).

51
Q

The average height of the troposphere is about …………………. over the equator

A

16-18km over the equator

52
Q

The average height of the troposphere is about 16-18km over the equator and …………………… over the poles

A

7-8

53
Q

The upper limit of the troposphere is called as

A

TROPOPAUSE

54
Q

Stratosphere

temperature…

A

begins to increase with height

55
Q

the stratosphere, the temperature begins to increase with height
b. This temperature profile is due to the

A

presence of ozone which absorbs ultraviolet rays from the sun, heating the surrounding air

56
Q

Tropopause

A

The transition zone between the troposphere and the stratosphere

57
Q

The tropopause is not a well-defined “layer” but a transition zone
and varies in

A

height from location to location

58
Q

there are 3 tropopause:

A

tropical (16-18km with a temperature of 75C)

Midlatitude tropopause (11 km and temperature is -56.5c)

polar tropopause (7-8 km and temperature is -43c)

59
Q

Mesosphere

A
  1. air is extremely thin and pressure very low
      1. Without the presence of ozone, the temperature profile resumes its downward trend with height
  2. This layer is called the mesosphere and extends up to about 50 miles (80km) above earth’s surface
60
Q

Mesosphere

The top of the mesosphere is the

A

coldest part of the atmosphere at about −130°F

61
Q

Thermosphere

A

In the highest levels of the atmosphere, above about 50 miles, oxygen molecules absorb very high energy rays from the sun (e.g. gamma rays, cosmic rays and x-rays) heating the “air” to very high temperatures (e.g. 500° C)

Even though temperatures are very high, it would not feel “hot” because there are so few molecules to bounce against your skin

62
Q

The ionosphere extends form

A

60 km to 2000 km altitude

63
Q

The ionosphere extends form 60 km to 2000 km altitude. Because

A

the composition of the atmosphere changes with height

64
Q

The ionosphere extends form 60 km to 2000 km altitude. Because the
composition of the atmosphere changes with height …………………..

A

the ion production rate also changes and this leads to the formation of several distinct ionization peaks, the “D”( 50 km to 90 km), “E” (90 km to 120 km), and “F” layers.

65
Q

Different regions of the ionosphere make

A

long distance, point-to-point radio communications possible by reflecting the radio waves back to Earth.

66
Q

Ionospheric Layers

A

D

E

F

67
Q

D-LAYER

A
  • The dominant ions are NO+ and O2+
  • the D layer is mainly responsible for absorption of HF radio waves
  • The absorption is small at night and greatest about midday
68
Q

E layer

A
  • • The dominant ions are NO+ and O2+.
  • • Ionization is due to soft X-ray (1-10 nm) and far ultraviolet (UV) solar
  • radiation ionization of molecular oxygen (O2 ).
  • • This layer can only reflect radio waves having frequencies less than about 10 MHz.
  • • At night the E layer begins to disappear because the primary source of ionization is no longer present.
  • E region peaks at about 105 km
69
Q

F-LAYER

A
  • In the F region O+ ion dominates.
  • Here extreme ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation ionizes atomic oxygen (O).
  • The F region is the most important part o f the ionosphere in terms of HF communications
  • The F layers are thickest and most reflective of radio on the side of the Earth facing the sun
    *
70
Q

The Aurora

A

spectacular display of colors and flowing patterns of light high in the atmosphere most often seen in the northern latitudes

71
Q

The Aurora is a spectacular display of colors and flowing patterns of
light high in the atmosphere most often seen in the northern latitudes.
(There is also an aurora seen near the south pole, but it is not noted as
often as it the one in the north.) The aurora is caused by

A

particles that stream to earth from eruptions in the sun, and which are trapped by the earth’s magnetic field. Due to the high temperatures in the sun, the particles that normally make atoms cannot hold together.

72
Q

What Causes Weather?

A
  1. Atmospheric Variables: In order to understand the changing weather we only need to follow a few atmospheric variables:
  • a. Temperature: how hot or cold the air is
  • b. Pressure: the force exerted by the air above an area (which depends on temperature differences)
  • c. Wind: the horizontal movement of air (depends on pressure differences)
  • d. Moisture (humidity): amount of water vapor in the air
73
Q

what causes rising and sinking motion of air

A
  • Differences in temperature from place to place results in pressure differences
  • The pressure differences cause wind
  • Variability and changes in wind speed and direction at the surface (bottom of the troposphere) and tropopause (top) results in vertical (rising and sinking) motion of the air
  • It is the rising and sinking (up and down) motion of the air that causes “weather”
74
Q

Rising motion results in the

A

condensation of water vapor to form:

a. Clouds: a visible mass of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals
b. Precipitation: any form of water, either liquid or solid, that falls from clouds and reaches the ground

75
Q

Sinking motion causes

A

clouds to dissipate and clear weather to result

Intro to met (10 decks)

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