Physical Geo Test 1

Front 1

Weather

Back 1

Is over a short period of time and is constantly changing

Front 2

Climate

Back 2

Is over a long period of time, generalized, composite of weather

Front 3

Important Elements

Back 3

Temperature, Humidity, Cloudiness, Precipitation, Air pressure, Winds speed and direction

Front 4

Air is a mixture of discrete gases

Back 4

Nitrogen (N) 78%, Oxygen (O2) 21%, Argon and other gases, Carbon dioxide (CO2) .036% and absorbs heat energy from Earth

Front 5

Water Vapor

Back 5

Up to about 4% of the air's volume, Forms clouds and precipitation, Absorbs heat energy from Earth.

Front 6

Aerosols

Back 6

Tiny solid and liquid particles, Water vapor can condense on solids, Reflect sunlight, Help color sunrise and sunset

Front 7

Ozone

Back 7

Three atoms of oxygen (O3), Distribution not uniform, Concentrated between 10 to 50 km above the surface, Absorbs harmful

Front 8

Troposphere

Back 8

Bottom layer, Temperature decreases with altitude called environmental lapse rate, Thickness varies, outer boundary is named the tropopause

Front 9

Stratosphere

Back 9

About 12 to 50 km, Temperature increases at top, outer boundary is the stratopause

Front 10

Mesosphere

Back 10

About 50 km to 80km, temperature varies, out boundary known as mesopause

Front 11

Thermosphere

Back 11

No upper limit, Fraction of atmosphere's mass, Gases moving at high speeds

Front 12

Rotates

Back 12

on its axis

Front 13

Revolves

Back 13

Around the sun

Front 14

Seasons

Back 14

Result of changing of the angle towards the sun and changes the length of daylight

Front 15

Summer solstice

Back 15

June 21-22, Sun's vertical rays are located at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N latitude)

Front 16

Winter Solstice

Back 16

December 21-22, Sun's vertical rays vertical rays at Tropic of Capicore

Front 17

Equinoxes

Back 17

Autumn and spring

Front 18

Atmospheric Heating

Back 18

Heat is always transferred from warmer to cooler objects

Front 19

Conduction

Back 19

Through molecular activity

Front 20

Convection

Back 20

Mass movement within substance, Usually vertical motions

Front 21

Radiation (Electromagnetic radiation)

Back 21

Consists of different wave lengths, all objects emit radiation. Consist of Gamma (very short waves), X-rays, Ultraviolet (UV), Visible, Infrared, Microwaves and radio waves

Front 22

Incoming Solar Radiation

Back 22

Atmosphere is largely transparent to incoming solar radiation

Front 23

Greenhouse Effect

Back 23

The heating of the atmosphere

Front 24

Measured in calories

Back 24

one calorie is the heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree C

Front 25

Latent heat

Back 25

Stored in hidden heat, not derived from temperature change, important in atmospheric processes

Front 26

Evaporation

Back 26

Liquid is changed in to gas, 600 calories per gram of water are added called latent heat of vaporization

Front 27

Condensation

Back 27

Water Vapor (gas) is change to a liquid, heat energy is released - called latent heat of

Front 28

Melting

Back 28

Solid is changed to liquid, 80 calories per gram of water are added, called latent heat of melting

Front 29

Freezing

Back 29

Liquid is changing to a solid, heat is released, called latent heat of fusion

Front 30

Sublimation

Back 30

Solid goes to gas without becoming a liquid, liquid calories per gram of water are added

Front 31

Deposition

Back 31

Water vapor goes to a solid, heat is released

Front 32

Humidity

Back 32

Amount of water vapor in the air. Saturated air is air that is filled with water vapor to capacity

Front 33

Capacity is temperature dependent

Back 33

warm air has a much greater capacity

Front 34

Vapor pressure

Back 34

The amount of pressure in the air from water vapor

Front 35

Mixing ratio

Back 35

mass of water vapor in a unit of air compared to the remaining mss of dry air, often measured in grams per kilogram

Front 36

Relative humidity

Back 36

Ratio of the air's actual water vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor required for saturation. Is represented by a percentage. Can change by having it rain or

Front 37

Dew point temperature

Back 37

Temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation, when air goes below this it condensates

Front 38

Hygrometer

Back 38

instrument for reading humidity, 2 kinds

Front 39

Psychrometer

Back 39

compares temperature of wet-bulb thermometer and dry-bulb thermometer, if the air is saturated then they read the same temp. the greater the difference the less humidity

Front 40

Hair hygrometer

Back 40

reads the humidity directly

Front 41

Air is compressed

Back 41

Motion of the molecules is increased, air will warm, happens due to increasing air pressure

Front 42

Air expands

Back 42

Air will cool, Rising air will expand due to decreasing air pressure.

Front 43

Dry

Back 43

Unsaturated air, Rising air expands and cools at 1 degree Celsius per 100 meter, Descending air is compressed and warm

Front 44

Wet

Back 44

Commences at condensation level, Air at condensation level, air has reached the dew point condensation is occurring and latent heat is being liberated, Heat released by the condensing water.

Front 45

Orographic lifting

Back 45

Elevated terrains act as barriers. Results can be a rainshadow desert

Front 46

Rainshadow Desert

Back 46

dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.

Front 47

Convergence

Back 47

Where the is flowing together and rising (low pressure)

Front 48

Localized convective lifting

Back 48

occurs where unequal surface heating causes pockets of air to rise because of their buoyancy

Front 49

Stable air

Back 49

Widespread clouds with little vertical thickness

Front 50

Types of instability

Back 50

Absolute instability adiabatic cooling, environment lapse rate is great than the dry adiabatic rate, towering clouds.

Front 51

Conditional instability

Back 51

occurs when the atmosphere is stable for unsaturated parcel of air but unstable for a saturated parcel

Front 52

Condensation

Back 52

Water vapor in the air changes to a liquid and forms dew, fog or clouds. Water vapor requires a surface to condense on, possible condensations surfaces on the ground can be the grass, a car window, etc. Possible condensation surfaces in the atmosphere are called condensation nuclei.

Front 53

Condensation nuclei

Back 53

Dust, smoke, etc. Ocean salt crystals which serve as hygroscopic (water- seeking) nuclei

Front 54

Clouds

Back 54

Made of millions and million of minute water droplets or tiny crystals of ice

Front 55

Cirrus

Back 55

high, white, thin

Front 56

Cumulus

Back 56

Globular cloud masses often associated with fair weather

Front 57

Stratus

Back 57

sheets or layers

Front 58

Fog

Back 58

Considered an atmospheric hazard, just a cloud based at or near the ground. Most form because of radiation cooling

Front 59

Advection fog

Back 59

warm, moist air moves over a cool surface

Front 60

Radiation fog

Back 60

Earth's surface cools rapidly, Forms during cool, clear, calm night

Front 61

Steam fog

Back 61

cool air mover over warm water and moister water has a teaming appearance

Front 62

Frontal fog/ precipitation fog

Back 62

forms during frontal wedging when warm air is lifted over colder air

Front 63

Collision

Back 63

Coalescence process - Warm clouds, large hygroscopic condensation nuclei, large droplets, collide with other droplets to former larger ones, common in the tropics

Front 64

Rain

Back 64

droplets have at least a .5 mm diameter

Front 65

Drizzle

Back 65

droplets have les than a. 5 mm diameter

Front 66

Snow

Back 66

ice crystals, or aggregates of ice crystals

Front 67

Sleet

Back 67

wintertime phenomenon, small particles of ice, occurs when warmer air overlies colder air

Front 68

Glaze/ Freezing rain

Back 68

impact with a sold causes freezing

Front 69

Hail

Back 69

Hard rounded pellets, concentric shells, diameter range of 1 to 5 cm

Front 70

Formation of hail

Back 70

occurs in large cumulonimbus with violent up- and downdrafts, layers of freezing rain are caught in up- and downdrafts in cloud, pellets fall to the ground when the become to heavy.

Front 71

Rime

Back 71

Forms on cold surfaces, freezing of supercooled fog, or cloud droplets. Kinda like really intense frost

Front 72

Rain

Back 72

is the easiest just measure, by using a rain gauge and just checking the calibration of the gauge

Front 73

Water equivalent

Back 73

General ration is 10 snow units to 1 water unit, varies widely, radar is also used to measure the rate of rainfall.

Front 74

Atmospheric pressure

Back 74

Force exerted by the weight of the air above. Weight of the air at sea level - 14.7 lbs/in. Decreases with increasing altitude

Front 75

Millibar (mb)

Back 75

standard seal level pressure is 1013.2

Front 76

Inches of mercury

Back 76

standard sea-level pressure is 29.92 in. of mercury

Front 77

Mercury barometer

Back 77

Invented by Torricelli in 1643, Uses a glass tube filled with mercury

Front 78

Wind

Back 78

Horizontal movement of air, Out of areas of high pressure. Into areas of low pressure

Front 79

Pressure gradient force

Back 79

Isobars/ Pressure gradient

Front 80

Isobars

Back 80

Lines of equal air pressure

Front 81

Pressure gradient

Back 81

Pressure change over distance

Front 82

Coriolis effect

Back 82

Apparent deflection in the wind direction due to Earth's rotation. Deflection tend to go right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

Front 83

Friction

Back 83

Only important near the surface. Acts to slow the air's movement

Front 84

Upper air winds

Back 84

Generally blow parallel to isobars - geostrophic winds

Front 85

Jet stream

Back 85

"River" of air at a high altitude, Velocity of 120-240 kilometers per hour

Front 86

Cyclone

Back 86

A center of low pressure. Pressure decreases toward the center. Winds associated with a cyclone

Front 87

N. Hemisphere

Back 87

Inward (convergence) and clockwise

Front 88

S. Hemisphere

Back 88

Inward (convergence and counterclockwise. Associated with air rising /Often bring clouds

Front 89

Anticyclone

Back 89

A center of high pressure. Pressure increases toward the center. Winds associated with an anticyclone

Front 90

N. Hemisphere

Back 90

Outward (divergent)/ Clockwinse

Front 91

S. Hemisphere

Back 91

Outward (divergence)/ Counterclockwise, Associated with subsiding air/ bring "fair" weather

Front 92

General atmospheric circulation

Back 92

Caused by unequal surface heating. On the rotating Earth there are three pairs of atmospheric cells that redistribute the heat

Front 93

Equatorial low pressure zone

Back 93

Area of Rising air with an abundance of precipitation.

Front 94

Subtropical high pressure zone

Back 94

Area of subsiding, stable, dry air. Near 30 degrees latitude, location of most deserts.

Front 95

Trade Winds

Back 95

Air traveling from subtropical to towards equator

Front 96

Westerly winds

Back 96

air traveling from subtropical toward the N. Pole

Front 97

Subpolar low pressure zone

Back 97

Warm and cool winds interact,

Front 98

Polar front

Back 98

an area of storms

Front 99

Polar high pressure zone

Back 99

Cold

Front 100

Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Back 100

Where the winds of the tropics meet

Front 101

Monsoon

Back 101

Occur over continents during warm months when air flows onto land, usually moist air from the ocean. During the winter months air flows off the land and the air becomes dry.

Front 102

Local winds

Back 102

Produced from temperature differences, Small scale winds

Front 103

Types of local wind

Back 103

Land and sea breezes, Mountain and valley breezes, Chinook and Santa Ana winds

Front 104

Direction

Back 104

Winds are labeled from where they originate, prevailing wind comes more often form one direction.

Front 105

Wind Vane

Back 105

Instrument for measuring wind direction

Front 106

Speed

Back 106

often measured by a cup anemometer

Front 107

Changes in Wind direction

Back 107

Associated with location of cyclones and anticyclones. Often bring changes in temperature and moisture conditions

Front 108

El Nino

Back 108

A countercurrent that flows southward along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru. Are warm and usually appears during the Christmas season and block the colder water from rising to the surface. Strongest on record occurred between 1982-83 and 1997-98