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28 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is Adiabatic Heating and Adiabatic Cooling ?
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Adiabatic Heating is when air descends it's pressure increases, volume decreases, and temp. increases.
Adiabatic Cooling is when air rises, pressure decreases, volume increases, and temperature decreases. |
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What is Temperature Inversion and when does it occur ?
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-It is when temp. increases with alt.
-It occurs in stable air with little or no wind and turbulence. |
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What is Evaporation ?
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It is when iquid water changes to invisible water vapor.
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What is Condensation ?
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It is when water vapor changes to a liquid, as when water drops form on a cool glass on a warm day.
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What is Sublimation ?
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It is when ice change into water vapor.
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What is Deposition ?
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It is when water vapor turns into ice.
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What is Humidity and Relatvie Humidity ?
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- Humidity simply refers to moisture in the air.
- Relative Humidity is the actual amount of moisture in the air compared to the total amount that could be present at that temperature. |
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When is air said to be saturated ?
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When the dewpoint has been reached, as in when the air contains 100% of the moisture it can hold at that temp.
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How do clouds form and how can you anticipate the formation of fog or cloud ?
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As air cools to its saturation point, condensation changes invisible water vapor into clouds. By monitoring the differences between surface temp. and dewpoint. AKA temerpature/dewpoint spread.
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What is the dry adiabatic lapse rate (unsaturated air) and the moist adiabatic lapse rate ?
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- 3 degree celsius
(5.4 degree fahreneit)/ 1000 FT - varies from 1.1 C to 2.8 degree C (2F - 5F)/1000 FT |
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Explain Atmospheric Stability ?
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- In a stable enviroment, vertical airflow motions are smooth and small.
- In an unstable atmosphere, air rises because it is warmer than its surroundings (convection). This instability can lead to severe cloud development, turbulence, and hazardous weather. |
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How can air be cooled ?
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By moving over a cooler surface, rising, or cooled from the underlying surface.
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What do Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus, and Nimbus all refer to ?
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stratus > sheet-like clouds
Cumulus > puffy clouds Cirrus > wispy clouds Nimbus > violent rain |
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What are Low Cloud characteristics ?
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- Low clouds extend from near the sfc. to about 6500 FT AGL.
- Consist of water, or supercooled water which can create an icing hazard for aircraft. - Types include: stratus, stratocumulus, & nimbostratus |
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What are Middle Cloud characteristics ?
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- Middle clouds have base ranage from about 6500-20000 FT AGL.
- Consist of water, ice crystals, or supercooled water, and may contain moderate turbulence and potentially severe icing. - Types include: Altostratus and Altocumulus. |
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What are High Cloud characteristics ?
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- High clouds have bases beginning above 20000 FT AGL.
- white to light gray in color and form in stable air. - Consist of ice crystals and seldom pose a serious turbulence or icing hazard. - Types include: Cirrus, Cirrostratus, & Cirrocumulus |
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The lifting of unstable air can cause...... ?
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Vertical cloud development and turbulence.
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What is an Airmass ?
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is a large body of air with fairly uniform temp. and moisture content.
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Describe the tropical airmass source regions ?
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- from the south of west and east there is the
Martime Tropical (mT) [Warm,Moist] - in the south is the Continental Tropical (cT) [Hot,Dry] |
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Describe the polar airmass source regions ?
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- from the north of west and east there is the
Maritime Polar (mP) [Cool,Moist] - in the north is the Continental Polar (cP) [Cool,Dry] |
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What is a Front and wat is a Cold Front, Warm Front, Stationary Front, and Occluded front ?
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Front: a boundary between airmasses
Cold front: cold air is moving to displace warmer air Warm front: warm air is moving to displace colder air Stationary front: has no movement Occluded front: is when cold and warm fronts merge. |
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What is Frontal discontinuities and it's 3 types ?
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- It is the rapid changes in the meteorological characteristics of an airmass
- Temperature, Wind, Pressure |
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What causes Radiation Fog ?
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- moist air over low, flat areas on clear, calm nights.
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What causes Advection Fog ?
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- when a low layer, of warm , moist air moves over a cooler surface.
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What causes Upslope Fog ?
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- when moist, stable air is forced up a sloping land mass.
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What causes Steam Fog ?
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- when cold, dry air moves over comparatively warmer water.
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Stratocumulus Clouds characteristics ?
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- are white puffy clouds that form as stable air is lifted.
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Nimbostratus cloud characteristics ?
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- are gray or black clouds
- can be more than several thousand feet thick - contain large amount of moisture - produces widespread areas of rain or snow - if temp. is below freezing, they may create heavy aircraft icing. |