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51 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Seven Major Elements of Weather
Temperature
Pressure
Moisture
Clouds
Precipitation
Wind
Visibility
temperature
the degree of hotness or coldness
pressure
the weight of the air above an area
moisture
the measure of water content
clouds
visible mass of suspended water droplets and/or ice crystals
precipitation
any form of water falling to the surface
wind
movement of air
visibility
farthest distance one can see
Climate
average weather or mean conditions of seven elements over extended period of time
Earth's Atmosphere
99% within 30 km
Mostly nitrogen and Oxygen
protects from uv radiation and space debris
semi permanent gases
Nitrogen-78%
Oxygen-21%
Argon-1%
variable gases/trace gases
Water Vapor-2%
Carbon Dioxide-.0385%
Ozone-.000004
source
something that allows gas to enter the atmosphere
sink
something that takes gas away from the atmosphere
explain carbon dioxide dilemma
absorbs longwave radiation, keeps atmosphere warm.

earth's atmosphere warming due to athropogenic increase of co2
explain ozone dillema
decrease of o3 in the stratosphere resulting in ozone hole
radiosondes
measure vertical distribution of several weather elements-temp, pressure, humidity, wind
density
mass/volume
mass of air atoms and molecules to space in between them

DECREASES wrt Height
air pressure
force/area
the weight of the atmosphere above a given point
DECREASES very rapidly wrt height
Temperature in the Troposphere
0-11

most weather occurs in this region

temp decreases wrt height

11km tropopause
Temp in the Stratosphere
temp increases wrt height

11-50

increase is called a TEMPERATURE INVERSION

stratopause
Temp in the Mesosphere
50-85

temp decreases wrt height
because: lost the source of heating, o3

85 km mesopause
Temp in the Thermosphere
85-120

temp increases wrt height
because of absorbtion of uv
radiation by o2
Temperature as Kinetic Energy
measure of the average speed of all the atoms and molecules of that object

speed increases T increases
speed decreases T decreases
Absolute Zero
temp at which all atoms and molecules stop moving

OK
-273 C
-459 F
Temp Conversions
K= C + 273
C= (5/9 (F-32))
F= (9/5 (C+32))
Four Types of Heat Transfer
Conduction
Convection
Advection
Radiation
Conduction
Transfer of heat by molecular activity from one substance to another within a substance

transfer is always from hot to cold

the larger the T the faster the transfer


only occurs at earth's surface where the change in T is very large
STUDY TABLE 2.2
Convection
Transfer of heat by the movement of air in the vertical direction
Advection
Transfer of heat by the movement of ait in the horizontal direction
Radiation
Transfer of heat through the propagation of electromagnetic waves, which only release heat when striking an object

speed of light

does not need a medium
electromagnetic wavelengths
microns/micrometers
1x10-6 meters

as the wavelength of radiation decreases, the amount of energy it carries increases
Radiation and Temperature
all object emit radiation

the higher the T the more radiation

Described by the Stefan Boltzman law
Stefan-Boltzman Law
E =  T4

(sun and earth examples)
Wiens Displacement Law
 max = 2897 μ K
T

as temp of a body increases the wavelength of maximum emission decreases

earth's radiation-longwave
sun's radiation-shortwave
solar electromagnetic spectrum
figure 2.10
black body
object/body that is both a perfect emitter and perfect absorber of
radiative equilibrium
when the rate of absorbtion of shortwave radiation by the earth is equal to the rate emission of longwave radiation by the earth
selective absorbers/emitters
atoms and molecules that compse the atmosphere absorb/emit very well at particular wavelengths and very poorly at others
Kirchhoff's Law
gases that are a good absorber of a given wavelength of radiation tend to be good admitters of the same wavelength

figure 2.12
greenhouse effect
gases in the atmosphere allow shortwave radiation to penetrate but absorb or trap the longwave radiation. Greenhouse gases have been increasing in the atmosphere`
global warming
figure 2.14
Seasons
regulated by the amount of solar radiation recieved by the surface of the earth

dictated by:
1. The angle at which the radiation strikes the surface
2. # of daylight hours
NH in relation to the sun
tilted towards the sun in the summer
tilted away from the sun in the winter
summer solstice
astronomical start of the summer

Sun is at its highest position in the sky

Radiation shines down on the surface more directly than at any other time of the year.
winter solstice
astronomical start of winter

Sun is at its lowest position in the sky

Radiation sunlight shines down on the surface less directly than at any other time of the year.
Equinoxes
Autumnal-astronomical start of fall

Vernal-astronomical start of spring
Temperature Lag
maximum temperatures occur later

Incoming solar radiation still exceeds Outgoing terrestrial radiation for several weeks after the solstice.

reaches max when Outgoing terrestrial radiation = Incoming solar radiation
Day Heating
As the sun rises in the morning, solar radiation heats the earth’s surface - which in turn, warms the first few inches of the air through conduction
Because the air is a poor conductor (as we saw earlier) a very strong temperature gradient develops near the surface resulting in an decrease of T wrt height:
Radiational Cooling
After the sun sets, both the surface and the atmosphere lose heat (they cool) by emitting long wavelength radiation thru a process called:
maximum radiational cooling
Calm winds (no vertical mixing of air)
Long nights (winter)
No clouds (blanket)
Low water vapor content (Greenhouse gas)