Weather Midterm 1

Front 1

Air (pg 16)

Back 1

A mixture of many discrete gases, of which nitrogen and oxygen are most abundant, in which varying quantities of tiny solid and liquid particles are suspended

Front 2

Atmosphere (pg 12)

Back 2

The gaseous portion of a planet, the plant's envelope of air; one of traditional subdivisions of Earth's physical environment

Front 3

Climate (pg 3)

Back 3

A description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region

Front 4

Elements of Weather and Climate (pg 4)

Back 4

Those properties that are measured regularly.
1) Temperature of the air
2) Humidity of the air
3) the type and amount of cloudiness
4) the type and amount of precipitation
5) the pressure exerted by the air
6) The speed and direction of the wind

Front 5

Environmental Lapse rate (pg 24)

Back 5

The rate of temperature decrease with height in the troposphere

Front 6

Hydrosphere (pg 12)

Back 6

The water portion of our planet; one of the traditional subdivisions of Earth's physical environment

Front 7

Meteorology (pg 13)

Back 7

the scientific study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena; the study of weather and climate

Front 8

ozone (pg 19)

Back 8

A molecule of oxygen Containing three oxygen atoms O

Front 9

radiosonde (pg 9) Rawinsonodes

Back 9

A lightweight package of weather instruments fitted with a radio transmitter and carried aloft by a balloon

Rawinsonodes also measure wind speed and direction

Front 10

stratosphere (pg 25)

Back 10

The zone of the atmosphere above the troposphere characterized at first by isothermal conditions and then a gradual temperature increase. Earth's ozone is concentrated here.

Front 11

thermosphere (pg 25)

Back 11

The zone of the atmosphere beyond the mesosphere in which there is a rapid rise in temperature with height

Front 12

tropopause (pg 25)

Back 12

The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere

Front 13

troposphere (pg 25)

Back 13

The lowermost layer of the atmosphere marked by considerable turbulence and in general a decrease in temperature with increasing height

Front 14

weather (pg 3)

Back 14

The state of the atmosphere at any given time

Front 15

Means v. Extremes

Back 15

Means (> or = years of data)
Extremes (period of record)

Front 16

Temperature (Element of Weather)

Back 16

Degree of hotness or coldness (Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin)

Front 17

Moisture (Element of Weather)

Back 17

Measure of Water Content
- relative humidity (%)
- dewpoint

Front 18

Clouds (Element of Weather)

Back 18

Visible mass of suspended water droplets and/or ice crystals (type, amount and height)

Front 19

Precipitation (Element of Weather)

Back 19

any form of water falling to the surface (type and amount)

Front 20

Pressure (Element of Weather)

Back 20

the weight of the air above an area (inches of mercury, millibars)

Front 21

Wind (Element of Weather)

Back 21

movement of the air
- speed (mph, knots, m/s)
- direction (quadrants/degrees)

Front 22

National Weather Service

Back 22

responsible for gathering and dissemination of weather related information including forecasts and warnings

Regional location on NCSU (centennial Campus)

Front 23

Two Specialized centers for NWS emergencies

Back 23

Storm Prediction Center in Norman,OK
National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL

Front 24

Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)

Back 24

Measures six major elements hourly at thousands of sites. (Fig 17.12.4)

Front 25

Synoptic weather map

Back 25

A map that displays a variety of information that can be seen together. (Really funny looking symbols)

Fig 12.5a Box 12-2

Front 26

Severe Weather

Back 26

Fig 1.6 Tab 1.1

100,000 thunderstorms
10,000 Severe
1,000 tornadoes
Hundreds of floods
Several hurricanes
Numerous heatwaves/coldwaves/blizzards

Damage Fig3-C, page 71

Front 27

Deadly Weather

Back 27

Heat Waves #1
-Heat Index
Floods
-Turn around don't drown

Front 28

Aristotle

Back 28

Meteorologica

Front 29

Instruments

Back 29

fig 1.8b radiosonode
fig 1.10, 1A, 1B Satellite
fig 1.9 Radar

Front 30

Hydrological Cycle

Back 30

Fig 1-15
evaporation, sublimation, transpiration
Condensation, deposition, precipitation

Front 31

Composition of Atmosphere

Back 31

Major components
Fig1-17, Table 1-2
Nitrogen 78.08
Oxygen 20.95
Argon 00.93

Minor components
Carbon Dioxide .03800
Ozone .000004

Variable components
Water Vapor- 0.00-4.00% (most meteorologically important)
major transporter of Latent Heath Energy

Front 32

Greenhouse Gas

Back 32

A gas that absorbs earth's longwave radiation and like a "Greenhouse"or blanket, keeps the earth and it's atmosphere warm

Front 33

Keeling Curve

Back 33

Fig 1.18

CO² has risen dramatically since the beginning of the industrial revolution

Front 34

Why is CO² rising?

Back 34

Burning of fossil fuels

Deforestation

Front 35

Ozone

Back 35

photoreceptor of lethal UV solor radiation

greatest concentration is found in the stratosphere, between 10 and 50km

Front 36

Montreal Protocol

Back 36

Timetable for reducing CFC emissions and eventual recovery of the O³ layer.

Front 37

Air Pressure

Back 37

At sea level 14.7lb in-²

Always decreased with respect to height (z)
(Delta P/Delta Z)< 0

Can approximate air pressure (mb) for different heights below with equation)

p=100mbx (.5)^(z/5.6) where z is height

Front 38

Thermal Structure of the atmosphere

Back 38

Fig 1.25
Temperature generally decreases with respect to height

(Delta T/Delta Z) <0

Front 39

Troposphere

Back 39

Most weather occurs here. Air is very well mixed. Depth varies. Lower in polar, higher in tropical regions
Fig 1.26

at 12km (Delta T/Delta Z)=0 (Isothermal)

Front 40

Stratosphere

Back 40

Temperature inversion

Temperature generally increases wrt height

Front 41

Source of Heating

Back 41

the absorption of the son's UV radiation by 0³ which as discussed earlier has its max concentration in the area.

Front 42

Earth-Sun Relationships

Back 42

Solar Radiation 99.9% of energy
- not distributed evenly but instead by latitude, time of day and year
- uneven distribution creates weather

Front 43

Radiation

Back 43

(Fig 2.3, 2.4, Table 21.)

Radiation is more intense striking perpendicularly than at an angle because it travels through less atmosphere

Front 44

Days

Back 44

Longer days allow for more radiation to be absorbed by the earth's surface

(Table2.2)

Front 45

Solar Elevation angle

Back 45

(Fig 2.6 Box 2.2)

ß=90¤ - ¥(Theta) - (23.5¤ × cos( 360 × (N+10)) / 365)
ß= angle
¥= latitude
N=Julian day of the year

Front 46

Solar Radiation

Back 46

J = 1367 (Watts/ m²) × sinß

Front 47

Solstices

Back 47

Table 2.2 for hours of daylight

Summer is the Astronomical start of summer
N. Hemisphere will have more than 12

Winter is " " of winter
N. Hemisphere will have less than 12

Front 48

Equinox

Back 48

Only time where everywhere has 12 hours of daylight and night

Front 49

Types of Energy

Back 49

Kinetic Energy (KE) energy associated with an object by virtue of its motion
1/2 mv²

Potential Energy (PE) energy associated with an object by virtue of its position with respect to gravity
PE= m g h

Front 50

Temperature

Back 50

degree of hotness of coldness of an object. form of KE
- or a measure of the average speed of all of the atoms and molecules of that object

as speed increases, the T increases

Front 51

Heat

Back 51

Energy in the process of being transferred between substances

always from hot to cold

Front 52

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

Back 52

Conduction
Convection
Advection
Radiation

Fig 2.10

Front 53

Conduction

Back 53

Transfer of heat by molecular activity from one substance to another (or within) a susbtance

Larger the deltaT, the faster the transfer

Air is a poor conductor of heat

Front 54

Convection

Back 54

Vertical transfer of heat by the mass movement or circulation of a fluid (Water, air)
-thermal
-convective circulation

Front 55

Advection

Back 55

Horizontal transfer of heat by the mass movement or circulation of a fluid (water, air)

Front 56

Radiation

Back 56

Fig 2.11

transfer of heat through the propagation of electromagnetic waves, which only release heat when they strike an object

Front 57

Solar Radiation

Back 57

transfer occurs at the speed of light

does not need a medium and therefor it can occur in the vacuum of space

Front 58

Wave Lengths

Back 58

As the wavelength of the radiation decreases the amount of energy increases
Short Waves:
Gamma
X Rays
Ultra-Violet
Long Waves:
TV
Radio

Front 59

UV Rays

Back 59

A- most harmful
B- produces sun burning, cancer
C- produces sun burn

UV Index (Box 2.3 , Table 2.B)

Front 60

Laws of Radiation

Back 60

1. All objects emit radiant energy over a range of thetas
2. Hotter objects emit more radiant energy than colder objects.
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
E=(5.67 x10^-8 Wattts m-²k^-4) T^4
3. The hotter the radiating object, the shorter the wave of maximum emission
Wien's Displacement Law
Max Wavelength= 2898µk/T
4.Objects that are good absorbers of radiation at a particular wavelenth are also good emitters at the same wavelength

Front 61

Solar Electromagnetic Spectrum

Back 61

(Fig 2.12) although the sun emits at a maximum rate around .5µ it also emits radiation at other wavelengths

Front 62

Blackbodies

Back 62

Perfect emitters: emit 100% of the radiation possible
Perfect absorbers: absorb 100% of the radiation incident upon them across all possible wave lenths

Front 63

atmospheric window

Back 63

Refers to the fact that the troposphere is transparent to terrestrial radiation between 8 and 11 micrometers in length

Front 64

circle of illumination

Back 64

The line separating day light from darkness on Earth

Front 65

Energy

Back 65

The capacity to do work.

Front 66

greenhouse effect

Back 66

The transmission of shortwave solar radiation by the atmosphere coupled with the selective absorption of longer-wavelength terrestrial radiation, especially by water vapor and carbon dioxide, resulting in warming of the atmosphere

Front 67

heat

Back 67

The kinetic energy of random molecular motion

Front 68

inclination of the axis

Back 68

The tilt of the Earth's axis from the perpendicular to the plane of Earth's orbit. Currently the inclination is about 23½ degrees away from the perpendicular

Front 69

infrared radiation

Back 69

Radiation within a wavelength from .7 to 200 micrometers

Front 70

plane of ecliptic

Back 70

The Plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun

Front 71

Tropic of Cancer/Capricorn

Back 71

Cancer=North
Capricorn=South

23½ degrees

Front 72

ultraviolet radiation

Back 72

Radiation with a wavelength from .2 to .4 micrometers

Front 73

visible light

Back 73

Radiation with a wavelength from .4 to .7

Front 74

wavelength

Back 74

the horizontal distance separating successive crests or troughs

Front 75

The controls of Temperature

Back 75

Latitude (Major Controller)
Different heating of land and water
Ocean Currents
Altitude
Geographic Position
Cloud Cover

Front 76

Land vs. Water

Back 76

Land surfaces heat more rapidly and to a higher temperature and cool more rapidly to a lower temp than water surfaces. (Fig 3.3)

Front 77

Properties of Water

Back 77

1)Water is mobile, land is not
2) Water is transparent, land is not
3) The Specific Heath (amount of heat needed to raise temperature of 1 gram of a substance 1 degree C) is 3x greater than the specific heat of land.

Front 78

Ocean as Regulator

Back 78

Fig 3.4, 3.5; Table 4.1

Keep coastal areas cooler during the day (summer)
Warmer during the night (winter)

Front 79

Ocean Currents

Back 79

Fig 3.7, 3.8 Greatly influence temperatures because of their ability to transport warm water towards the poles and cold water towards the equator.

Gulf Stream- Warmer Atlantic Coast
California Current-Cooler Pacific Coast

Front 80

Geographic position

Back 80

Location's proximity to certain geographic features can also control temperatures.

Fig 3.10 -New York not influenced by wind from ocean
3.11 Seattle gets the moderating influence of Pacific Ocean

Front 81

Clouds

Back 81

Fig 3.12,3.13 . Clouds act reduce the amount of temperature variability

Front 82

Temperature Distribution

Back 82

Fig 3.15,16,17.
-Isotherms indicate a decrease toward the poles
-Coldest and hottest locations found over land
-tropical latitudes experience very little annual variation
-mid-latitude and high ltatiude, continental areas experience very large annual variation
-N.Hem experience larger annual variation than S. Hem

Front 83

Diurnal Temperature Variations

Back 83

Fig 3-18

After Sunrise- Solar radiation heats the earth's surface, warms the first few inches of the air through conduction and leading to convetion

After sunset: Both the surface and the atmosphere lose heat by emitting long wave radiation through Radiational Cooling

Front 84

Figure 3.20

Back 84

Temperature is highest at 3pm because outgoing is equal with incoming.

Lowest at just after sunrise because outgoing is >incoming

Front 85

Factors of Magnitude of Temperature change

Back 85

-Coastal Areas
-Clouds
-Water Vapor (Atmospheric Window)

Front 86

Hottest/Coldest Months

Back 86

January /February are the coldest

July or August are the warmest

Front 87

Types of Thermometers

Back 87

Mechanical
-Liquid-in-Glass (Fig 3.21)
--Mercury
--Alcohol
-Bimetal strip
--Used in thermographs (Fig 3.23)

Electric
-Thermisters (Fig 3.23)
--Used on radiosondoes

Radiometers
-Used on Satelites

Front 88

Temperature Scales

Back 88

Fahrenheit

Celsius (Centigrade)

Kelvin Scales

Front 89

Absolute Zero

Back 89

0 K -237 degrees C -459 Farenheit

Front 90

Comparing temperatures

Back 90

Fig 3.26 1K=1C=1.8F

Front 91

Heating Degree Days

Back 91

HDD= 65 - Daily Mean Temperature

Front 92

Cooling Degree Days

Back 92

Daily Mean Temperatures - 65

Front 93

Growing Degree Days

Back 93

Crop Specific

Front 94

Wind Chill Temperature (WCT)

Back 94

Box 3.5 Figs 3.H

WCT= 35.74 + .6215 (t) - 35.75(V^.16) + .4274 (T) (V^.16)

Front 95

annual mean temperature

Back 95

An average of the 12 monthly means

Front 96

annual temperature range

Back 96

The difference between the warmest and coldest monthly means

Front 97

Fixed points

Back 97

Reference points, such as the steam point and the ice point, used in the construction of temperature points

Front 98

Ice Point

Back 98

The temperature at which ice melts

Front 99

Maximum thermometer/ minimum thermometer

Back 99

A thermometer that measures hte maximum temperature for a given period of time, usually 24 hours. A constriction in the base of the glass tube allows mercury to rise but prevents it from returning to the bulb until the thermometer is shaken or whirled.

Minimum ...By checking hte small dumbbell-shaped index, the minimum temperature can be read.

Front 100

steam point

Back 100

The temperature at which water boils

Front 101

temperature gradient

Back 101

The amount of temperature change per unit of distance