Meteorology: The Atmosphere, Weather, & Climate

What is the atmosphere?

Thin envelope of mixed gases surrounding Earth, composed of layers including troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere, with boundaries like tropopause, stratopause, and mesopause.

What are the layers of the atmosphere?

Troposphere, Stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

What are the atmospheric boundaries?

Tropopause, stratopause, mesopause

Electromagnetic (EM) Energy

Radiated energy in waves from matter, classified by wavelengths, interacts with the environment through reradiation, reflection, scattering, transmission, and absorption.

Greenhouse Effect

Traps heat in the atmosphere, caused by greenhouse gases like CO2, H2O, and methane, leading to global warming and climate change.

Insolation

Incoming solar radiation, absorbed by Earth's surface, heating the atmosphere through radiation, conduction, and convection.

Weather

Short-term state of the atmosphere, influenced by factors like temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind, observed using tools like thermometers and barometers.

Cloud Formation

Warm air rises, cools to dew point, condenses onto nuclei, forming clouds that can lead to precipitation like drizzle, rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, or hail.

Phase Changes

Transformations between solid, liquid, and gas states of water, requiring energy transfer in the form of heat, with specific energy requirements for melting, freezing, vaporization, and condensation.

Air Pressure

Atmospheric pressure exerted by gases on Earth's surface, influenced by factors like humidity, altitude, and temperature, measured using barometers, with high pressure indicating fair weather and low pressure indicating stormy conditions.

Wind

Horizontal movement of air influenced by pressure differences, with high-pressure systems (anticyclones) circulating clockwise and low-pressure systems (cyclones) circulating counterclockwise.

Wind Direction

Indicates the direction from which the wind is blowing, named accordingly (e.g., north wind blows FROM the north).

Pressure Gradients

Changes in pressure over distance affecting wind speed; steeper gradient leads to faster winds.

Isobars

Lines on a weather map connecting areas of equal pressure; closer isobars indicate faster winds, while farther apart isobars indicate slower winds.

Anemometer

Instrument used to measure wind speed.

Sea Breeze

During the day, wind blowing from the water (cool, high pressure) towards the land (warm, low pressure).

Land Breeze

At night, wind blowing from the land (cool, high pressure) towards the water (warm, low pressure).

Monsoons

Seasonal wind and precipitation pattern changes due to temperature differences between land and ocean.

Station Model

Diagram summarizing various weather information without units, used to represent multiple weather factors on a map.

Air Mass

Large body of air with uniform temperature and moisture content, originating from specific regions affecting weather properties.

Fronts

Boundaries where different air masses meet, causing weather changes like precipitation, temperature shifts, and wind direction alterations.