ATMO-201 Terms and Concepts: Chapters 1-4

Atmosphere

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Precipitation

What does low pressure bring?

Weather

The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

Moves at the same rate as the Earth in order to get a still picture of a particular area

What does a geostationary satellite do?

Wind direction, wind speed, and fronts

What does a weather map show?

99%

How much of the atmosphere is within 20 miles of the Earth's surface?

nitrogen and oxygen

What 2 gasses make up 99% of the atmosphere?

Hydrogen and helium, before CO2 and Oxygen entered due to life on Earth.

What was Earth's first atmosphere made up of?

In the summer, plants absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere, while in the winter plants release CO2 when they die.

Why does the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere fluctuate during 2 seasons?

Density

Number of molecules in a given space, which is largest as you move towards the surface (gravity)

Pressure

amount of force extended over an area of surface, decreases with height

Lapse rate

The rate at which temperature decreases with an increase in altitude.

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

atmosphere layers in order (earth to space)

nitrogen and oxygen, as well as other greenhouse gasses

Our atmosphere is made up of:

Temperature

a measure of how hot or cold something is compared to a reference point

Energy

the ability to do work

Heat

The energy transferred between objects that are at different temperatures

Potential energy

stored energy

Kinetic energy

energy of motion

carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor

What are the three main greenhouse gasses?

Conduction

The direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that it is touching.

Convection

The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid

Radiation

The energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles, without the need of contact or a liquid

waves

Radiation travels in the form of _________.

more

The shorter the wavelength, the __________ the radiation

shortwave; longwave

Solar radiation is _____________, while Earth's radiation, or infrared, is _________________.

Kirchoff's Law

Objects that are good emitters of radiation at a given wavelength are also good absorbers of radiation at that wavelength

Blackbody radiation

Objects that absorb all radiation hitting them and emit all radiation.

Radiative equilibrium

Rate of absorption of solar radiation equals the rate of emission of infrared earth radiation

Albedo

The ability of a surface to reflect light

6; 94

When Earth emits radiation (longwave), ____% goes back to space, while ____% stays in the Earth's atmosphere

Latent heat

heat absorbed or radiated during a change of phase at a constant temperature and pressure (hidden)

Temperature

What determines the amount of radiation and wavelength an object emits?

The tilt of the Earth's axis

Why do we have seasons?

23.5 degrees

What is the Earth's tilt?

Equinox

The two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun

Solstice

Either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator

Nocturnal Inversion

A surface-based stable layer caused by nighttime radiational cooling of the ground

Diurnal range

The difference between the lowest temperature and the highest temperature in a 24 hour period

Low winds and no clouds

What is ideal for cool weather at night?

Covers, heaters, freezing the crops, wind machines, irrigation

Methods of protecting crops from cool night air:

latitude, land and water distribution, ocean currents, elevation

What controls temperature?

Wind chill

chilling caused by convection of heat from the body in the presence of air currents

Humidity

The amount of water vapor in the air

Saturation

when the amount of water vapor in a volume of air has reached the maximum amount

higher

The hotter it is, the ___________ saturation and humidity is.

Absolute Scale

tells the value of something in its entirety... one-directional and begins at a natural minimum (i.e. Kelvin)

Relative Scale

tells the value of something compared to some reference point (i.e. Fahrenheit and Celsius)

Absolute Humidity

describes the actual amount of moisture in the air

Relative Humidity (RH)

the amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature (how close you are to saturation)

%RH = Content(absolute humidity)/saturated capacity X 100)

RH formula

Vapor content and saturation point

What two things can change RH?

Because it's cold, there's less kinetic energy which allows condensation to stick on the nuclei more easily

Why is condensation more likely to stick on nuclei when it's cold?

dew point temperature

the temperature to which air has to be cooled in order to reach saturation

Saturation

What happens when air temperature and dew point are the same?

higher

The closer you are to water, the ___________ the dew point

dew point

The temperature at which condensation begins; absolute measure of water vapor

radiation

The ground is cooler than the air because of ___________

frost

If it cools to the dew point, and the dew point is below freezing, ___________ will form.

Haze

atmospheric moisture or dust or smoke that causes reduced visibility

Fog

A cloud at ground level.

Radiation Fog

condensation of water vapor that results from the cooling of air that is in contact with the ground; needs calm winds and is usually at night

Advection Fog

a fog formed when warm, moist air is blown over a cool surface

Upslope Fog

Fog formed as moist, stable air flows upward over a topographic barrier

Evaporation Fog

A fog formed when cold air flows over the warm surface of a lake, ocean, or other body of water; forms as the water molecules evaporate from the water surface into the cold, overlying air; also known as steam fog or sea smoke.

Smog

air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog

Stratus

Clouds that form in flat layers and often cover much of the sky (Latin- layer)

Cumulus

clouds that look like fluffy, rounded piles of cotton (Latin- heap)

Cirrus

Wispy, feathery clouds made of ice crystals that form at high levels. (Latin- curl of hair)

Nimbus

Rain-bearing clouds that are dark and ragged at the edges. (Latin- rain)

High clouds, low clouds, middle clouds, and clouds with vertical development.

The 4 main cloud groups are:

High clouds

cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus; thin and wispy, made of ice crystals, indicate fair weather

Middle clouds

altostratus, altocumulus; gray, puffy, large clouds

Low clouds

stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus; dark clouds, indicate light precipitation

Vertically developed clouds

cumulus, cumulonimbus; extremely tall clouds, indicate storms, often have anvil tops

Anvil Top

the broad, flat top of a cumulonimbus cloud