Unit 1 - Meteorology

Weather

Short term patterns

Weather is the state of the _________

Atmosphere

Weather includes…

1. Air temp and pressure

2. Humidity

3. Clouds

4. Precipitation

5. Visibility

6. Wind

Atmosphere

Mostly gaseous envelope gravitationally bound to a celestial body

Climate

Long-term patterns

Meteorology

The study of physics, chemistry, and dynamics of Earth’s atmosphere

In Greek, meteorology means…

Anything falling from the sky

Anemometer measures…

Wind

Hygrometer measures…

Humidity

Thermoscope measures

Temperature (no scale)

In 1612, the thermoscope was re-created with a _____ included

Numerical scale

Barometer measures…

Pressure

Alcohol thermometer was the first to depend on…

Contraction and expansion of liquids

National weather service was created by…

Ulysses Grant

Weather radar was discovered during…

WWII

ENIAC is…

Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer

• First computer weather forecasts

Doppler radar was first discovered in…

1950/60

Worlds 1st successful weather radar was the…

TIROS

Current way of measuring weather is…

Doppler radar (NEXRAD)

When things move AWAY, they appear as…

Red

When things move toawrds, they appear as…

Green

The GOES-R Series has _ launches

4

2 types of weather satellites

1. Polar orbiting

2. Geostationary

Types of storms experienced in the US

• Middle-Latitude cyclonic storm systems (cyclones in tropics)

• Hurricanes

• Thunderstorms

• Tornadoes

Earth’s FIRST atmosphere consisted of which 2 elements?

Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He)

Why was Earth’s atmosphere lost relatively quickly?

Gravity was not strong, No magnetic field, and Collision with Theia

During Earth’s Hadeon Eon, earth was very ___, and consisted of lots of volcanic eruptions and asteroids.

Hot

Earth’s second atmosphere formed when…

Earth started to cool down during the Hadeon eon

Earth’s SECOND atmosphere consisted of what 3 compounds?

H2O, CO2, and NH3

Ammonia (NH3) molecules were broken apart by _________, leaving nitrogen and hydrogen

Sunlight

Earth’s second atmosphere was made by Earth by _______ done by volcanic eruptions

Degassing

Earth’s modern atmosphere is mostly _______

Nitrogen

Clouds and Oceans formed by a huge influx of _____ _____ and the cooling of the planet

Water vapor

Earth’s THIRD and current atmosphere was created by _______

Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria reside in…

Water

Cyanobacteria perform ______ photosynthesis

Oxygenic

Cyanobacteria formed _________

Stromatolites

Hydrogen is very light, allowing it to…

Float away into space

Our current atmosphere is made up of…

Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon

Pressure formula

Pressure = Force / Area

Density formula

Density = Mass / Volume

Unit of pressure

millibars (mb) or pounds per square inch (psi)

Atmospheric pressure and air density _______ with height

Decreases

Unit of density

kg/m³ or g/cm³

T/F Our atmosphere consists of all 3 states of matter

T

3 types of atmospheric processes

1. Physical

2. Chemical

3. Biological

Physical atmospheric processes

Change in appearance in a substance which can change back to original state

Ex: Water phase changes

Chemical atmospheric processes

Change of a substance into a new one with a different chemical identity

Ex: Lightning combines oxygen and nitrogen and creates a new gas

Biological atmospheric processes

Change of a substance into a new one that has a different biological identity

Ex: Photosynthesis

Atmosphere has 2 types of gases

Constant gases and Trace gases

Constant gas

• Same % all over

• Little yearly or seasonal variation

• N2, O2, Ar

Trace gases

• Only small portion of the air

• Varying quantities

• CO2, H2O, O3, CH4

Residence time

Amount of chemical in the atmosphere / rate which chemical is removed from atmosphere

________ has great meteorological importance because it influences heating of the atmosphere

CO2

How does CO2 get into the atmosphere?

Humans:

• Fuel combustion

Natural:

• Respiration

______ ______ is Earth’s most abundant greenhouse gas

Water vapor

_______ absorbs solar radiation

Ozone

Majority of atmospheric ozone is round in the ________

Stratosphere

_______ aerosols result from combustion

• Coal

• Crude oil

• Burning vegetation

Anthropogenic

______ aerosols result from…

• Sea spray

• Uptake of silicates (dust)

• Wildfires (smoke)

Natural