Lankford Exam - Atmosphere and Meteorology

Troposphere

The lowest layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs. 90% of all weather, 10 mi

Stratosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, containing the ozone layer.

Mesosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the stratosphere.

Thermosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the mesosphere.

Exosphere

The outermost layer of the atmosphere.

Ozone (O₃)

A molecule found mostly in the stratosphere that traps heat and blocks radiation.

Ionosphere

Part of Earth's upper atmosphere, between 80 and about 600 km, where solar radiation ionizes atoms and molecules.

Aurora

Natural light display in the sky, typically seen in high-latitude regions, caused by the ionosphere.

Magnetosphere

A protective bubble of magnetic field surrounding the planet, shielding it from harmful solar wind and cosmic rays.

Conduction

The process by which heat or electricity is directly transmitted through a substance without movement of the material.

Convection

The movement of particles through a substance, transporting heat energy from hotter areas to cooler areas.

Radiation

The process where energy is transferred from one object to another through electromagnetic waves.

Clouds

Visible masses of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.

Adiabatic heating/cooling

Processes involving changes in temperature due to work done on or by a system, with no heat transfer occurring.

Cold front

Forms when a cold, dense air mass pushes under a warm, lighter air mass, forcing the warm air to rise.

Warm front

A warm air mass pushes into a cooler air mass, often resulting in small showers.

Occluded front

A weather front formed when a cold front overtakes a warm front, leading to thunderstorms.

Stationary front

A boundary between two air masses where neither is strong enough to displace the other, resulting in fair weather.

Cyclone

An area of low pressure where air masses meet and rise.

Anticyclone

An area of high pressure where air moves apart and sinks.

Hadley cell

Located near the equator, where warm, moist air rises and cools, forming clouds and precipitation.

Ferrell cell

Found between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, driven by the interaction between the Hadley and Polar cells.

Polar cell

Located at high latitudes, where cold, dry air sinks and moves towards the equator.

Thermal Inversion

A phenomenon where a layer of warm air sits above a layer of cooler air, contrary to the normal temperature decrease with altitude.

how did earths atmosphere form?

Volcanic outgassing

what are the most common gasses in the atmosphere

Nitrogen, oxygen, argon

what are some examples of variable atmospheric gasses?

water, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane

Forms of heat transfer

1. Radiation

Temperature inversions

caused by cold, clear, winter nights with calm air when the land does not radiate energy to the lower layers of atmosphere.

Wind

caused by differences in temperature, pressure and density of air

Humidity

is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere at a given location on Earth's surface.

relative humidity

the % of water vapor in the air relative to the amount needed for 100% saturation

Dew point

the temperature to which air must be cooled at constant pressure to reach full saturation in the atmosphere & condense

latent heat

the extra thermal energy contained in a unit of water vapor compared to its liquid water form.

adiabatic process

An air mass can change temperature without being heated or cooled

Stable air

when a rising air mass cools and sinks back to a level of the same atmospheric density. (Fair weather clouds)

unstable air

occurs when the surrounding air cools faster than the warm rising air mass. (Thunderstorms)

convective lifting

cloud forming when moist air rises expands and cools

Orographic lifting

an air mass is forced to move up over a mountain. as the air rises, it cools reaching dew point and condensing into clouds/precipitation

Convergence

two air masses run into each other, forcing each other upward

nacreous clouds

form at high altitudes(stratosphere) over poles.

noctilucent clouds

form in mesophere in polar regions

meteorology

study of atmospheric phenomina.

weather vs climate

weather = short term

climate = avg over at least 30 yrs

air mass

large body of air that has same characteristics as the source region

front

a collision between two air masses, creating dramatic weather changes

cold front

occurs when dense cold air displaces warm air going under.

warm front

occurs when warm air displaces cold air and can cause light rain

occluded front

when a cold air mass moves rapidly lifting up a warm air mass and makes contact with another cold air mass in front of it. usually heavy storms as a result

stationary front

occurs when cold and warm air masses come into contact but neither advance and the front stalls. generally fair weather as result

climate

climate is a long term average of variations in weather for a particular area.