Hurricanes, Climate Change, and Atmospheric Optics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering hurricane anatomy and dynamics, climate change drivers and evidence, and various atmospheric optical phenomena.

Tropical Cyclone

A generic term for storms of tropical origin.

Tropical Disturbance

The initial group of thunderstorms that can precede a tropical cyclone.

Tropical Depression

A storm characterized by closed circulation and sustained winds ranging from $20$ to $34\,knots$.

Tropical Storm

A stage where winds range from $35$ to $63\,knots$ and the storm is assigned a name.

Hurricane

A storm in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific with sustained winds greater than $64\,knots$ ($74\,mph$).

Typhoon

The term used for hurricanes occurring in the Northwest Pacific.

Tropical Waves (Easterly Waves)

Features characterized by streamlines in the tropics that can lead to thunderstorms due to atmospheric instability.

Eye

The calm center of a hurricane.

Eyewall

A ring of thunderstorms surrounding the eye where the strongest winds are located.

Spiral Rain Bands

Bands located outside the eyewall that produce rain and thunderstorms.

Coriolis effect

The force that turns surface winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, causing counterclockwise rotation in hurricanes.

Anticyclonic cloud pattern

The upper-level airflow typical of hurricanes where air flows outward from the center.

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Threshold

A required condition for hurricane development where temperatures must exceed $26.5^{\circ}C$ ($80^{\circ}F$).

Hurricane Season

The period from June to November in the Atlantic when conditions are most conducive for development.

Storm Surge

A rise in ocean water levels due to wind and pressure effects as a hurricane approaches land.

Saffir-Simpson Scale Category 3

A hurricane with winds of $111-129\,mph$ causing devastating damage and disruption of services for weeks.

Saffir-Simpson Scale Category 5

A hurricane with winds of $157\,mph$ and up, causing catastrophic damage with high percentages of homes destroyed.

Hurricane Watch

An alert indicating that hurricane conditions may exist within $48\,hours$.

Hurricane Warning

An alert indicating that hurricane conditions are expected in less than $36\,hours$.

Dropsondes

Instruments dropped into storms by Hurricane Hunter aircraft to measure atmospheric conditions.

Climate

The long-term patterns of weather in a particular area, representing the average of conditions over longer periods.

Weather

Short-term atmospheric conditions.

Global Warming

A specific term referring to the rise in average global temperatures.

Climate Change

A broad term encompassing shifts in climate variables, including global warming and other factors.

Paleoproxies

Sources such as tree rings, ice cores, ocean sediments, and old rocks used to inform us about historical climate.

Acasta Gneiss

A paleoproxy from Nunavut, Canada, dating back approximately $4.03\,billion$ years.

Vostok Ice Core

Data source used to measure Carbon Dioxide and Temperature over the last $420,000\,years$.

First Law of Thermodynamics

The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form.

Greenhouse effect

The fundamental mechanism underlying Earth's energy balance.

Radiative forcing

A concept driving energy balance, determined by sunlight interception and albedo.

Albedo

The amount of sunlight the Earth reflects back into space.

Milankovitch Cycles

Changes in Earth's orbit and axial tilt that correlate with ice ages.

Plate Tectonics

Geological mechanisms that impact climate by altering ocean currents and facilitating large ice sheet formation.

Volcanic cooling mechanisms

The release of Carbon dioxide, water vapor, aerosols, and black carbon particles that contribute to atmospheric cooling.

Carbon dioxide increase since 1750

A rise in atmospheric composition of $+151\%$.

Methane increase since 1750

A rise in atmospheric composition of $+265\%$.

Positive Feedback

A mechanism within the Earth system that enhances initial changes.

Negative Feedback

A mechanism within the Earth system that disrupts or mitigates initial changes.

Permafrost melting

Evaluated as a positive feedback mechanism due to its impact on climate change.

Selective Scattering

Process where air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths (violet, blue, green) much more effectively than longer wavelengths.

Rayleigh Scattering

The phenomenon responsible for the blue sky, red sunsets, and blue haze.

Blue Haze

Caused by compounds released by trees that selectively scatter blue light.

Geometric Scattering

Process where large water droplets scatter all wavelengths equally in all directions, making clouds appear white.

Rainbow Formation

Caused by refraction within individual raindrops when the Sun is behind the observer.

Halos

Rings of light encircling the Sun or Moon caused by refraction through column-shaped ice crystals.

Sundogs (Parhelia)

Multicolored bright spots on either side of the Sun caused by ice refraction through hexagonal plates.

Sun Pillars

Vertical shafts of light produced by the reflection of light off pencil-shaped ice crystals near the horizon.

Glory

An optical phenomenon caused by diffraction as light passes around objects.

Heiligenschein

A bright area around an object's shadow caused by dew drops retro-reflecting sunlight.

Mirage

An extreme refraction phenomenon resulting from significant density differences caused by temperature contrasts near the ground.