clouds, precip, phase change check in
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39 Terms
what is temperature?
a measure of molecular energy
what is latent heat
energy gained to undergo a phase change
what phase changes absorb heat
vaporization, sublimination
Which phase changes release heat
freezing, condensation
what is evaporation
when the heat of the sun causes water from the ocean to turn into water vapor
what causes condensation to happen
air gets to a point where it can no longer hold all the mositure from the cool air in its gas form, so some water vapor changes to water and condensates.
what does condensation create
clouds
what is sublimation
the change of state from a solid to a gas, without passing through the liquid state
water cycle steps
evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, groundwater
what is transpiration
the evaporation of water from a plant's leaves, stem, or flowers.
what drives the water cycle
Energy from the sun and the force of gravity drive the continual movement of water between pools
why does the water cycle happen
it enables the availability of water for all living organisms and regulates weather patterns on our planet. If water didn't naturally recycle itself, we would run out of clean water
precipitation
Any form of water that falls from the air to the Earth's surface
what is sleet
snow that partially melts in layer of warmer air then re-freezes before the ground
what is hail
balls of ice that are sent up into the clouds many times
what is the most common form of precipitation
rain
what is freezing rain
snow that melts and immediately freezes on contact w/ ground which creates dangerous ice
how do clouds form
adiabatic cooling
what is adiabatic cooling
process where air temp changes due to expansion/compression
condensation nuclei
Microscopic particles on which water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets like dust, pollen, smoke, and sea salt
dew point
tells us how much mositure is in the air
why are clouds important
they transport energy from one area to another, reflect light from the sun (cool planet), and trap uv rays (warm planet)
How are clouds named? What two things are they based on?
Shape and height in sky
How Are Clouds Classified?
based on the height of the cloud's base above the Earth's surface/unique characteristics
what is relative humidity
percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the max amount the air can hold (closeness the air is to saturation)
how is relative humidity measured
measuring the cooling effect of evaporation (psychometer)
dry bulb
air temp
wet bulb
measures how much water has been evaporated
wet bulb depression
dry bulb - wet bulb = how saturated the air is
when is rh high
when air temp and dew point are close/equal, air is saturated
when is rh low
when air temp and dew point are far apart, air is drier
What happens at 100% relative humidity?
the air is totally saturated with water vapor and cannot hold any more, creating the possibility of rain.
How can we change relative humidity?
increase/decrease temp
relative humdity formula
(H2O vapor content / H20 vapor capacity) X 100
Cirro meaning
curl,high
alto meaning
mid
strato meaning
layer
nimbo meaning
rain
nimbo meaning
heap