Exam 4 Study Guide Flashcards

Flashcards for Exam 4 study guide focusing on Atmosphere, Wind, Storms, and Climate.

Evolution of the Atmosphere

The gradual change in the composition of Earth's atmosphere over time.

Structure of the Atmosphere

The layers of the atmosphere, including troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.

Characteristics of the Atmosphere

Temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind.

Formation of Clouds, Fog, and Precipitation

Processes such as condensation and deposition that lead to the formation of clouds, fog, and precipitation.

Different Types of Precipitation

Rain, snow, sleet, and hail.

What is fog?

Clouds that form in contact with, or near, the ground surface

What is radiation fog?

Ground is warmed by the sun during the day and visible light is converted to infrared radiation and released into the atmosphere

What is advection fog

Warm, humid air flows over a cool surface

What is evaporation fog?

Water evaporates and saturates the air with vapor

Wind

The force of air moving from high to low pressure areas.

Forces Causing/Affecting Wind

Pressure gradient force, Coriolis effect, and friction.

High- and Low-Pressure Systems

Areas of rising and sinking air masses, influencing weather patterns.

Mid-latitude Air Circulation

Temperate climates with four distinct seasons.This includes Air masses, fronts (cold, warm, stationary, occluded), and their impact on weather.

What is a cold front?

Cold air advances, warm air retreats. Advances quickly, followed by cool, clear conditions

What is a warm front?

Cold air mass retreats, and warm air advances. Advances slowly and clouds become lower and thicker as front nears

What are occluded fronts?

Warm front overtaken by cold front

What are stationery fronts?

Cold air moves parallel to front, and warm air rises over it

Local Wind Systems

Similar processes can operate on a smaller scale to produce localized wind and weather patterns. This can include sea breezes, land breezes, mountain breezes, and valley breezes.

What are sea breezes?

Patterns the occur near the coast, the land warms during the day and cools at night, and water temp is more stable

What are mountain-valley breezes?

Slopes change temperature faster than air over valley, then the process reverses overnight when slopes cool more quickly

Different types of storms?

Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

What is a storm?

Weather system caused by a disturbance in the atmosphere and is capable of producing precipitation and potentially dangerous conditions

What are thunderstorms?

Towering cumulonimbus clouds that produce lightning and thunder

How are thunderstorms formed?

1. Form a moist air parcel at low altitude

2. Lift the air to create an updraft

3. Create atmospheric instability - Lifted air becomes less dense than the air surrounding it, forcing it to continue rising

What are ordinary thunderstorms?

• Storms that are isolated and do not rotate

• Form from a single updraft-downdraft cell

• Short-lived

What are squall-line thunderstorms?

• Occurs when multiple thunderstorms form along a single cold front

• May last several hours and produce damaging winds

• Are preceded by shelf clouds

What are supercell thunderstorms?

• Strong, long-lasting updraft that rotates around a tilted axis

• Strong vertical wind shear occurs where wind near the ground moves in a different speed and direction from wind at higher altitudes

• Tube of air gets sucked into updraft then splits in two once precipitation begins

Thunderstorm Hazards

Lightning, strong winds, hail, and flash floods.

What is hail?

Forms when graupel (snow pellets) circulate through a storm and accumulate multiple coatings of rime

What is flooding?

Lots of rain that overflows in rivers, lakes, or the ground

Lightning

A discharge of electricity in the atmosphere caused by charge separation in clouds.

What are tornadoes?

Rotating columns of air extending from the ground to the base a thunderstorm with localized intense low-pressure systems

What are supercell tornadoes?

Downdraft from a supercell produces a horizontal roll of air that travels outward across the ground and gets sucked in by an updraft

What are non-supercell tornadoes?

Horizontal wind shear along a front produces a vertically rotating air column at the ground

How are tornadoes ranked?

Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale (correlates damage to wind speeds)

What is the EF range?

E0 - E5

What is a tornado watch?

Be prepared for weather conditions to form severe storms and tornadoes

What is a tornado warning?

A tornado has been spotted or indicated by a weather radar, which is immediate danger to life

What is a tornado emergency?

A rare situation with a severe threat to human life thats highly catastrophic

Tornado Hazards

High winds and flying debris, which can destroy homes and windows

Hurricanes

Intense tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 74 mph or higher.

How are hurricanes formed?

1. Cluster of thunderstorms form over the ocean (Tropical disturbance)

2. Condensation releases large amounts of latent heat, causing cluster to expand

3. Expansion of storm cluster produces a low-pressure center

4. Thunderstorms begin to rotate around the low-pressure center (Tropical Cyclone)

Parts of a Hurricane

Eye, eyewall, and rainbands.

Hurricane Hazards

Dangerous winds, trees pulled, houses torn up, storm surges, rising water, and forest fires

What is climate?

Average atmospheric conditions over an extended period

What is weather?

Instantaneous atmospheric conditions in a location

Primary Controls on Climate

Latitude, elevation, proximity to water, and ocean currents.

Secondary Controls on Climate

Mountain barriers, cloud cover, and vegetation.

Paleoclimatology

Study of climates and climate change through geologic time

Climate Change

Changes in Earth's climate throughout history.

Modern Global Climate Change

The current warming trend caused primarily by human activities.

Causes of Climate Change

Increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Impacts of Climate Change

Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and changes in precipitation patterns.