Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
NREM 390 – FIRE ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT – FALL 2010 OUTCOMES – September 2 and 7 FIRE BASICS: FIRE WEATHER TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, RH Reading assignment: Pyne, pp. 128-162 After doing the assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you should be able to: Explain the processes by which the Earth maintains its heat balance. Explain vertical changes in atmospheric pressure, temperature, volume, and mass in the troposphere. List three factors that influence the amount of radiation reaching the ground. Explain how the following surface properties affect temperature: absorption reflectance transparency conductivity heat capacity moisture Describe the effect of wind on heating. Define the following terms: o Relative humidity o Saturation Explain the diurnal (daily) changes in RH. Explain how temperature affects relative humidity. Explain how RH and rainfall affect moisture of different fuel types. Homework – Choose a current fire (preferably in your “group project ecoregion”, but if this is not possible, then choose any fire). Then find the hourly temperature, dew point, and relative humidity for 6:00 am – midnight on September 2nd, 2008 for that site. Use www.weather.com and the ‘hour-by-hour’ forecast. Bring information on the fire’s burn behavior and weather data to class on Thursday. ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY Reading assignment: Pyne, pp. 128-162 After doing the assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you should be able to: Define atmospheric stability Explain how night inversions and marine inversions occur, and how they may affect fire behavior. Explain the process of subsidence, and how it may affect fire weather conditions. Be able to identify the signs of a stable and unstable atmosphere. Define dew point. Be able to determine dew point and RH from tables if given the appropriate information. Explain the difference between dry adiabatic lapse rate, moist adiabatic lapse rate, and super adiabatic lapse rate, and how they affect atmospheric stability. WINDS Reading assignment: Pyne, pp. 128-158 After watching the film and participating in class discussions, you should be able to: List the three main types of winds Define circulation cell and apply it to the sun’s heating of the Earth. Define the following terms o Low pressure cell o High pressure cell o Cold front & warm front o Gradient wind o Standing waves, mountain waves o Foen (pronounced “fern”) winds o Virga o Anvil What are the three factors that determine the behavior of gradient winds? Give the names of 5 different foen winds Explain sea breeze and land breeze Explain slope winds and valley winds AIR MASSES & FRONTS Reading assignment: Pyne, pp. 128-158 After doing the assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you should be able to: Explain the difference between high and low pressure systems Define o Air mass o Front o Cold Front o Warm Front o Occluded front o Stationary Front o Squall line Identify the source regions of different air masses and describe their properties. Explain how the properties of air masses can change after they leave their source region. Explain expected wind shifts with different kinds of fronts. Describe expected weather changes with the approach and passage of different kinds of fronts (both fast- and slow-moving). CLOUDS & THUNDER STORMS Reading assignment: Pyne, pp. 128-158 After doing the assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you should be able to: Describe how clouds are formed Describe 5 types of cloud formations and indicate the kind of weather they signal. List the three components necessary for thunderstorm development Discuss the three stages of a thunderstorm and indicate how they affect wind and temperature on the ground. Describe the process by which lightening is generated in a thunderstorm. Discuss the kinds of lightening that exist in a thunderstorm, and indicate which kind is most responsible for starting fires.