Download Weather and Atmosphere

Weather and Atmosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
Layer
Temperature Pattern
Air Pressure Pattern
Important
Characteristics
Troposphere
The higher you go up,
the colder it gets
Highest near the
Earth’s surface
All weather and life
exists here
Stratosphere
It gets warmer as you
go up in the layer
Lower than the
troposphere
Weather balloons; jets
fly at the bottom of
this layer; ozone at
this layer
Mesosphere
It gets colder as you
go up in the layer
Lower than the
stratosphere
Coldest layer; air
extremely thin;
meteors and shooting
stars
Thermosphere
It gets warmer as you
go up
Lower than the
mesosphere
Hottest Layer;
auroras; space
shuttles
Exosphere
Temperature begins to Lowest air pressure
level off
Satellites orbit
Sample Question
How does the temperature of the stratosphere
compare to the mesosphere?
A. It is colder than the mesosphere because the
stratosphere contains the ozone layer
B. It is warmer than the mesosphere because the
stratosphere contains the ozone layer
C. It is colder than the mesosphere because the
stratosphere contains the ionosphere
D. It is warmer than the mesosphere because the
stratosphere contains the ionosphere
Air Pressure and Density
• Air pressure: Air pressure decreases as you go
up in the atmosphere because there are fewer
air molecules as altitude increases
• Density: Density decreases in our atmosphere
as we go up. Most of the mass of the
atmosphere is near the surface.
Sample Question
Why does air pressure decrease from the
troposphere to the exosphere?
A. Because there are fewer air molecules as
altitude increases
B. Because there are more air molecules as
altitude increases
C. Because there are higher temperatures as
altitude increases
D. Because there are lower temperatures as
altitude increases
Components of Air
78% = Nitrogen
21% = Oxygen
1% =CO2, Argon and
other gases
Heat Transfer in the Atmosphere
Sample Question
How does convection of air produce
thunderstorms?
A. By causing warm air to sink and cold air to
rise
B. By causing warm air to rise and cold air to
sink
C. By causing both warm air and cold air to rise
D. By causing both warm air and cold air to sink
Global Wind Belts
Global Winds
• Doldrums: Low pressure near the equator; warm
air rises to the top of the troposphere; heavy
evaporation from warm ocean water fuels
tropical storms
• Tradewinds: Blow from the east; move from the
horse latitudes toward the poles; strong and
steady but die as they reach the equator
• Horse Latitudes: High pressure zones 30N and
30S of the equator, warm air traveling from the
equator cools and sinks here; weather tends to
be clear and dry
Global Winds
• Westerlies: Blow from the west; move from
the horse latitude towards the poles; bring
storms across much of the United States
• Polar Easterlies: Blow from the east; move
from the polar regions to the mid latitudes;
stormy weather often occurs when cold air of
the easterlies meets warm air of the
westerlies
Coriolis Effect
• If Earth did not rotate, global winds would
flow directly from the poles to the equator
• The Earth’s rotation changes the direction of
winds
• In the Northern Hemisphere, winds curve to
the right and in the Southern Hemisphere,
winds curve to the left
Coriolis Effect
Sample Question
Which best explains how the Coriolis effect influences
weather conditions?
A. It causes winds to rotate, forming tornadoes on
Earth
B. It causes winds to move to the right in the southern
hemisphere
C. It causes winds to turn to the right in the northern
hemisphere
D. It causes winds to follow a straight-line path around
Earth
Pressure Systems
• High Pressure: Air sinks slowly; air moves all
the way around a high-pressure center; large
and change slowly; brings clear skies and calm
air or gentle breezes
• Low Pressure: Surrounds a center of low
pressure; air moves upward and inward
toward the lowest pressure and then up to
high altitudes; can bring stormy weather
Sample Question
•
•
•
•
•
Which occurs within a high-pressure system?
A. The formation of clouds
B. The formation of hurricanes
C. Large clouds, as air rises
D. Calm weather, as air sinks
Fronts
• Cold Fronts: Forms when a cold air mass pushes a
warm air mass and forces the warm air to rise;
produce cumulonimbus clouds and precipitation are
produced; brief, heavy storms are likely; after the
storms, the air is cooler and often very clear
• Warm Fronts: Forms when a warm air mass pushes a
cold air mass and warm air rises slowly over the cold
air; produces cloud covered skies; brings hours of
steady rain; after front passes, the air is warmer
Fronts
Reading Weather Maps
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZzEeveJ8&list=PLBz2H7ONyZmZXrgS3rJWVbvyCdtHcFqd
Sample Question
Day and
Time
Tuesday at 8 Tuesday at 2
AM
PM
Temperature 60F
40F
Pressure
30.28 in
29.97 in
Winds
Southwest
Northwest
Skies
Partly Cloudy Cloudy, Rainy
and Thunder
What has most likely occurred
in this area?
• A. A warm front has
passed
• B. A cold front has passed
• C. A blizzard has taken
place
• D. A high-pressure system
has stalled
Humidity and Dew Point
Humidity
• Amount of water vapor in
the air
• Higher humidity makes the
air seem hotter and damper
Dew Point
• Temperature at which air
with a given amount of
water vapor will reach
saturation
• The higher the dew point of
air, the more water vapor
the air contains
Sample Question
Four-Day Temperature
Recordings at 3:00 PM
Day
Temperature F
Thursday
59
Friday
63
Saturday
72
Sunday
64
On which day could the air
have held the greatest
amount of water vapor at 3:00
A. Thursday
B. Friday
C. Saturday
D. Sunday
Sample Question
Why is it important for the United States to monitor air
pollution levels in other countries?
A. Air pollution can improve the ozone layer amounts
in the atmosphere
B. Air pollution can travel to the United States and
affect people’s health
C. The United States is the only country able to
monitor the air quality
D. The United States has clean air and is able to help
other countries
Storms
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/1
01-videos/weather-101-sci
Sea Breeze (comes from the sea)
Land Breeze (comes from the land)
Gulf Stream
• The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the
east coast of North America from Florida to
Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe.
Although there has been recent debate, there
is consensus that the climate of Western
Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it
would otherwise be due to the North Atlantic
drift which is the northeastern section of the
Gulf Stream
The Water Cycle
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wgifs/Wate
rcycle.GIF
Click link for water cycle diagram
Gulf Stream
Sample Question
• Runoff is an important part of the water cycle.
1.What is the final destination for runoff that
flows on the surface of the continents?
2.How can runoff water contribute to the
weather in an area?