Download Meteorology

Meteorology
U.E.Q.: How do atmospheric changes create different weather
patterns and how can they be predicted?
Air Composition
•
________________ - the combining of
distinct parts or
elements to form a
_____________.
_______________
• _____% Oxygen
• 78%
• 1% Other
Air Pressure
• Properties of Air
–
_________________ - the amount of mass
–
–
in a given volume
Pressure – force pushing on an area or surface
Observe: Pressure
–
_________ ________________
is the result of the weight of an air column pushing down on an
area
– National Weather Service uses
as unit for air pressure
– One inch of mercury is equal to
_____________
__________ mb
• Altitude and Air Properties
–
_______________ is the distance above sea
level, or elevation
– As altitude increases, air pressure decreases, air density
________________
_________
• Which layer has the lowest pressure? _________
• Which layer has the highest pressure?
Layers of the Atmosphere
• Observe: Atmosphere Intro
• Atmosphere divided into four layers:
________________
– ________________
– ________________
– ________________
–
• Troposphere
________________ occurs
– Contains almost all of the _____________ of the
– Where Earth’s
atmosphere
– Temperature decreases about
–
_______ C each km.
__________ km from Earth’s surface
• Stratosphere
__________ layer
– Ozone is the _______ atom form of ________
– Contains the
________________ is warmer than
– Upper
lower stratosphere due to ozone
_______________ Sun’s radiation
– ____________ km from Earth’s surface
• Mesosphere
– Protects earth from being hit with
___________________
– Temperatures near _______ C
– __________ km from Earth’s surface
• Thermosphere
______________ layer of atmosphere
– The air is thin, and hot ________ C
– The
– First layer the Sun’s radiation hits
–
___________ above Earth’s surface; No outer limit
--Thermosphere divided into two layers:
________________
 Ionosphere (
)
• Sun’s energy causes particles to be electrically charged, ions
• Observe Aurora Borealis – the northern lights
• Exosphere (
______________)
• Observe: Atmosphere Diagram
Air Pollution
____ _____________
• An
is any
unwanted substance or chemical that contaminate the air
that we breathe resulting in a decline in air quality. Air
pollutants occur both outdoors and indoors.
Energy in Earth’s Atmosphere
• The energy in Earth’s atmosphere comes from the
___.
___________ (EM) waves
• Energy from EM waves is called __________.
• Energy travels as
Greenhouse Effect
__________ travels through Earth’s atmosphere
• Earth’s surface gives off ___________ radiation
• The energy is held in by the atmosphere thus _____ it
•
• Observe: Greenhouse Effect
Heat Transfer
• Temperature is the average amount of energy of
__________ of each particle of a substance
• Thermal Energy is the total energy of motion in the
______________
• Temperature is measured with a ___________
particles of a
• Observe: Global Temperature
Winds
• Local Winds
– Sea Breezes – blows from
_____ to _____
– Land Breezes – blows from
_____ to _____
• Global Winds
–
________________ – calm area near
equator of rising air
–
–
____________
_
– blow from the horse latitudes
toward the equator in both hemispheres from east to west
_______ __________ – 30 degrees north
or south of the equator; calm area of falling air
–
________ _________ – blow from horse
latitudes toward the poles in both hemispheres from west to east
–
__________ __________ – blow cold
air away from the poles in both hemispheres from east to west
Water in the Atmosphere
• Is there water in the air?
• Observe: Water Cycle
_________________ – transformation of
•
water from liquid to gas
–
_________________ – transformation of
water from gas to liquid
–
__________________ – flow of water into
the ground
–
__________________ – condensed water
vapor that falls to Earth
–
__________________ – evaporation of
water from living plants
–
______-______ – movement of water across
land
• Water is introduced into the atmosphere through
• Humidity
_______
_________ _________
in the air varies depending on air __________and
_____________
– ___________ _____________:
– The amount of
The actual amount of water vapor in the air.
_________.
Warm air holds more ___________ than cool air
– When the air has the _____________ amount of
water vapor it can hold, it is said to be __________.
•
Depends on air
•
•
Saturation is when actual vapor density=saturation vapor
density
________ temperatures can hold more
water vapor than air at _________ temperatures.
– ____________ ____________:
• Air with
How near the air is to saturation.
• Looks at actual vapor density in relation to saturation vapor
density for air at a given temperature.
• @ 10 C a cubic meter of air holds at most 8 grams of water
vapor
–
If there were 8 grams in the air R.H. =
______%
If there were 4 grams in the air R.H. =
– Measuring Humidity
–
______%
__-__thermometer
• Wet bulb thermometer uses ____ as a cooling process.
• Air temperature is measured with a
Drier air has higher rates of evaporation, which causes a
lower wet-bulb temperature.
– More moist air has lower rates of evaporation, which
causes a higher wet-bulb temperature.
–
•
_________ between dry-bulb temperature and
wet-bulb temperature can give relative humidity.
• Humidity and Condensation
_________
–
occurs when air becomes cooler.
– Temperature at which condensation occurs for a given humidity
is known as dew point.
• Ex.:
______________________
• Measuring Relative Humidity
–
_________
•
•
•
•
•
Has a wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometer
The bulb of the wet-bulb thermometer has a cloth covering
moistened in water
When slung air blows over both thermometers
The wet-bulb thermometer is cooled by evaporation and the
reading drops below the dry-bulb thermometer reading
The relative humidity can be found by comparing the
temperatures of the wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers
Clouds
• Clouds form from water vapor
__________________ to form liquid water
or ice crystals
_______ ____________
• Observe:
- the
temp. at which condensation begins
• For water vapor to condense into clouds, tiny particles must be
present so the water has a surface on which to condense
–
________ ____________, ____________,
__________________
• Clouds are classified in three types by their
–
_________:
___________ – means curl of hair; wispy, feathery
Cirro__________ – rows of cotton balls, mean
•
storms on its way
–
______________ – means heap or mass;
fluffy, rounded piles of cotton
•
•
_____cumulus – high altitude faint cumulus clouds
Cumulo__________ – towering clouds that
indicate thunderstorms
–
______________ – means spread out; form in
flat layers
•
•
________stratus – high altitude faint stratus clouds
__________stratus – thick stratus; produce
drizzle, rain or snow
Air Masses
•
____ ____– huge body of air at any given height
that has similar:
– Temperature
– Humidity
– Air pressure
• An Air Mass Could be:
_____________
–
of square kilometers in spread
– Up to 10 kilometers deep
• Four major types of air masses for North America:
–
__________ __________- bring
warm, humid air
• From the Pacific Ocean to California and West Coast
• From the Gulf of Mexico to the Eastern U.S.
–
__________ __________- bring hot,
dry air
• Move in from the Mexico to the Southern Plains
–
__________ __________- bring cool,
humid air
• From the Pacific to West Coast
• From the Atlantic and Eastern Canada often pushed out to
sea by westerly winds
–
__________ __________– bring cold
air
From Central and Northern Canada to Central and Eastern
U.S.
• Air masses move by prevailing westerlies and jet streams
•
–
_______ ______– wind belts over the
continental U.S., blow from west to east
–
_____ ________ -Bands of high speed winds
about 10 km altitude, west to east
Fronts and Systems
•
_____________– boundary where air masses
meet
• Four Types of Fronts:
•
•
•
_______ ______Cold air mass runs into
warm air mass
denser cold air mass slides under the lighter warm air mass
Bring colder, drier air; clear skies, shift in wind and lower
temperatures
•
_______ ______Warm air mass runs into
•
•
cold air mass
lighter warm air mass moves over the denser cold air mass
Brings warm humid weather
•
_______ ______Cold and warm air mass
•
meet but neither moves the other
Water vapor in the warm air condenses into precipitation
•
_______ ______Warm air mass gets
•
•
caught between two cooler air masses
Cool air moves under warm air; Warm air mass is cut off from
the ground
Brings weather that may turn cloudy and precipitate.
• Cyclones
___ pressure centers often moist air
– Winds spiral _______ from the center
– Brings ______________________
–
• Anticyclones
___ pressure centers of dry air
– Winds spiral ____ from the center
– Brings _____________
–
Hurricanes
•
A hurricane is a rotating tropical storm with winds of at least 74
miles (119 kilometers) an hour.
– These storms are called:
•
•
__________ - Atlantic or eastern Pacific Oceans.
________ - Bay of Bengal and the northern Indian
Ocean.
________- western Pacific.
The _____ is the low-pressure center of the hurricane.
•
•
–
•
____ ___
A ring-shaped
surrounds the eye and
carries the storm's most violent winds and its most intense rains.
Hurricane season in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and
central Pacific is from June 1 to November 30. In the eastern
Pacific, it is from May 15 to November 30.
– Hurricanes can cause
–
•
Air sinks inside the eye, clearing the skies and making it
relatively calm.
_________________________.
_____ ________- an abnormal rise in sea level
–
–
usually the most dangerous part of a hurricane
cause beach erosion
–
–
•
wash out roads
decimate homes
Forecasters at the U.S.
______ _______
________in Florida track storms with:
–
–
–
satellite imagery
airborne reconnaissance
computer-model projections
Thunderstorms
________ – violent disturbance in the atmosphere
• _____________
•
– form in cumulonimbus clouds; thunderheads
• On hot, humid afternoons
• When warm air is forced up a cold front
– Heavy rainfall possibly hail; strong
___________
___________
and
– Most common in spring and summer
–
_____________
•
Areas of positive and negative electrical charges build up in
clouds
•
As
_____________ jump:
Between parts of a cloud
– Between clouds
– Between the cloud and the ground
–
_____________C
– _____________
–
•
Heats the air to ~
The expansion causes an explosion in the air
•
See the lightning before you hear the thunder
– Floods due to high
_____________
Tornadoes
– Rapidly whirling,
_____________ cloud that
touches earth’s surface
– Winds speeds approach
_________
– Formation
_____________ clouds
•
From
•
Warm moist air flows in at the bottom of a cumulonimbus
cloud and moves upward.
•
A
•
The warm air begins to rotate as it meets winds blowing in
different directions at different altitudes
A tornado forms as part of the cloud descends to earth in a
funnel
•
___ pressure system form inside the cloud
______ ______.
• _____________ - large thunderstorms that
• Most tornadoes occur in the
have winds already in rotation.
• Most tornadoes in the United States occur in
_______
– from Texas to Nebraska
• The average twister
– about 660 feet (200 meters) wide
– moves about 30 mph (50 kmh)
______
•
___________ at the U.S. National Weather Service
watch the skies for severe storms and tornadic activity with:
–
_____________ radar
– Satellites
–
_____________ balloons
– computer modeling
Winter Storms
• If the air is colder than 0 C all the way to the ground,
•
_____________ falls as snow
_____________ - a severe winter storm condition
characterized by:
–
______ of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more
– have snow or blowing snow
–
_____________ less than 1 km (about 5⁄8
mile)þ
_____ ______of less than −25 °C (−13 °F),
– All of these conditions must last for ______or more
–a
Reading Weather Maps
•
_____________ – scientists who study the causes
of weather and try to predict it using:
– Maps
_____________
– _____________
–
– Radar
–
_____________Satellites
– Surface instruments
• A weather map is a “
_____________” of the
conditions at a particular time over a large area
–
_____________ – lines joining places with
similar pressure
–
_____________ – lines joining places with
similar temperature
• Symbols on weather maps show:
–
_____________
–
Areas of high and low pressure
–
Types of
–
Temperatures
_____________
• Limits to forecasting due to “
________ _____”