Understanding Weather: The Atmosphere, Climate Processes, and Phenomena

1. Weather Review By Bryson Getz

2. Atmosphere • Layer of gases that surround the Earth • Characteristics • Altitude or distance above sea level • Density- Amount of mass in a given volume of a substance • Higher up in altitude, the lower the air density • Made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% of other gases

3. Water cycle • What is “evaporation from plants” called?

4. Radiation • Energy that travels across distances in forms of certain types of waves • Main source of energy on Earth is radiation from the Sun • 30% is reflected and 70% is absorbed

5. Convection and Conduction • Conduction is a transfer of heat from one substance to another by direct contact • Convection is the transfer of energy from place to place by motion of gas or liquid

6. Atmosphere Layers • Troposphere- Closest to Earth. We live in it. Most of all weather is in this layer. • Stratosphere- The ozone is in this layer • Mesophere- Most meteors burn in this layer • Thermosphere- Highest layer and the air is extremely thin

8. Ozone Layer • The ozone layers forms in the stratosphere • The ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun • Other types of radiation get through • The ozone layer can get damaged by pollution and gases

9. Greenhouse Effect • Certain gases in the atmosphere absorb and emit infrared radiation, increasing surface temperature • Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases are called greenhouse gases • This is helpful by keeping infrared radiation in the atmosphere raising the temperature • Too many greenhouse gases (like from pollution) can keep too much infrared radiation, raising the temperature too much

10. Greenhouse effect

11. Not right… • Thanks Google Images because this is just what I needed…

12. Air Pressure • Force of air molecules pushing on an area • As air density increases, so does air pressure • As altitude increase, air pressure decreases • Air moves from areas of high to areas of low pressure

13. Wind • Air that moves horizontally, or parallel to the ground • Air moves because of differences in air pressure • Warmer air rises lowering air pressure, and cooler air sinks raising air pressure, and the cool heavier air moves to the area of low pressure

14. Global winds • Winds that travel in steady patterns and can last for weeks • Uneven heating between the north pole and the equator cause global winds (warmer at equator, colder at north pole as sunlight strikes curved surface) • Global winds curve because of the Coriolis effect, or the influence of Earth's rotation on winds

15. Jet streams • Strong winds that flow in upper troposphere from west to east for thousands of miles • Follow a looping, curving pattern • Has a strong influence on weather • For instance the polar jet stream can pull cold air down from Canada to the U.S.

16. Local winds • Things like sea breezes, land breezes, and monsoons are local winds • Caused by different cooling and warming rates of land and sea • Land cools and heats up faster than water

17. Humidity • Amount of water vapor in the air • Saturation- A condition in which evaporation and condensation rates are equal • Dew point is the temperature at which air with a given amount of water vapor will reach saturation

18. Clouds • Form from condensed water vapor • Status clouds are very flat and low and are like blankets. Have very drizzly long precipitation • Cumulus clouds are puffy white clouds with darker bases at mid-altitude. They have very heavy short precipitation. • Cirrus clouds form at high altitudes and are very wispy (made of ice crystals) • Fog- Clouds that rest on air or ground and make it hard to see • If clouds have “nimbus” it means they could be storm couds

19. Precipitation • Rain- Water droplets • Freezing rain- Water freezes when it hits the ground • Sleet- Small pellets of ice • Snow- Forms as ice crystals form and merge in clouds • Hail- Form as ice pellets move in clouds and get larger • Acid rain- Rain becomes acidic due to pollution

20. Air Masses • A large volume of air in which temperature and humidity are nearly the same in different locations in the same altitude • Characteristics • Continental- dry/over land, Maritime- moist/over water • Polar- cold, tropical- warme • They move

21. Fronts • A boundary between two air masses • Cold fronts- Move quickly, produce brief heavy storms, pushes warm air upwards, afterwards the air is cool and clear. On a weather map triangle show its direction • Warm front- Moves very slow, produces cloud covered sky and long light precip. After the air is warmer. On a weather map, semicircles show its direction • Stationary front- Occurs when air masses meet or stop moving. Can produce cloud covered sky for long periods

22. High/Low Pressure • High pressure systems- Forms when air moves all the way around a high pressure system. Usually produces clear skies. • Low pressure system- A large weather system that surrounds an area of low pressure. Usually produces high winds and stormy weather

23. Weather • The conditions of Earth’s atmosphere at any time or place • Hurricane- A tropical cyclonic storm with very strong winds that forms over warm water. Can cause storm surges and a lot of damage. • Tropical storm- A low pressure system that starts near the equator

24. Weather cont. • Blizzards- Blinding snow storms with high winds • Thunderstorm- A storm with thunder and lighting that forms when warm humid air moves upwards into cooler air above creating an updraft. • Flah floods- Fast flooding from heavy rain

25. Weather cont. • Tornadoes- A violent rotating column of air stretching from cloud to ground. It has very strong winds and forms from severe thunderstorms over land.

26. Weather forecast • A meteorologist is a scientist that studies weather • They use various instruments • On maps an isobar connects areas with the same air pressure

27. Climate • Characteristic weather conditions of an area over a long period of time • Climate is long term, weather is short term • Usually meteorologist consider temperature and precipitation as climate • Key factors that influence climate are altitude, latitude, distance from large bodies of water, and ocean currents