Meteorology 3rd exam

Description:	Notes and Information for the third exam
Category:	Earth Science
Created by:	akfehr on 2009-10-28

Question	Answer
Meteorologists have been using satellite imagery since...	1960
What are the two types of satellites that meteorologists use?	Geostationary and Polar orbiting satellites.
Where are Geostationary satellites located?	above the equator
Why is it called a "Geostationary" satellite?	the satellite's speed equals the earth's speed so it is fixed, or stationary, on the earth.
What do Polar Orbiting satellites do?	They orbit the earth, moving from pole to pole every 100 minutes.
What are the three types of imagery?	Visible, Infared, and Water Vapor
What does Visible Imagery measure?	Reflected visible light
Visible imagery provides insight into...	the depth of a cloud.
What are some problems associated with Visible imagery?	Nighttime, only able to see uppermost layer, and difficulty differentiating clouds with snow.
What does In-fared imagery measure?	In-fared energy.
In-fared imagery provides insight into...	cloud temperature.
What is special about the way we view in-fared imagery?	we view the negatives so that the cold spots show up brighter.
What does water vapor imagery measure?	..... water vapor.
Where does water vapor imagery detect?	in the mid to upper troposphere.
Will water vapor appear brighter or darker on a water vapor imagery picture?	brighter.
What is the informal definition of air pressure?	weight of air above a location.
What is the formal definition of air pressure?	force per unit area exerted by air molecules.
Pressure always _________ with height.	decreases.
What are two types of barometers?	mercury and aneroid.
How does an aneroid barometer work?	it measures the change in shape of an aneroid cell.
Why is a mercury barometer better than an water barometer?	your barometer would need to be over three feet tall if you wanted to measure pressure changes with water.
1 mb equals how many Pa?	100.
What is air pressure dependent upon?	H2O vapor, altitude, and density.
What is air density?	the mass of air molecules with in a volume.
The equation to determine pressure is...	P=density x temp (K) x 287
What is the average pressure lapse rate?	10 mb per 100 meters
What is wind?	air movement caused by horizontal differences in air pressure (pressure gradients)
What is an anemometer?	an instrument for measuring wind speed
What is a wind vane?	an instrument for determining wind direction.
What is an aerovane?	an anemometer and a wind vane combined into one instrument.
What are the three forces that determine wind direction?	Pressure gradient force (PGF), Coriolis force, and Friction.
What does the Pressure Gradient Force (PGF!) do?	It pushes air from higher to lower pressure and causes initial movement.
What does it mean if isobars are close together?	It means that the wind will be stronger because the PGF is greater.
What is the coriolis force?	it is an apparent force caused by the rotation of spherical earth.
Does the coriolis force affect wind direction?	Nope.
What direction does the coriolis force push air?	90 degrees to the right of motion in the northern hemisphere, and vise versa in the southern hemisphere.
The effects of friction __________ with height.	Decreases.
The effects of friction are negligible at what height?	2000 ft and above.
What is the boundary layer wind?	Look this up.
Clockwise around...	highs
counterclockwise around...	lows
Horizontal winds will induce..	vertical air movement.
What do upper air maps show?	How geopotential heights vary
What is a geopotential height?	the height above sea level at which a particular pressure is found
the geopotential height is lower when the air is...	colder.
Upper winds are ___________	geostrophic
What are geostrophic winds?	look this up.
what is Zonal Flow?	West to east flow across country -- No big troughs or ridges (boring.)
what is Meridional flow?	Big meandering troughs and ridges.
What are Jet streams?	ribbons of fast moving winds located at the 200-300 mb level.
What are the two jet streams?	Polar jet and subtropical jet.
Where are the jet streams located?	above large temperature gradients.
What is an air mass?	large body of air with similar temperature and moisture characteristics.
In meteorology, air masses are represented with...	High pressure
What is a source region?	A region where an air mass acquires its specific characteristics.
What are the four source region requirements?	1. Span a large (500-2000 mi) area.
Where does a Polar (P) air mass form?	in a high latitude
Where does a Tropical (T) air mass form?	in a low latitude.
Where does a continental (c) air mass form?	over land.
Where does a Maritime (m) air mass form?	over water.
What does cP mean?	Cool and dry air mass.
What does cT mean?	Dry and warm air mass.
What does mP mean?	moist and cool air mass.
What does mT mean?	moist and warm air mass.