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EVSC
Test 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Temperature | measure that is proportional to the average speed of the atoms or molecules in an object |
| Electromagnetic Radiation | travels through space in the form of waves; requires no intervening medium to transmit it; amount of energy carried is associated with the amplitude of the wave (directly proportional) |
| Radiation Balance | an accounting of the incoming and outgoing components of radiation (incoming = outgoing) |
| Shortwave radiation | radiation that comes from the sun and penetrates through space to the outer edge of the atmosphere unimpeded by the vacuum of outer space |
| Direct solar radiation | shortwave radiation able to penetrate through the atmosphere without having been affected by constituents of the atmosphere in any way |
| Diffuse radiation | shortwave radiation that has been scattered by gases in the atmosphere |
| Insolation | sum of direct and diffuse solar radiation; total incoming solar radiation |
| Albedo | the portion of incoming solar radiation that is reflected from a surface (average of .31 for earth) |
| Net shortwave radiation | the difference between incoming and outgoing shortwave radiation |
| Longwave radiatoin | the energy absorbed at the surface and is radiated by the Earth; amount of energy emitted is dependent on the temperature of the surface (the hotter the surface, the more energy it will emit) |
| Greenhouse effect | absorbed longwave radiation (in the atmosphere) is emitted downward toward the surface as longwave atmospheric counter-radiation keeping near surface temperatures warmer than they would be without this blanket of gas |
| Net longwave radiation | the difference between incoming and outgoing longwave radiation |
| Net radidation | incoming solar radiation minus outgoing terrestrial radiation; can be positive, negative or zero |
| Non-radiative heat transfer | available net radiation is used to do work in the Earth system, principally in the phase change of water and changing the temperature of the air and subsurface |
| Sensible heat | heat energy transferred between the surface and air when there is a difference in temperature between the two |
| Latent heat | heat transfer that causes changes in energy state of water during evaporation/condensation/freezing |
| Specific heat | the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of material by 1 degree Celsius |
| Subsurface haet | ground heat |
| Coriolis effect/force | deflects water and wind currents; water or air moving pole ward from equator is traveling east faster than the land beneath it and veers to the east; water or air moving toward the equator is traveling east slower than the land beneath it and veers west |
| Saturation vapor pressure | the pressure (water content of the air) at the equilibrium where the rate of evaporation is equal to the rate of condensation; the maximum amount of water that can be held in a given volume of air (function of air temperature – higher temp, higher SVP) |
| Relative humidity | actual vapor pressure divided by saturation vapor pressure (times 100); increases with temperature |
| Dew point temperature | when the actual vapor pressure equals the saturation vapor pressure; above this temperature, water will stay in the air |
| Lapse rate | the decrease of an atmospheric variable with height, the variable being temperature unless otherwise specified |
| Environmental lapse rate | refers to the actual change of temperature with altitude for the stationary atmosphere (i.e. the temperature gradient); varies from day to day but the average number is 6.5 degrees C per 1000 m |
| Adiabatic lapse rate | refer to the change in temperature of a mass of air as it moves up wards (dry and wet) |
| Dry adiabatic lapse rate | the negative of the rate at which a rising parcel of dry or unsaturated air changes temperature with increasing height, under adiabatic conditions (roughly 10 degrees C per 1000 meters) |
| Lifting condensation level | the altitude at which condensation begins (the temperature of the rising air parcel reaches the dew point temperature); the latent heat that was absorbed by the water vapor when it was evaporated is liberated upon reaching the lifting condensation level |
| Wet adiabatic lapse rate | occurs when the air is saturated with water vapor (at its dew point); usually 5 degrees C per 1000 meters |
| Orographic lifting | air is forced over a mountainous barrier |
| Frontal wedging | warmer, less dense air, is forced over cooler, denser air |
| Convergence | a pileup of horizontal air flow results in upward movement |
| Localized convective lifting | unequal surface heating causes localized pockets of air to rise because of their buoyancy |
| Stable air | air that is cooler (more dense) than surrounding air; resists vertical movement |
| Unstable air | air that is warmer (less dense) than the surrounding air (this air will rise) |
| Cirrus clouds | high, wispy clouds composed of ice crystals rather than water droplets. High winds aloft blow them out into long, gently curved streamers |
| Stratus clouds | horizontally layered, sheet-like clouds; form when condensation forms at the same elevation at which air stops rising |
| Cumulus clouds | fluffy white clouds that typically display the flat bottoms and billowy tops; the base of the cloud forms at the altitude at which the rising air cools to its dew point |
| Nimbo/nimbus | refers to clouds that precipitate |
| Fog | cloud that forms very close to the ground |
| Advection fog | created when warm, moist air from the sea blows onto cooler land surface |
| Radiation fog | created when air near the surface cools by heat loss (radiation) at night |
| Evaporation fog | created when air is cooled by evaporation from a body of water |
| Upslope fog | created by rising airmass along a land surface |
| Condensation nuclei | particular matter that serves as surfaces for water vapor condensation (microscopic dust, smoke, salt particles, etc.) |
| Temperature inversion | tends to develop along the moving front edge of a cold air mass overtaking warmer air; as altitude increases, so does temperature for a certain distance; also produced when radiation from the surface of the earth exceeds radiation received from the sun |
| Rain | created in clouds when ice crystals form and grow as more water condenses on the surface; as they become large enough they fall and melt on descent |
| Snow | if temperatures at the surface are sufficiently low, the ice crystals formed in clouds remain frozen and fall |
| Sleet | created when ice crystals formed in clouds melt and refreeze during descent |
| Freezing rain | will occur if the warm layer in the atmosphere is deep with only a shallow layer of below freezing air at the surface; precipitation can begin as either rain and/or snow but becomes all rain in the warm layer; rain does not have time to freeze into sleet |
| Hail | created when turbulent winds exist in the upper atmosphere and the falling ice crystals are transported back up to the cloud, where new layers of ice accumulate as additional vapor condenses on their surface |
| Wind (advection) | horizontal airflow that is a response to differences in pressure |
| Pressure gradients | the magnitude of the pressure difference over distance; determines wind speed and direction’ air flows toward low pressure zones and outward from high pressure zones (strongest winds are in areas where the pressure gradient is the greatest) |
| Cyclone | a low pressure region with an accompanying surface wind; in the Northern Hemisphere it consists of winds spiraling counterclockwise |
| Anticyclone | a high pressure system with accompanying winds; consists of winds spiraling clockwise out from a high-pressure zone |
| Air mass | a large body of air with approximately uniform temperature and humidity at any given altitude |
| Front | the boundary between a warmer air mass and a cooler one; classified by whether a warm air mass moves toward a stationary (or more slowly moving) cold mass, or vice versa |
| Warm front | forms when moving warm air collides with a stationary (or more slowly moving) cold mass; the rising warm air cools adiabatically and the cooling generates clouds and light precipitation |
| Cold front | moving cold air collides with stationary or slower moving warm air; dense, cold air distorts into a wedge and pushes under warmer air; steep contact between the air masses causes the warm air to rise rapidly; accompanied by narrow band of severe weather |
| Occluded front | forms when a faster moving cold mass traps a warm air mass against a second mass of cold air; faster moving cold air mass then slides beneath the warm air; precipitation occurs along both frontal boundaries |
| Stationary front | occurs along the boundary between two stationary air masses; the front can remain in an area for several days; warm air rises, forming conditions similar to that of a warm front |
| Rain shadow | forms where moist air rises over a mountain range and precipitates most of its moisture on the windward side and crest of the range; dry, descending air on the lee side absorbs moisture, forming a desert |
| Monsoon | a seasonal wind and weather system caused by uneven heating and cooling of continents and oceans |
| Cumulus stage | stage of thunderstorm when rising warm air condenses into a cumulus cloud and grows as long as warm air below it continues to rise |
| Mature stage | stage of thunderstorm when cumulus cloud becomes large & the water in it becomes heavy; raindrops start to fall when rising air can no longer hold them up; cool dry air enters the cloud and starts to descend in the cloud; thunder lightning and rain occur |
| Dissipating stage | the cool dry air starts to dominate the warm rising air; cloud droplets can no longer form; the storm dies out with light rain as the cloud disappears from bottom to top |
| Tornado | a small, short-lived funnel-shaped storm that protrudes from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud |
| Hurricane (tropical cyclone) | surface air spirals inward, rises through the towering wall of clouds, and then flows outward above the storm; falling air near the storm’s center creates calm in the middle |
| Guyot | waves erode a flat top on a sinking island |
| Attol | circular barrier reefs that form as a volcanic island sinks |
| Continental margin | the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust |
| Active continental margin | oceanic plate sinks beneath a continent, forming an oceanic trench |
| Passive continental margin | consists of a broad continental shelf, slope and rise formed by accumulation of sediment eroded from the continent |
| Salinity | the amount of salt found in 1,000 grams of water |
| Attenuation of light in vertical water column | as short wave radiation hits the surface, the light is absorbed or scattered; short wave radiation decreases as you go deeper in the ocean (absorbed by column of water above it); reds disappear first (longest wavelength) |
| Vertical profile of water temperature | water temperature is a function of thermal energy content, but it ‘lags behind’ the decline in light with depth |
| Thermocline | the portion in the temperature vs. depth graph where temperature levels off for a little; represents the ‘lag’ of declining temperature with declining light |
| Pycnocline | a rapid change in water density with depth |
| Spring tides | occur when the Earth, Sun and Moon are lined up |
| Neap tides | occur when the moon lies at right angles to a line drawn between the sun and the Earth |
| Fetch | Distance of open water that the wind has blown over |
| Current | continuous flow of water in a particular direction |
| Gyres | circular paths that most open ocean surface currents move in (reflect surface winds; clockwise in the northern hemisphere, counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere) |
| Deep sea currents | as warm water moves from the equator to the poles, they cool and sink and move back toward the equator |
| Equatorial upwelling | when the water reaches the equator again, warms and rises to the surface |
| Refraction | when a water wave strikes the shore at an angle, one end slows down, causing the wave to bend (ends up with zone of erosion and deposition) |
| Longshore current | current that flows parallel to the shore and forms when waves strike shore at an angle |
| Longshore (sandbar) | formed by longshore currents that carry sand, but doesn’t reach the shore |
| Rip current | formed at breaks in the longshore bar; water is fed back out to see through the path of least resistance |
| Spit | a small finger-like ridge of sand or gravel that extends from a beach |
| Baymouth bar | when a well-developed spit rises above high-tide and closes off the bay |
| Barrier island | a long, low-lying island that extends parallel to the shoreline; looks like a beach or spit and is separated from the mainland by a lagoon |
| Lagoon | a sheltered body of water that separates a barrier island from the main land |
| Intertidal zone | the portion of the beach that is under water at high tide and exposed at low tide |
Created by:
gnm3fs
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