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Meteorology 3rd exam
Notes and Information for the third exam
| 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. |