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ATMOCN 100
Unit 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Weather | What the air around us is doing right now |
| Key ingredients of weather | Temperature, pressure, wind, and moisture |
| Climate | Average weather pattern over decades (~30yr avg) |
| Compressibility of atmosphere | Air expanding and compressing, leading to pressure changes |
| Air pressure | Weight of air above you, less pressure at higher elevations and vice versa |
| Alimeter | Measures air pressure in airplane, telling pilot how high the plane is |
| Horizontal air pressure change | Air flowing from high to low pressure causing wind |
| Earth's atmosphere | Thin envelope of gasses held by gravity, protects life from harmful solar radiation, creates weather |
| Composition of atmosphere | 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, 0.03% other |
| Role of water vapor in atmosphere | Fuels clouds & storms |
| Role of carbon dioxide in atmosphere | Traps heat |
| Role of ozone in atmosphere | Absorbs UV radiation aloft |
| Role of aerosols in atmosphere | Affect visibility and clouds |
| Layers of the atmosphere | Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere |
| Troposphere | Holds ~80% of atmosphere's mass & most water vapor and weather, temperature steadily drops with higher altitude |
| Stratosphere | Contains ozone which accounts for temperature rise with altitude increase, absorbs harmful UV radiation |
| Mesosphere | Coldest layer, where meteors burn up |
| Thermosphere | Absorbs X-ray and extreme UV radiation, air too sparse to transfer heat, where auroras occur |
| Exosphere | Fades into space, so thin molecules escape Earth's gravity |
| Radiosondes | Measuring device measuring temperature, humidity, and pressure |
| Energy | Mainly kinetic energy (motion of molecules) and radiant energy (electromagnetic waves) |
| Temperature | Measure of average kinetic energy of molecules in a substance |
| Heat | Energy transferred between objects due to temperature difference, flowing from warmer to cooler |
| Specific heat | Energy needed to raise the temperature of a substance by 1°C |
| Latent heat | Energy absorbed/released when a substance changes phase without any change in temperature |
| Conduction | Energy transferred molecule to molecule through direct contact |
| Convection | Energy transferred. by the actual movement of a fluid that has been heated |
| Radiation | Energy transferred through vacuum/space through electromagnetic waves |
| Convection: surface heating | Sun heating ground, ground heating layer of air it's touching |
| Convection: air parcel expands | Warmed air expands and becomes less dense than cooler air surrounding it |
| Convection: buoyancy | Warm air is less dense and rises through denser air around it |
| Convection: current forms | As warm air rises, cooler air sinks to replace it, creating a continuous cycle that moves heat vertically |
| Hotter object radiation | Shorter more energetic wavelengths (visible light) |
| Cooler object radiation | Longer wavelengths (infrared) |
| Out of 100% incoming solar radiation... | 30% reflected back & 70% absorbed by surface |
| The reason Earth has seasons | Its tilt of 23.5 degrees |
| Effects tilt has on sun angle | Hemisphere tilted toward the Sun concentrates energy over smaller area, heating it more. It's hitting more directly from a higher angle |
| Effects tilt has on day length | Hemisphere tilted towards the Sun gets more hours of daylight |
| Solstice | Moment the Sun reaches its farthest point N/S of the equator, one hemisphere gets it's longest/shortest day |
| Equinox | Moment the Sun is directly over the equator, day and night are almost equal length everywhere on Earth |
| Latitude effect on seasons | Higher latitudes see more extreme swings in day length and sun angle |
| Elevation effect on seasons | Higher elevation stays cooler and can shift timing of seasonal traditions |
| Nearby water effect on seasons | Large bodies of water moderate temperature swings for nearby land |
| High sun angle | Concentrated, intense heating |
| Low sun angle | Spread out, weaker heating |
| Step 1 of how the ground heats the air | Sunlight is absorbed by the ground, heating the surface directly |
| Step 2 of how the ground heats the air | The warmed ground heats the thin layer of air touching it by conduction |
| Step 3 of how the ground heats the air | The heated air becomes less dense and rises; convection carries the warmth upward and mixes it through a deeper layer |
| Step 4 of how the ground heats the air | As mixing deepens through the afternoon, air temperature keeps rising until peak, usually a few hours after noon |
| Why some places get extremely hot | Clear skies, dry air, sinking air, low elevation & enclosed basins |
| Step 1 of radiational cooling | Ground radiates heat after sunset |
| Step 2 of radiational cooling | Ground cools with no sunlight |
| Step 3 of radiational cooling | Cool ground cools air by conduction |
| What the daily temperature range depends on | Cloud cover, moisture, and wind |
| Why some regions have more temperature variation | Continental interiors have more variation due to land heating & cooling quickly, coastal areas are moderated by nearby water |
| How wind chill works | Wind strips away thin layer of air your body has warmed, speeding up heat loss |
| How heat index works | High humidity slows evaporation of sweat, your body's main cooling method |
| Liquid-in-glass thermometer | Sealed tube where mercury/alcohol expands & rises as it warms |
| Bimetallic thermometer | Two metals bonded together expand at different rates, bending coil that moves a pointer in a dial |
| Electrical thermistor | Sensor whose electrical resistance changes with temperature |
| Instrument shelter | Where thermometers are housed in ventilated shaded enclosure so they only measure air temperature, not direct sun or ground heat |
| Isobar | Lines on weather map that show equal pressure |
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