Meteorology

Meteorology

SOL Exam Review

Earth's Atmosphere

• Earth’s atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen, 78 percent nitrogen, and one percent trace gases.

• The composition of the atmosphere can change due to human, biologic, and geologic activity (ES.11 a). 

Earth's Atmosphere Graph

Greenhouse gases

The ability of Earth’s atmosphere to absorb and retain heat is affected by the presence of gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide 

Earth's atmosphere has changed over time.

Outgassing

release of gases from volcanoes

Evolution of the atmosphere

• The composition of Earth’s atmosphere has changed over geologic time.

• Earth’s atmosphere is unique in the solar system in that it contains substantial oxygen

• The atmosphere of the young Earth was changed by outgassing and early photosynthetic life.

• Early photosynthetic life such as cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) consumed carbon dioxide and generated oxygen.

• It was only after early photosynthetic life generated oxygen that animal life became possible.

Earth Atmosphere

• The atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Venus apparently had very different paths toward the evolution of their current conditions.

• Many factors may have influenced this, including distance from the Sun, planetary mass, the nature of the planets’ interiors, the presence of a large moon, and the origin and nature of each planet’s early atmosphere

Multiple Choice

Which gas makes up the largest percentage of Earth's atmosphere?

• Nitrogen

• Oxygen

• Argon

• carbon dioxide

Multiple Choice

What are the two most greenhouse gases?

• water vapor and carbon dioxide

• water vapor and methane

• carbon dioxide and methane

• methane and nitrous oxide

Multiple Choice

What happens to the temperature if more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere?

• Temperature goes up

• Temperature goes down

Earth’s surface is much more efficiently heated by the sun than is the atmosphere. The amount of energy reaching any given point on Earth’s surface is controlled by the angle of sunlight striking the surface and varies with the seasons .

Moving Air

Winds are created by uneven heat distribution at Earth’s surface and modified by the rotation of Earth.

The Coriolis effect causes deflections of the atmosphere due to the rotation of Earth.

Global wind patterns result from the uneven heating of Earth by the sun and are influenced by the Coriolis effect

Convection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXf2U2GZU7k

Clouds

• The conditions necessary for cloud formation are air at or below dew point and presence of condensation nuclei.

• Cloud droplets can join together to form precipitation 

https://windy.app/textbook/dew-point-explaining-in-simple-words.html

Tornado

• A tornado is a narrow, violent funnel-shaped column of spiral winds that extends downward from the cloud base toward Earth. 

• Tornadoes are capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees, and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles.

• Tornadoes can occur at any time of day or night and at any time of the year. 

• https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes/

Hurricane

• A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters.

• The air moves counterclockwise.

• It has sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) or greater.

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/hurricane.html

Multiple Choice

What is the ultimate source of heat for the atmosphere?

• the core

• the sun

• the moon

Multiple Choice

The _____________ causes deflections of the atmosphere due to the rotation of Earth.

• Greenhouse effect

• conduction

• Coriolis Effect

Multiple Choice

What is occurring at point E on the diagram?

• The Earth is absorbing the sun's radiation.

• The air has risen because it picked up heat, becoming less dense.

• The air has risen because it picked up heat, becoming more dense.

• The air is sinking because it has cooled becoming less dense.

Weather Forecasts

Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time

Multiple Choice

In a high pressure systems

• there are few clouds because the air in moving downward

• there are few clouds because the air is moving outward

• there are many clouds because the air is very humid

• there are many clouds because the air is moving upward

Weather Forecasts

uses computer models, observations, and a knowledge of trends and patterns. By using these methods, reasonable accurate forecasts can be made up to seven days in advance.

Symbols

• Weather symbols are used on my weather maps as shorthand for the conditions at weather observing stations.

High Pressure

A high pressure system is a whirling mass of cool, dry air that generally brings fair weather and light winds. When viewed from above, winds spiral out of a high-pressure center in a clockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere. These bring sunny skies. A high pressure system is represented as a big, blue H.

Low Pressure

A low pressure system is a whirling mass of warm, moist air that generally brings stormy weather with strong winds. When viewed from above, winds spiral into a low-pressure center in a counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere. A low pressure system is represented as a big, red L.

Air Masses

• There are 4 general air mass classifications categorized according to the source region: polar, tropical, continental and marine.

• An air mass is an extremely large body of air whose properties of temperature and moisture content (humidity), at any given altitude, are fairly similar in any horizontal direction. 

• Most weather occurs along the periphery of these air masses at boundaries called fronts. 

Weather Fronts

• A front is a boundary between two different air masses, resulting in stormy weather. A front usually is a line of separation between warm and cold air masses.

Cold front

• A cold front is a boundary between two air masses, one cold and the other warm, moving so that the colder air replaces the warmer air.

• A cold front is represented as a blue line with the teeth pointing toward the direction on movement.

Warm Front

• A warm front is a boundary between two air masses, one cool and the other warm, moving so that the warmer air replaces the cooler air.

• A warm front is represented as a red line with half circles pointing toward the direction on movement.

Multiple Choice

In a high pressure systems

• there are few clouds because the air in moving downward

• there are few clouds because the air is moving outward

• there are many clouds because the air is very humid

• there are many clouds because the air is moving upward

Multiple Choice

A front is

• where warm air is cooling at earth's surface

• a line where hot and cold air are separating

• a line where two different air masses meet

• where cold air is rising and forming rain clouds

Multiple Choice

When a cold front is approaching, what happens?

• warm air is pushing under cold air causing humid weather and lower temperatures

• warm air is pushing under cold air causing humid weather and higher temperatures

• cold air is pushed over warm air causing rain and thunderstorms

• warm air rises, cools, and causes rain and thunderstorms

Multiple Choice

If an air mass is rising, it must be

• warm and less dense

• warm and more dense

• cold and more dense

• cold and less dense