Climate and Weather Notes 2010

Day One Notes

1. meteorology-the study of the atmosphere

2. weather is the condition of the air around the Earth in a particular place at a particular time

3. weather happens in the atmosphere!

4. Climate is the long term measure of the temperature  and humidity of an area

5. atmosphere is the whole layer of air that surrounds the Earth, is 400 miles deep.

6.  solar radiation changes into heat when it is absorbed by objects or surfaces on Earth. The land and water gets heated by radiation. 

7. conduction- heat is transferred by direct contact.  Air brushes against the heated land and water  and gets warm. 

8. As the atmosphere brushes across the surface of the Earth, it gets warmed up.  This heat energy gradually rises through the atmosphere and is radiated back into space. 
9. cold air has less energy so molecules are  closer together, makes the air denser or thicker, so has more mass
10. warm air has more energy so molecules are moving around more, is less dense, so has less mass
11.  heating and cooling of the air causes changes in air pressure.

12. Air pressure is the weight of air pressing on everything around it.

Day 2 Notes

13. barometer-an instrument that measures air pressure.
14. All winds are caused by differences in air pressure, which are the result of unequal heating of Earth’s surface and the coriolis effect.
15. anemometer-instrument that measures wind speed
16. wind vane and wind sock-two devices that show wind direction
17. Wind is the movement of air from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure.
18. flow of air caused by the Coriolis effect and by differences in the amount of solar radiation received on Earth’s surface creates wind patterns
19.  global winds circle the Earth and are caused by uneven heating  between the equator and the north and south poles.
20.  The trade winds-blow from the east, they are close to the equator and the westerlies blow from the west, and carry the weather across the United States.
21. doldrums-name given to the air around the equator.  No wind and afternoon rains make it very difficult for sailors to travel.
22. Jet streams are narrow bands of strong winds that blow near the top of the troposphere.  Jet stream helps move winter storms across the country from the west to the east. 
23. sea breezes-during the day, land heat quicker causing the air to heat and rise.  The cool ocean air comes in to replace the warm rising land air

Day 3 Notes

24. land breezes-during the night, the ocean is warmer than the land.  Air over the ocean rises and the cool air over the land goes out to sea to replace it.
25. troposphere-the bottom layer of the atmosphere; where we live and ALL weather takes place

26. Water vapor in the air is called humidity.
27.FACTOID!!! water vapor has less mass than air so the greater the humidity, the lower the air pressure.  Think about it, water vapor contains hydrogen which is lighter than air.
28. Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor that the air is holding compared with the amount that it could hold at that temperature.
29. when the air is saturated with water vapor, it can hold no more so the water vapor begins to condense.  This is the dew point. 
30. dew point changes with the amount of water vapor in the air. 
31. Clouds form when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and changes to tiny droplets of liquid water.
32. clouds form when water vapor condenses on dust, smoke or even salt particles from the ocean.
33. three main types of clouds-cirrus, cumulus, and stratus.
34. cirrus clouds form in very cold air at high altitudes, wispy looking, made of ice crystal, usually mean fair weather.
35. cumulus clouds are puffy white clouds with darker bases.  Form in daytime because of rising warm air, can keep growing until become thunderheads and cause rain.
36. stratus clouds form in layers in relative calm air.  Can be very dark and block out sun, can produce steady light precipitation.
37. fog is a stratus cloud that forms on the ground or over water.
38. nimbo or nimbus in a cloud names mean they produce rain
39. thunderhead is a cumulonimbus cloud.

Day 4 Notes

40.   H - Cold air is heavier and produces a High pressure area
41.   L  - warm air is lighter and produces a Low pressure area
42. The line where warm and cold air masses is called a front.
43. high pressure systems are often called cold fronts
44. low pressure systems are often called warm fronts
45. front-where one air mass meets and pushes aside another air mass.
46. cold front-cold air pushes in under warm air, pushing it away, can produce heavy rains and colder weather, and strong winds. (what about this weekend?)
47. warm front-meets and overrides a cold air mass slowly warming the cold air, bring drizzly precipitation then warm weather.  
48. Oceans store an immense amount of heat energy and consequently play a crucial role in the global climate. Water vapor contains vast amounts of energy.
49. air mass-large body of air that has about the same temperature and humidity throughout; is affected by the area it is formed over.
50.  air masses are identified with 2 letter symbols.  1st letter is moisture level & 2nd letter is temperature.  4 major air mass types-
     m-maritime forms over water, lots of humidity c- continental forms over land and is dry
     P- polar forms over the polar regions and is COLD    T- tropical forms over the Tropics and is warm

51. Thunderstorms are caused by powerful up-and-down movements of air.
52. A tornado is a rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth’s surface.
53. Hurricanes start as small thunderstorms over warm water.
54. The Sun's energy creates wind in Earth's atmosphere. This wind can be harnessed and used to produce power.