Hn Earth Science Weather Test Vocab 12/18
Terms
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- temperature
- measurement of how rapidly r slowly molecules move around
- heat
- transfer of energy that occurs because of a difference in temperature
- dew point
- temperature to which air must be cooled a t constant pressure to reach saturation
- condensation
- occurs when matter changes state form a gas to a liquid
- humidity
- amount of water vapor in the air
- relative humidity
- ration of water vapor in a volume of air compared to how much water vapor that volume of air is capable of holding
- LCL
- height at which condensation occurs
- stability
- ability of an air mass to resist rising
- condensation nuclei
- small particles in the atmosphere around which cloud droples can form
- stratus
-
clouds that are sheers or layers that cover much or all of the sky
water droplets/cold front - altostratus
-
sun shines through thin gray fibers
water droplets/long durations of rain or snow - altocumulus
-
flatbottombed masses of gray-white
water droplets/possible rain or thunderstorm - cirrus
-
delicate white fibers
tiny ice crystals/fair weather - cirrocumulus
-
thin white rippled layers
tiny ice crystaks/warm front - cirrostratus
-
shapeless white veil
tiny ice crystals/rain wihin 24 hrs - nimbostratus
-
large thick dark gray patches
water droplets/continous rain or snow - cumulonimbus
-
tops take shape of anvils
tiny ice crystals;water droplets/ thunderstorm and heavy rain - coalescence
- occurs when cloud droplets collide and join together to form a larger droplet
- precpitation
- includes all forms of water both liquid and soild that fall from clouds including rain, snow, sleet, and hail
- water cycle
- The cycle of evaporation and condensation that controls the distribution of the earth's water as it evaporates from bodies of water, condenses, precipitates, and returns to those bodies of water
- evaporation
- process of water changing from a liquid to a gas
- meterology
- The science that deals with the phenomena of the atmosphere, especially weather and weather conditions
- air mass
- large body of air that takes on the characteristics of the area over which it forms
- weather
- current state of the atmosphere, including short -term variations that affect our lives
- climate (def 1)
- describes the average weather over a long period of time and is usually averaged over the course of 30 years or more
- continental tropical
- warm and dry air mass
- maritime tropical
- warm and humid air mass
- continental polar
- cold and dry air mass
- arctic
- cold air mass
- maritime polar
- cold and humid air mass
- Doppler radar
- Doppler radar
- weather satellite
- robotic spacecraft that observe changes in terrestrial weather patterns
- thermometer
- An instrument for measuring temperature
- barometer
- An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure
- anemometer
- used to measure windspeed
- hygrometer
- measures relative humidity
- radiosonde
-
a ballon-borbe package of sensors
gathers upper-level data - Doppler effect
- change in wave, frequency taht occurs in energy, such as sound or light, as that energy that moves toward
- ozone
- a molecule of oxygen containing three oxygen atoms
- troposphere
- the layer closest to Earth's surface, contains most of the mass of the atmosphere, including water vapor
- mesosphere
- the atmospheric layer above the stratopause
- stratosphere
-
above the tropopause
a layer made up primarily of concentrated ozone - thermosphere
- the atmospheric layer above the menopause that contains lonly a minute portion of the atmosphere's mass
- exosphere
-
composed of light gases
outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere - conduction
- the transfer of heat through matter by molecular activity
- convection
- the transfer of heat by the movement of a mass or substance
- radiation
- the transfer of energy(heat) through space by electromagnetic waves
- trade winds
-
first major wind zone
flows at 30 degrees north and south latitude - westerlies
-
second major wind zone
flows between 30 degrees and 60 degrees north and south latitude in a circulation patern opposite that of the trade winds - polar easterlies
-
third major wind zone
lies between 60 latitude and the poles - jet stream
- narrow bands of high altitude, westerly winds that flow at speeds up to 185 km/h at elevations of 10.7 km to 12.2 km
- warm front
-
advancing warm air displaces cold air
developes a gradual frontal slope - cold front
- cold, dense air displaces warm air and forces the arm air up along a steep front
- occluded fronts
- the result of a cold air mass overtaking a warm front, eding the warm air upward
- stationary front
- the result of tow air masses meeting and neither advancing air into he other's territory, staying the boundary between them
- station model
- record of weather data for a particular site at a particular time
- digital forecast
- a forecast that relies on numerical data
- short range forecast
- A weather forecast made for a time period generally not greater than 48 hours in advance
- long range forecast
- A weather forecast covering periods from 48 hours to a week in advance (medium-range forecast), and ranging to even longer forecasts over periods of a month, a season, and so on
- climate (def 2)
- describes annual variaitopns of temperature, precipitaion, wind andother weather variables
- El Nino
- warm ocean current that occasionally develops off western cost of South America that causes many short-term climate changes