| Terms |
Definitions |
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hit
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bash
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IONO
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chainging particels
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Troposphere
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weather layer (0-12km)
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Composition
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what something's made of
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- Koppen climate types
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...
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what does CFC stand for
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chlorfloracarbons
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albedo
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reflection of light from snow
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barometer
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an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure
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radiation
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the direct transfer of energy
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Stratosphere
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The atmospheric layer above the troposphere.
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Radio waves bouces back to earth.
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Ionosphere
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Convection cell
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looping pattern of flowing air
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mirages
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refraction from steep near surface temp gradients, distant objects appear lower then actual, further objects appear distorted
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scattering
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reflection of light in all directions
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Currents
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prevailing winds blowing over the oceans produce mass movements of surface water
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Weather
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Current condition of the atmosphere including cloud cover, temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, and air pressure.
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thermosphere
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fourth layer of the atmosphere; furthest from the earth
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mesosphere
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the atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere
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freezing nuclei
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condensation nuclei with a crystalline structure like that of ice
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Nitrogen
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78%. Bacteria converts nitrogen in the air into a form that can be used by plants and animals.
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Pollutants
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Harmful substances in the air, water, or soil.
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Coriolis Effect
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the apparent deflective force of Earth's rotation on all free-moving objects such as the oceans and the atmosphere. In the northern hemisphere, matter is deflected to the right and in the southern hemisphere, matter is deflected to the left.
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dryline
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represents a narrow zone where there is a sharp horizontal change in the moisture, thunderstorms may form along this line
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commercial
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growing crops and keeping animals for sale
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urban climatology
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study of climates and climate changes
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trophosphere
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lowest layer, layer we live in, contains 75% of the earth's atmosphere, 10 KM ABOVE EARTH'S SURFACE, temp decreases 6 degrees for every kilometer increase in altitude -40 to 18 degrees
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Large raindrops fall ________ than smaller raindrops and have a ________ terminal velocity than small raindrops.
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faster; greater
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Conduction
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the transfer of thermal energy that results from the collision of particles
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mesophere
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3rd layer, shooting stars are found here
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What is the instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure?
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barometer
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Global Winds
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winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances, created by the unequal heating of earth's surface
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mid-ocean ridge
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An undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced
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cirrus
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A type of high cloud called __________ clouds are light, wispy, high-level clouds.
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ozone layer
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it's in the stratoshere protects life on Earth by absorbing harmful ultravidet radiation.
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pressure
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The force pushing on an area or surface.
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greenhouse effect
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process by which the atmosphere traps infrared rays over the earth's surface
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air pollution
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the contamination of the atmospher by the introduction of pollutants from human and natural sources
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acid rain
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rain that contains more acid than normal
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dew point
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Temperature at which air is saturated and condensation can occur.
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Precipitation
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any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches earth's surface.
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reversible reaction
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a chemical reaction in which products form reactants at the same time that reacts to form products
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global warming
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An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes)
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Humidity
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A generic term for the amount of water vapor present in the air
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Joseph Preistly
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believed the air was composed of a mixture of gasses
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thermal conduction
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the transfer of energy as heat through a material
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climograph
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a plot of mean monthly temp and precip for a location
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Air
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The combo of gases that make up the atmosphere
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Velley Breeze
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forms when warm air from the valleys moves upslope.
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Convection Current
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a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid
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Sea breeze
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Movement of air from sea to land during the day when cooler air from above the water moves over land, forcing the heated, less dense air above the land to rise.
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jet stream
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a narrow belt of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere
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What is the name of the rate that describes how the temperature of a
lifted,unsaturated air parcel will change with height?
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adiabatic lapserate.
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What is conditional instability and how does it come about?
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occurs if displaced
unsaturated air parcel is
initially more dense than
the environment
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what are the two most abundant gases in the atmosphere?
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nitrogen and oxygen
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land breeze
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movement of air from land to sea at night, created when cooler, denser air from the land forces up warmer air over the sea.
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density and pressure
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Because air has mass, it also has other properties, including:
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Ferrel air circulation cells
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develop between 30 and 60 north and south latitudes; the descending winds of the Hadley cells diverge as moist tropical air moves toward the poles in winds known as the westerlies
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what is he air polution
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the containment of the atmosphere by the introduction of pollutants from human and natural resources
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Why do rising air parcels
expand and sinking air parcels contract?
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-rising air parcels: are unsaturated, warm according to dry adiabatic lapse rate
-sinking air parcels: warm according to dry
adiabatic lapse rate
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How does albedo affect local climate?
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high albedo are good reflectors; slow to heat up and cool down, they have small temperature range.
Low albedo are good absorbers, heat and cool quickly, and have a big temperature range.
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What is a closed energy system?
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One in which no energy from outside the system can get in and no energy from the inside can get out
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each type of condensation forms when 2 conditions are met. what are they?
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air must be saturated
must be a surface where the water vapor can condense
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Temperature
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Thermometer
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Relative Humidity
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Sling psychrometer
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order of the atmosphere
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troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
(ionosphere)
thermosphere
exosphere
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Bacteria
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(microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission
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3rd layer of the atmosphere
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mesosphere
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Variable gases (examples)
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water vapor, ozone
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Thermometer
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measuring instrument for measuring temperature
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What is potential energy?
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stored energy
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what causes wind
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differences in air pressure
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oxygen
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21% of earth's atmospheric gas
made by living things
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destroying ozone molecules
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Chloroflourocarbons destroy the ozone layer by doing this.
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ozone
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form of atmospheric oxygen that has three atoms per molecule
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hurricane
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intense storm of tropical origin with sustained winds
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
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complete range of wavelengths of radiation
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trade winds
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global winds flowing toward the equator between 30 degrees and 0 degrees latitude
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The temperature of the stratosphere begins increasing as the altitude increases. This is due to the _____.
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ozone layer
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air pressure
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the pressure exerted by the atmosphere
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How does radiation work?
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energy travels in waves
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Chloroflurocarbons
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Group of chemical compounds used in refrigerators, air conditioners, foam packaging, and aerosol sprays that may enter the atmosphere and destroy ozone
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atmosphere
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The envelope of gases that surrounds Earth.
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When the air is saturated, no ___________ takes palce.
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evaporation
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Wind
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air moving from an area of high pressure to low pressure
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diffraction
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bending of light as it passes around objects
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A plane flying south in the Northern hemisphere will be deflected towards the
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West
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surface ozone
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green house gas, not ozone layer, strong oxidizers
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A very tall cloud that is producing thunder and lightning.
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Cumulonimbus
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Mercury barometer
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An instrument that measures changes in air pressure, consisting of a glass tube partially filled with mercury, with its open end resting in a dish of mercury. Air pressure pushing on the mercury in the dish forces the mercury in the tube to be higher.
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Dobson Unit
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the physical thickness of the ozone layer if it were brought to the earth's surface
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heat island effect
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cities have more heat retained surfaces so they are often up to 10 deg farenheit warmer thatn the outlying areas.
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To determine dewpoint tempertureand relative humidity, use chart on pg.312 or in ESRT.
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Hey nurse, whtz up?
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Cyclone (in Northern Hemisphere)
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Low Pressure system with a counter-clockwise rotation
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What layer do planes fly and where do the mountains hang out?
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Troposphere
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Convection
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The transfer of heat by the up and down circulation of a fluid (liquid or gas) with different densities.
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Condensation
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Water Vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into lliquid,forming clouds.
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What is a line of severe thunderstorms called
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Squall line
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Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere: N2
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Photodissociation of ammonia produces N2
the main constituent of Earth's atmosphere today
NH3
(ammonia)
UV photon
Hydrogen gas (escapes to space)
N+N⇒N2
N≡N
So, atmosphere evolved so
• H2O decreased
• CO2 decreased
• N2 increased
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The rate of decay is _______ by temp changes, pressure or any other enviornmental circumstances.
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unaffected
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multi-cell storm
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a storm with a cluster of cells at various stages of the life cycles produced by the downdraft undercutting the updraft and allowing new cells to form
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Local Winds
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winds on a scale that is much smaller than a global scale; are not part of the global wind belts.
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ultraviolet radiation
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one of the many types of energy that come to Earth from the Sun
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What are the three main processes for cloud droplet formation and growth? (3)
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Condensation, Collision - coallescence, Bergeron process
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inches of mercury (Hg)
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commonly used in the field of aviation and on tv and radio weather broadcasts
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During what type of motion does centrifugal force appear?
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Increases with increasing curvature of the flow
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What is air pressure?
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the force or weight of the air pushing down on a unit area of surface.
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What is the definition of a monsoon? How is this different from the
normal use of the word 'monsoon'?
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Monsoons by themselves are not heavy rain events
• Monsoon Effect: The seasonal reversal of wind direction between land and sea
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when does the air over the land rise and sink?
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when its cold air rises (high pressure), when its warm air sinks (low pressure)
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Varies and depths?
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Troposphere
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high temp
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fast moving molecules
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altitude
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Elevation above sea level.
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heat transferred by electromagnetic waves
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radiation
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Carcinogenic
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impact of air pollution; cancer-causing
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exosphere
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highest region of the atmosphere
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High temp:
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more molecules or fast molecules
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Mesopause
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Upper boundary of the mesosphere, marked by an increase in temperature
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ionosphere
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a layer of electrically charged particles
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water vapor
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the gaseous form of water
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The greater the absolute humidity, the __________ the dewpoint temperature.
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higher
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basin
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the floor of an ocean, containing mountains ,valleys, and plains
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pollutant
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Harmful substances in the air, water, or soil.
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vegetation
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affects how much the earths surface absorbs or reflects heat
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climate
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the weather in some location averaged over some long period of time
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Sling thermometer
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A weather measuring instrument to measure humidity
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Assuming that the water vapor content of an air parcel is fixed, if the parcel temperature were to decrease, then the relative humidity would ______?
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Increase
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coalescence
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joining together to form a larger (droplet)
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aneroid barometer
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a device for measuring atmospheric pressure, often specially calibrated for use as an altimeter, consisting of a box or chamber partially exhausted of air, having an elastic top and a pointer to indicate the degree of compression of the top caused by the
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true or false oxygen is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere
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false
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differene in pressure causes a breeze to blow from the valley during the day
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valley breeze
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The Koppen System
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creator observed the distribution of vegetation globally and demarcated natural vegetation boundaries, classification is based on temperature and precipitation
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Corolis Effect
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earths rotation makes wind seem to curve this is called the
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The _____ is often called the "weather layer."
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troposphere
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Anemometer
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A gauge for recording the speed and direction of wind (3cups)
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How does convection work?
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differences in heating creates differences in density
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What is the lowest layer of the atmosphere that is closest to the earth?
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Troposphere
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Atmoshpere
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The sky above us and the different layers of air and what the air is made up of.
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hydrosphere
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all the water that occurs at Earth's surface
p. 406
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If this saturated air parcel is furtherlifted, the rate that the parcel temperature
will change with height is calledwhat?
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moist adiabaticlapse rate
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"Coriolis Effect"
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This causes air masses moving to the north to be deflected to the right and air masses moving south to be deflected to the left.
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Ocean Current
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Masses of ocean water that flow from one place to another. The amount of water can be large or small; it can be at the surface or deep below.
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polar easterlies
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weak global winds located north of 65 degrees north latitude and south of 65 degrees south latitude that flow away from the plows
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solstices
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each of these days, when the sun is the farthest north or south of the equator
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What is a front?
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Surface fronts occur in conjunction with mid-latitude cyclones (surface lows)
• Surface fronts may be stationary, or move such that cold air replaces warm air (cold front) or warm air replaces cold air (warm front)
• Regardless of the direction of frontal motion, warm air overruns cold air
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horse latitudes
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are regions of high pressue and gentle winds at about 30 degrees north and south latitude
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Cold Front
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the front of an advancing mass of colder air
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What is condution?
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the transfer of heat energy from molecule to molecule
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what happens to air presure as it we move up through the atmossphere
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it decreases
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front
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the leading edge of an aire mass as it meets a different air mass
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angle of isolation
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the angle that the sunlight makes as it strikes the earth's surface
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What is vapor pressure?
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part of the total atmospheric pressure from its water vapor content
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when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine with water in the atmosphere they form
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sufuric acid and nitric acid
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specific heat capacity
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how much energy it takes to change a substance
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explain how the process water condensing into clouds can "fuel"a hurricane.
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the water vapor condenses, leaves heat in the air, the air heats and expands, &the pressure inside the cloud decreases.continues to rise & condenses releasing more energy&causing more fierce winds.
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why is the atmosphere important to us?
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because it contains oxygen & protects us from the sun's harmful rays
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how does solar maximum change the climate
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it warms the winds in the atmosphere which changes global wind patterns
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Is pressure highest at the top of a moutain or at sea level?
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Top of a mountain b/c pressure decreases as you go up
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