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Water in the Atmosphere
Clouds
Wind
El Nino/El Nina
Random
100
Humidity defintion
The general term for the amount of water vapor in the air.
100
How are clouds formed?
Air expanding, cooling and then warming again. (Adiabatic temperature changes)
100
What is wind?
The movement of air.
100
El Nino definition?
The name given to periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern pacific.
100
temperature inversions can lead to what becoming trapped?
Pollution
200
Precipitation definition
Any form of water that falls from a cloud.
200
how are clouds classified?
There basic form and height.
200
What causes wind?
The horizontal difference in air pressure. Air flows from areas of higher pressure to areas of low pressure.
200
El Nina definition?
An event that has a distinctive set of weather patterns. Colder than normal temperatures as well as the possibility of hurricanes.
200
The type of precipitation that falls depends on what?
The temperature profile in the lower few km of the atmosphere.
300
Difference between evaporation and condensation.
Evaporation- liquid to gas Condensation- gas to liquid
300
What are the three main types of clouds?
Cirrus, Cumulus, Stratus
300
What is a barometer?
A device used for measuring air pressure.
300
With the onset of El Nino, warm water blocks the up welling of...
Cold offshore water.
300
What direction do cyclones and anticyclones spin?
Cyclones spin counterclockwise, anticyclones spin clockwise.
400
Dew Point
The temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation.
400
What is the definition of fog, and how is it formed?
A cloud with its base at or near the ground. caused by air cooling and becoming more dense.
400
What three factors control wind?
Pressure differences, the Coriolis effect, Friction.
400
How often does El Nino occur?
3-7 years.
400
northern Africa and Southwest United States have similar desert climates because why?
They are both located near the 30^o N latitude band.
500
Relative Humidity
A ratio of the air's actual water-vapor content compared with the amount of water-vapor air can hold at that given temperature and pressure.
500
What are the Bergeron and Collision-Coalescence processes?
Bergeron-a theory that relates the formation of precipitation to super-cooled clouds, freezing nuclei, and different satiation levels of ice and liquid water. Collision-Coalescence- the theory of raindrop formation the warm clouds (above 0^o C) in which large cloud collide and join together with smaller droplets to form raindrops.
500
What is the Coriolis Effect?
The Coriolis Effect describes how Earth's rotation affects moving objects. Northern hemisphere right, southern hemisphere left.
500
A major El Nino episode can cause what in many parts of the world?
Extreme Weather
500
What are local winds caused by?
Topographic effects or variations in surface compositions (land or water in the immediate area).