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Atmospheric & Oceanic Sci. 3
Exam #2 - Final
12
Science
Undergraduate 1
12/12/2006

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Cards

Term
nimbostratus
Definition
Featureless, gray overcast sky; sun not visible; drizzle or rain
Term
Cumulonimbus
Definition
Base at 1 km, top at 6 km; heavy showers
Term
Cirrocumulus
Definition
Small, translucent puffs that appear to be smaller than one’s outstretched thumb
Term
Stratocumulus
Definition
Blobs at 1.5 km altitude with flat bottoms and flat tops
Term
a _________ cloud is layer-like in appearance, while a ___________ cloud is one that is vertically developed
Definition
stratiform; cumuliform
Term
list of lifting mechanisms for cloud formation:
Definition
simple convection, topographic lifting, surface convergence, frontal lifting
Term
During a sunny afternoon, the ground heats up and heats the air next to the ground. This causes the environmental lapse rate in the air near the ground to go ______, which makes the atmosphere ______ stable than in the morning, when the ground was cooler.
Definition
up; less
Term
the average tropospheric lapse rate is about ________. From comparing this to the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates, we find that the troposphere is, on average, ________ ________
Definition
6.5 C/km; conditionally unstable
Term
When the atmosphere is absolutely unstable, an unsaturated air parcel that is rising will lose temperature at a rate that is ____ ____ the rate at which the temperature in the environment is decreasing with increasing altitude. If the air parcel reaches t
Definition
less than; less than
Term
Once an air parcel has risen above the lifting condensation level, the temperature inside the parcel decreases at the _____ ________ _____ rate. This means the rising air parcel will be losing temperature at a rate that is ____ ____ the rate it would lose
Definition
moist adiabatic lapse; less than
Term
If dew forms in Los Angeles one night and frost forms in Riverside the same night, we can conclude that the dew point temperature in Los Angeles was _______ ____ the dew point temperature in Riverside and the minimum temperature in Los Angeles was _____ _
Definition
greater than; greater than
Term
advection
Definition
fog forms when warm air from over the Pacific Ocean moves over the cold Santa Monica Bay waters
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