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Meteorology Final
Test 1, 2, and 3
74
Meteorology
Undergraduate 3
12/14/2012

Additional Meteorology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
the most abundant gas emitted from VOLCANOES is...
Definition
...water vapor
Term
in the STRATOSPHERE, the air temperature normally...
Definition
...increases with increasing height.
Term
the wind direction is...
Definition
...the direction FROM which the wind is blowing.
Term
what provides a measure of the average speed of air molecules?
Definition
temperature
Term
the horizontal transport of any atmospheric property by the wind is called...
Definition
...advection
Term
a heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon the movement of air is...
Definition
...convection
Term
the most important reason why summers in the southern hemisphere are not warmer than summers in the northern hemisphere is that...
Definition
...over 80% of the southern hemisphere is covered with water.
Term
for maximum winter warmth, in the northern hemisphere, large windows in a house should face...
Definition
...south
Term
the lowest temperature is usually observed....
Definition
...around sunrise
Term
the most abundant gases in the EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE by volume are...
Definition
nitrogen and oxygen
Term
what weather elements always decreases as we climb upward in the atmosphere?
Definition
pressure
Term
in a temperature inversion...
Definition
...air temperature increases with increasing height
Term
the proper order from shortest to longest wavelength is...
Definition
ultraviolet, visible, infrared
Term
the blueness of the sky is mainly due to...
Definition
...the scattering of sunlight by air molecules
Term
the earth's radiation is often referred to as ______ radiation while the suns radiation is often referred to as ______ radiation.
Definition
EARTH's radiation - longwave
SUN's radiation - shortwave
Term
on a clear, calm night, the ground and air above cool mainly by this process:
Definition
radiation
Term
what can be used as a method of protecting an orchard from damaging low temperatures during a radiation inversion?
Definition
orchard heaters, wind machines, and irrigation (covering the area with water)
Term
one would expect the LOWEST temperatures to be found next to the ground on a....
Definition
...clear, dry, calm night
Term
the greenhouse gas that has been increasing in concentration, at last partly due to deforestation, is....
Definition
...carbon dioxide (C02)
Term
the outpouring of gases from the earth's hot interior is called....
Definition
...outgassing
Term
the number or mass of air molecules in a given space or volume is called...
Definition
...density
Term
the most abundant gas in the STRATOSPHERE is...
Definition
...nitrogen(N2)
Term
what relates to weather rather than climate?
Definition
outside it is cloudy and snowing
Term
ozone in the STRATOSPHERE...
Definition
...protects life from harmful UV radiation
Term
if the temperature of the air is said to be at absolute zero, one might conclude that...
Definition
...the molecules contain a minimum amount of energy
Term
energy of motion is also known as...
Definition
...kinetic energy
Term
the change of state of ice into water vapor is known as....
Definition
...sublimation
Term
the transfer of heat by molecule-to-molecule contact....
Definition
...conduction
Term
the earth emits radiation with greatest intensity at...
Definition
...infrared wavelengths
Term
"a good absorber of a given wavelength of radiation is also a good emitter of that wavelength". this is a statement of...
Definition
...kirchoff's law
Term
according to the stefan-boltzmann law, the radiative energy emitted by one square meter of an object is equal to a constant multiplied by its temperature raised to the __ power.
Definition
fourth
Term
according to wein's displacement law, the wavelength at which maximum radiation occurs....
Definition
is inversely proportional to the temperature
Term
clouds ______ infrared radiation and _____ visible radiation
Definition
absorb infrared
reflect visible
Term
in the northern hemisphere, this day has the fewest hours of daylight:
Definition
winter solstice
Term
during an equinox....
Definition
the days and nights are of equal length except at the poles
at noon the sun is overhead at the equator
the earth is not tilted toward nor away from the sun
Term
the north-facing side of a hill in a mountainous region in the US tends to...
Definition
receive less sunlight during a year than the south-facing side
grow a variety of trees that are typically observed at higher elevation
be a better location for a ski run than the south-facing side
have snow in the ground for a longer period of time in winter compared to the south-facing side
Term
the primary source of energy for the earth's atmosphere is...
Definition
...the sun
Term
water vapor is...
Definition
...a gas
Term
the earth's first atmosphere was composed primarily of...
Definition
...hydrogen and helium
Term
almost all of the earth's water occurs in the....
Definition
troposphere
Term
true or false: to protect fruit trees from frost, it is important to keep the air as still as possible.
Definition
FALSE
Term
our seasons are caused by
Definition
the angle at which sunlight reaches the earth and the length of the daylight hours
Term
the lag in daily temperature refers to the time lag between the....
Definition
time of maximum solar radiation and the time of maximum temperature
Term
in the atmosphere, tiny solid or liquid suspended particles of various composition are called...
Definition
...aerosols
Term
meteorology is the study of...
Definition
...the atmosphere
Term
about ____ of the meteorologists and atmospheric scientists in the US work in the field of weather forecasting.
Definition
one half!
Term
what is the poorest conductor of heat?
Definition
STILL AIR
Term
charged particles from the sun that travel through space at high speeds are called....
Definition
....solar wind
Term
orchard heaters and wind machines are most useful in preventing damaging low temperatures from occurring next to the ground on...
Definition
....clear, calm nights
Term
lines connecting points of equal temperature are called....
Definition
....isotherms
Term
the city with the highest relative humidity.....
Definition
has the lowest air temp and lowest dew point
Term
the city with the least amount of water vapor in the air....
Definition
has the lowest air temp and lowest dew point
Term
the city with the greatest amount of water vapor in the air....
Definition
has the highest air temp and highest dew point
Term
the city with the highest saturation vapor pressure...
Definition
has the highest air temp and highest dew point
Term
the lowest temperature that can be attained by evaporating water into the air is known as the...
Definition
...wet-bulb temperature
Term
on a cold, calm autumn morning, the formation of fog above a relatively warm lake would most likely be....
Definition
....steam fog
Term
what describes a solution in which clouds cover between 1/10 and 5/10 of the sky?
Definition
scattered
Term
the blue color of the sky is due to...
Definition
...selective scattering of visible light by air molecules
Term
a mirage is caused by...
Definition
...the bending of light by air of different densities
Term
halos are caused by...
Definition
...refraction of light passing through ice crystals
Term
when the air temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure will....
Definition
increase
Term
a high water vapor pressure indicates...
Definition
...a relatively large number of water vapor molecules in the air
Term
at what time of day is the relative humidity normally at a minimum?
Definition
when the air temp is highest
Term
dew is most likely to form on...
Definition
...clear, calm nights
Term
particles that serve as surfaces on which water vapor may condense are...
Definition
condensation nuclei
Term
condensation nuclei are important in the atmosphere because...
Definition
...they make it easier for condensation to occur in the atmosphere
Term
geostationary satellites...
Definition
orbit the earth once a day
remain above a fixed spot above the equator
are placed in higher orbits than most polar orbiting satellites
Term
the percentage of water vapor present in the air compared to that required for saturation is the...
Definition
...relative humidity
Term
suppose saturated polar air has an air temp and dew point of -10 C and unsaturated desert air has an air temp of 35 C and a dew point of 10 C. the desert air contains ___ water vapor and has a ____ relative humidity than the polar air.
Definition
desert air contains MORE water vapor
desert air has LOWER relative humidity
Term
this instrument uses wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperature to obtain relative humidity
Definition
sling psychrometer
Term
the fog that forms along the pacific coastline of north america is mainly this type....
Definition
...advection fog
Term
a halo around the moon means that...
Definition
...cirrostratus clouds are present
Term
on the average, as a cloud grows thicker (taller)....
Definition
....less sunlight is NOT absorbed by the cloud
Term
stars are not visible during the day because...
Definition
...the scattered light coming from the sky is too bright to be able to see the weaker light form stars
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