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Flashcards in Exam 2 Deck (31)
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1
Q

the most adiabatic lapse rate is ___ per 1000 meters and the dry adiabatic lapse rate is ___ per 1000 meters

A

6 degree C, 10 degree C

2
Q

If city 1 and city 2 are at the same elevation and have the same air pressure at the surface, then what could cause the height of an air column above city 1 to be smaller than the height of the an air column above city 2?

A

warm air takes up more volume and is less dense

3
Q

what type of atmosphere would you have if there was an inversion?

A

absolutely stable

4
Q

an area of high pressure is called an ___ and an area of low pressure is called a ___

A

anticyclone, cyclone

5
Q

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 8 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

A

conditionally unstable

6
Q

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 11 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

A

absolutely unstable

7
Q

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 4 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

A

absolutely stable

8
Q

if air is cooler than its surroundings, it will (rise or sink) which is considered a (stable or unstable) atmosphere

A

sink, stable

9
Q

when you launch a weather balloon it is measuring the ____ lapse rate

A

environment

10
Q

a high cloud that has a puffy appearance is called

A

cirri-cumulus

11
Q

a mesoscale system is typically around this size

A

a few km to 100 km

12
Q

___ causes a pressure gradient to form

A

unequal heating

13
Q

the scales of atmospheric motion in order from smallest scale to largest scale with an example of each

A
  1. microscale: eddy
  2. mesoscale: thunderstorms
  3. synoptic scale: high and low pressure areas
  4. planetary scale: long waves (global)
14
Q

a typical storm system over the U.S. is a ___ scale

A

synoptic

15
Q

rain is considered drizzle when it is less than ___ mm

A

0.5

16
Q

Coriolis force acts to the ___ of air motion in the northern hemisphere

A

right

17
Q

____ unstable atmospheres are rare a typically occur over deserts during the daytime

A

absolutely

18
Q

could that have rain falling from them are called

A

nimbostratus

19
Q

the polar jet stream is ___ than the subtropical jet stream

A

stronger

20
Q

the ice-crystal prices is also called the?

A

Bergeron process

21
Q

a conditionally unstable atmosphere, the environmental lapse rate is __ then dry adiabatic lapse rate

A

less

22
Q

___ is the warm precipitation process and ____ is the cold precipitation process

A

collision/coalescence, ice crystal

23
Q

what are the mechanisms for cloud development

A

convection, lifting along topography, convergence of air, and lifting along weather front

24
Q

what are the cells in the three cell model

A

Hadley, ferrel, and polar

25
Q

the ____ is the line of storms across the globe that are responsible for most hurricanes

A

intertropical convergence

26
Q

___ and the ___ are the two jet streams in the northern hemisphere

A

polar, subtropical

27
Q

___ is the abnormal warming of the equatorial pacific waters

A

El Nino

28
Q

___ is the abnormal cooling of those same waters

A

La nina

29
Q

___ occurs above a surface low and ___ occurs above a surface high

A

divergence, convergence

30
Q

how does the wind blow start to blow in our atmosphere?

A

differences in pressure and temperature. ar will try to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

  • newtons law of motion: changes in the motion of the air or and depend on the focus acting on the wind
  • pressure gradient force is directed from high pressure to low pressure causing the air to move
31
Q

describe the process of air heating up by simply rising on one side of a mountain range and descending on the other side

A

a wind is so warm and dry it melts the snow and picks up moisture, the heat is due to compressional heating as the air gets to higher pressure at lower elevations down the slope