The Understanding of Meteorology By: Simin Bhayani and Dani Castillo, Period 2
The Sun's Energy •The sun is a major part of the energy that drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.
Atmosphere •The atmosphere is the thin layer of gases surrounding the Earth. Part of the sun’s energy is absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. •There are four layers: the troposphere, the mesosphere, the stratosphere, and the thermosphere.
The Troposphere •The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth. •We live on the troposphere. •Weather happens in this layer. •Most clouds are found here. •The next layer is the stratosphere.
The Stratosphere •The stratosphere is the next layer in the Earth’s atmosphere. •The part of the Earth’s atmosphere that extends from the top of the troposphere to about 30 miles above the surface, in which the temperature increases gradually and where clouds barely form. •The next layer is the mesosphere.
The Mesosphere •A layer of the atmosphere extending from the top of the stratosphere to an altitude of about 50 miles. •Meteors and rock fragments burn up in the mesosphere. •The top of the mesosphere is the coldest part of the Earth’s atmosphere. The temperature is -90 degrees Celsius or -130 degrees Fahrenheit. •The next layer is the thermosphere.
The Thermosphere •The outermost layer of the earth’s atmosphere, which is between the mesosphere and outer space, where the temperature increases steadily with altitude. •It extends from about 56 miles to between 311 to 621 miles above our planet. •Temperature climb sharply in the lower thermosphere then level off and hold steady. •Typically about 200 degrees Celsius hotter in the daytime than at night.
Convection •The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid. Molecules can move place to place, and this happens in the atmosphere and the ocean. •Convection currents can form in air, water, and within the Earth itself.
Wind Currents •What causes wind? The differences in air pressure. •The different types of wind currents are global wind, land breezes, and local winds. The way the Earth’s rotation makes the wind current is the Coriolis Effect. •A common everyday example is when the North wind gradually turns towards the northeast. It is the Coriolis Effect. •How does it deflect the global winds? The Coriolis Effect and other factors combine to produce a pattern of calm areas and wind belts around the Earth.
Types of Winds ●
Global winds blow up steadily from specific directions over long distances.
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Local winds are winds that blow over short distances. Global Winds They don't travel north or south because of the Earth's rotation on its axis. There are four types: doldrums, trade winds, prevailing winds, polar easterlies. Doldrums happen at the equator and surface winds are calm and weak. Prevailing westerlies are strong winds that blow from the west to the east.
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Land Breezes •Land cools more quickly than water, so the air on land becomes cooler than the air on the water. As the warmer air over water rises, cooler air moves from the land to take its place. The flow of air from land to a body of water is a land breeze.
Trade Winds ● ● ● ●
They are 30 degrees north and south of the equator. There is calm winds, few clouds, and little rainfall. Warm air rising from the equator cool and sinks. Also known as horse latitudes.
Polar Easterlies ● ● ● ●
They are cold but weak winds. Near the north and south poles. Us weather is influenced by fuse. Cooling takes place between the 50 and 60 degree latitude as it approaches the poles.
La Nina •A characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. •La Nina tends to bring nearly opposite effects of El Nino to the US. It is wetter than normal conditions across the north west and warmer and drier than normal conditions across the southern tier. It is most clearly seen during the winter time.
El Nino ●
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An irregularly occurring flow of unusually warm surface water along the western coast of South America that disrupts the normal regional and global weather patterns. You can see its effects in both the oceans and the atmosphere, generally, in the Northern hemisphere. The winds pushing water around are usually weaker. A strong El Nino causes wet winters over the southeastern US as well as drought in Indonesia and Australia
Ocean Currents ● What are currents? Surface currents are rivers of water moving through the ocean. ● How do they affect us? They travel to a depth of several 100 meters and are driven by winds. ● Northern hemisphere currents move in clockwise direction and southern hemisphere in a counter-clockwise. ● Currents affect climate on the coast.
What is a gulf stream? ● It is located in the north atlantic ocean. ● They flow from Florida north eastward towards North Carolina. ● They are warm currents because it originates near the equator.
High and Low Pressure Pressure is often determines wind and weather patterns across the Earth. Pressure is measured by a Barometer.
Fronts â—? A front is a transition zones between 2 air masses of different densities. â—? There are four main types of fronts
Hurricanes A storm with violent winds.
Tornadoes â—? A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. â—? Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms.
The Sun The sun is very important. Its the center of our solar system and it relates to many things that happen on Earth.
Isotherm and isobar â—? The prefix iso means equal or constant. Therm means temperature and bar means weight or pressure. â—? Isotherm means a line of constant temperature. â—? Isobar means a line of constant pressure.
Types of Precipitation ●
After water vapor condenses, it can take on a variety of forms to the Earth. ● Snow forms when water vapor turns directly into a solid state without ever going into the liquid state. ● Sleet refers to a mixture of snow and rain. ● Hail forms between moisture and wind.
Clouds There are 3 main types of clouds. Cumulus, Cirrus and Stratus.
Dew Point â—? Dew point is when the dropping temperature causes the maximum vapor pressure to decrease below the amount of water vapor that is already in the air.
How do scientist get images? One of the ways scientist get images is by looking at them from the satellite in space.
Meteorological Instruments Used by Scientist â—? Scientists use a lot of instruments to study meteorology, such as: thermometers, barometers, rain gauges, ceilometers(which is used for cloud height and visibility), a hygrometer, a hygrothermograph, and a psychrometer(which is used to measure humidity).
Global Patterns Global patterns tells us how the weather is going to be. Low pressure brings clouds and precipitation. High pressure brings nice, fair clear weather. Cold fronts bring cold and chilly weather. Warm fronts bring warm weaher.
Weather Map
T-Chart for Jobs Dani Simin The map The typing Research The editing Slides 5,6,8,11, The rest of the slides 14, and 16