Air Masses and Fronts
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Created by:
Hannah0772 on February 28, 2012
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Lecture #15
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12 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 air masses | an immense body of air, with relatively homogenous physical properties (density, temperature, and moisture) at a given altitude |
| Classification scheme | 1. first letter: reference to surface over which it develops and thus the level of humidity (dry vs. humid) c = continental; forms over landmass (low water vapor content, dry) m = maritime; forms over an ocean (high water vapor content, humid) 2. second letter: reference to latitude of origin and thus temperature (cold vs. warm) A = artic, bitterly cold P = polar; very cold T = tropical; warm E = equatorial; very warm |
| continental artic (cA) | Artic Basin and Greenland; bitterly cold and very dry; stable |
| continental polar (cP) | Interior Canada and Alaska; very cold (winter) to cool (summer) and dry; stable |
| continental tropical (cT) | northern interior Mexico and southwest US (summer only); hot and dry; usually unstable |
| maritime polar (mP) | 1. north Pacific: cool and humid, unstable in winter and stable in summer; 2. NW Atlantic: cold and unstable in winter, cool and stable in summer, and both are humid |
| maritime tropical (mT) | 1. Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and western Atlantic, warm and humid and unstable on the western side of the STH; 2. eastern Pacific warm and humid, but stable on the eastern side of STH |
| polar front | frontal zone separating air masses of polar origin from air masses of tropical origin |
| cold front | boundary at the forward edge of an advancing cold air mass that is displacing warmer air -cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds symbol: triangles on line |
| warm front | boundary at the forward edge of an advancing warm air mass that is displacing cooler air -stratus clouds symbol: half circles on line |
| stationary front | when air movement is almost parallel to the boundary (front) symbol: triangles on one side and half circles on the other; pointing in opposite directions |
| occluded front | a front formed when a cold front over takes or replaces a warm front at the surface symbol: triangles and circles pointing in the same direction (usually fushia/purple color) |
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