| Term | Definition |
|---|
| precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds |
| latent heat | the energy absorbed or released during a change in state |
| evaporation | the change in state from a liquid to a gas |
| condensation | the change in state from a gas to a liquid |
| sublimation | conversion of a solid directly to a gas |
| deposition | conversion of a vapor directly to a solid |
| humidity | amount of water vapor in the air |
| saturated | the state of air that contains the maximum quantity of water vapor that it can hold at any given temperature and pressure |
| relative humidity | a ratio of the air's actual amount of the water vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor air can hold at that temperature |
| dew point | the temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation |
| hydrometer | an instrument designed to measure relative humidity |
| dry adiabatic rate | the rate of adiabatic cooling and heating in unsaturated air |
| wet adiabatic rate | the slower rate of cooling caused by the addition of latent heat |
| orographic lifting | when elevated terrains act as barriers to air flow |
| front | the boundary between two adjoining air masses having contrasting characteristics |
| condensation nuclei | serve as surfaces for water vapor condensation |
| air pressure | the force exerted by the weight of the column of air above a given point |
| barometer | a device used for measuring air pressure |
| pressure gradient | the amount of pressure change occurring over a given distance |
| Coriolis effect | the change in movement results from Earths rotation |
| jet stream | fast moving rivers of air that travel between 120-240kilometers per hour in a west to east direction |
| cirrus | clouds are high, white and thin |
| cumulus | rounded individual cloud masses. Cauliflower structure |
| stratus | horizontal sheets or layers that cover most of the sky no distinct cloud units |
| cirrocumulus | fluffy masses thin white made up of ice crystals high cloud |
| cirrostratus | flat layers, thin white made up of ice crystals high cloud |
| altocumulus | large dense rounded masses middle cloud |
| altostratus | create a uniform white grayish heet covering the sky. Precipitation may occur with these clouds middle |
| stratocumulus | close together puffy clouds may produce light precipitation low cloud |
| nimbostratus | form during stable conditions. main precipitation makers low cloud |
| cumulonimbus | thick clouds that are the storm creators. has an anvil head low cloud |
| supercooled | the condition of water droplet that remain in the liquid state at temperature well below 0 c |
| supersaturated | the condition of air that is more highly concentrated than is normally possible under given temp. and pressure conditions when describing humidity it refers to a relative humidity that is greater than 100% |
| collision coalescence process | a theory of raindrop formation in warm clouds in which large cloud droplets collide to form a raindrop. Opposide electric charges may bind the cloud droplets together |
| heat released or absorbed | the way energy transferred in a change of state |
| hidden | the meaning of latent |
| endothermic | energy or heat is absorbed |
| exothermic | energy or heat is released |
| when saturated warm air holds more water vapor than cold air | the way temp and saturation are related |
| adding or removing water vapor or changing temperature | the way to change relative humidity |
| sling psychrometer | the instrument we used to calculate humidity in our lab |
| frontal wedging | The lifting of air resulting when cool air acts as When warm and cold air collide at the surface, we call it a front, or frontal zone. Since the warmer air is less dense, it rises over the cold air. The rising warm air is capable of holding lots of water vapor, which fuels buoyancy and triggers stormy weather. Cloudy, stormy weather is common along a front. Frontal wedging is common in our winter, when cold air from the polar zones sweeps down to lower latitudes. When warm and cold air collide at the surface, we call it a front, or frontal zone. Since the warmer air is less dense, it rises over the cold air. The rising warm air is capable of holding lots of water vapor, which fuels buoyancy and triggers stormy weather. Cloudy, stormy weather is common along a front. Frontal wedging is common in our winter, when cold air from the polar zones sweeps down to lower latitudes. a barrier over which warmer, lighter air will rise. |
| localized convective lifting | unequal surface heating that causes localized pockets of air ( thermals ) to rise because of their buoyancy |
| convergence | when winds flowing from different directions come together rand force air masses up Result is often cloud fromation or storms |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace