Atmospheric Science Learning
By Owen Borville
March 29, 2021
Atmospheric, Science, Learning
Meteorology is the study of Earth's atmosphere, temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, clouds and cloudiness, moisture patterns, water vapor, precipitation, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder and thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons. Also: climate patterns, atmospheric physics, chemistry, and hydrology
A brief survey of atmospheric topics reveals that many factors in the atmosphere are interrelated and need each other in order to function as part of a unique creation. The laws of physics and chemistry along with the unique environmental conditions on Earth allow for life to exist. Everything must be in place to allow for the unique conditions for life to exist. The Earth is one unit that works together.
TEMPERATURE: What is it?=The physical quantity that expresses hot and cold or heat and absence of heat. It is a measure of thermal energy and exists in all matter, while heat flows as energy from hot and cold and vice versa.
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE (barometric pressure)=is the pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere of Earth. Standard Atmospheric Pressure (1 atm)=101,325 Pa, 101.3 kPa, 1013.25 hPa, 1013.25 mbar, 760 mg Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, 14.696 psi. PRESSURE AT HEIGHT H(Ph)=Sea level pressure (P0) x e^(-mgh/kT); m=mass of one air molecule, g=acceleration of gravity, k=Boltzmann's constant, T=absolute temperature
WHAT IS WIND?=air in motion or moving air molecules of nitrogen and oxygen as air heats up
and cools down and exerts air pressure and a downward force. Air moves from high pressure to low pressure. Therefore, wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure and produces winds of various speeds. Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. Different landforms and water bodies absorb the sun's radiation unevenly and in different ways. The movement of wind is described by speed and direction.
TYPES OF WIND=planetary winds, trade winds, westerlies, periodic winds, local winds
GLOBAL WIND PATTERN MAP: Polar Easterlies, westerlies, trade winds, equator, trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies
PLANETARY WINDS=winds that are caused by solar radiation and earth's rotation
TRADE WINDS= (0 to 30 degrees latitude) winds near equator travel east to west, north of equator called north easterlies and south of equator called southeasterly. Trade winds have been used by sailors since historical times.
DOLDRUMS=area right at equator where there is almost no wind.
WESTERLIES=(30 to 60 degrees latitudes) move eastward and this region contains cyclones and anticyclones. Westerlies carry warm equatorial waters and winds to the western coasts of continents.
POLAR CELL WINDS=(above 60 degrees latitude) winds at the North and South Polar regions
PERIODIC WINDS=change direction periodically during seasons
LOCAL WINDS=winds blown over a limited or smaller area
CORIOLIS EFFECT=phenomenon when a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and axis of rotation, causing deflection of the mass. Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion and counterclockwise from the North Pole. Earth rotates in 24 hours completely about 1,000 miles per hour (460 m/s) and (40,000 km circumference). On Earth, wind is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and deflected to the left in the southern hemisphere. Coriolis effect also affects cyclonic and storm patterns, along with atmospheric circulation patterns, oceanic circulation patterns, flight paths, and anything that flies, including birds and man-made aircraft. Objects travelling long distances around the earth appear to travel in a curve instead of a straight line and is caused by different parts of the earth moving at different speeds. The Earth's rotation is the main cause of the Coriolis Effect. The Coriolis effect is greatest at the Earth's poles and least at the equator. The Coriolis effect is calculated with angular velocity=angular displacement in radians divided by the change in time.
THE SEVEN LAYERS OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
TROPHOSPHERE=lowest part of atmosphere where most weather takes place, from the surface of earth up to 10 km upward. Troposphere is thicker at equator and several miles thinner at the poles. Contains 75 percent of atmosphere's mass. Temperature decreases with increasing height.
STRATOSPHERE=second major layer of atmosphere just above the troposphere up to 50 km above ground. Stratosphere accounts for 24 percent of earth's atmosphere. Most of the Ozone Layer is found in the Stratosphere 90 percent.
OZONE LAYER is in the stratosphere. Ozone layer molecules absorb UV light from the sun and convert the UV energy into heat.
MESOSPHERE=temperatures continue to drop upward, coldest layer of atmosphere, freezes water vapor into ice clouds, some meteor material here with iron and metallic content, strange, unique clouds form here near the poles.
THERMOSPHERE=next layer upward, 500 km thick, temperatures increase because of increased radiation from the sun. Home to the International Space Station and satellites. Helps absorb UV radiation and X-ray radiation from the sun.
IONOSPHERE=above 80 km, turns molecules into ions by radiation with positive charge, reflects and absorbs radio waves, propagating them around the earth. Ionosphere has a high concentration of ions and free electrons. Ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation.
EXOSPHERE=above 500 km, contains mainly oxygen, helium, and hydrogen atoms sparsely populated. The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere before the magnetosphere. The exosphere has thin air and very cold. The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere still affected by earth's gravity.
MAGNETOSPHERE=outer region of earth's atmosphere that acts like a large magnet, trapping electrons and concentrating them into bands, known as Van Allen Radiation Belts 3,000 and 16,000 km above earth. Here charged particles spiral along magnetic field lines. In the Magnetosphere, Earth's magnetic field is dominant, not the magnetic field of outer space. The magnetosphere is formed by the interaction of solar wind with Earth's magnetic field. The magnetosphere is important because it shields earth from interplanetary space weather. Solar wind is deflected around the earth and does not enter earth's atmosphere. The magnetosphere protects earth from the sun's harmful UV radiation and protecting the atmosphere from being stripped away by erosion from solar wind. Magnetosphere creates the Northern Lights
DETERMINANTS OF WEATHER: Solar Energy Amount, Elevation, Proximity to Water, Relative Temperatures, Storms, Air Pressure.
HUMIDITY: Amount of water vapor in the air, caused by evaporation of water into the atmosphere and based on the temperature and pressure of the environment.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY: Amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold (saturation) at the same temperature. Absolute Humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a given volume or mass of air. Specific Humidity is the ratio of mass of water vapor to the total mass of the air parcel.
CAUSES OF HIGH or LOW HUMIDITY are based on how much water evaporates into the atmosphere as warmer places tend to have higher humidity and the pressure of the environment.
TYPES OF CLOUDS:
Clouds are water droplets or ice crystals floating in the sky. Types of clouds include high clouds, mid-level clouds, and low clouds.
High clouds: Cirrus, Cirrostratus, and Cirrocumulus clouds
Mid-level clouds: Altocumulus, Altostratus, Nimbostratus
Low Clouds: Cumulus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus, Stratocumulus
Special Clouds: Contrails, Mammatus, Orographic, Lenticular
WEATHER SYSTEMS AND PATTERNS
Global winds and circulation patterns are caused by the Earth's orbit and rotation on its tilted axis. Six large convection currents cover Earth from pole to pole.
Air Masses are global wind patterns driving large bodies of air called air masses thousands of feet thick
Fronts are where two air masses meet. Cold fronts of cold air can be replaced with warm fronts with warm air and vice versa. Fronts can be tracked on the weather map as they move across the Earth using technology.
Jet Streams are local weather conditions on the Earth's surface related to air masses and fronts. High in the atmosphere, narrow bands of strong wind such as the jet streams, steer weather systems, and transfer heat and moisture around the Earth
Coriolis Effect: as air masses and global winds do not travel in strait lines, but rather these winds are deflected as they move across the rotating Earth. Deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, creating large circulating weather systems as air blows away from or into high or low pressure systems. Hurricanes and nor'easters are examples.
THUNDERSTORM FORMATION
Thunderstorms are caused by this mass of rising unstable air, a lifting mechanism, strong winds, along with moisture. The sun heats up surface air and causes it to rise upward, causing a convection process. As the warm air rises, it cools off, releases the heat, and condenses to form a cloud. The cloud continues to rise into freezing temperatures and form ice particles that collide, bounce off each other and create an electric charge. The ice particles also grow while freezing by condensing vapor. The accumulation of these collisions and electric charges combine to create bolts of lightning and the sound of thunder.
THUNDERSTORM LIFE CYCLE
The thunderstorm life cycle begins with the development stage, or cumulus stage, where a cumulus cloud is pushed upward by a rising column of air (updraft) causing the cumulus cloud to look like a tower. The mature stage begins when precipitation begins to fall as the updraft continues, causing a downdraft downward pushing air column. The downdraft spreads outward and forms a line of gusty winds or gust front. Heavy rain, hail, lightening, strong winds, and tornadoes can form during the mature stage. The downdraft eventually overtakes the updraft in the dissipating stage and the gust front cuts off the warm, moist air that was feeding the thunderstorm.
TORNADO FORMATION is one of nature's greatest phenomena and is not completely understood.
Tornadoes form when warm, humid air masses collide with cold, dense, dry air masses and this mixing of cold and warm air produces thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms are caused by this mass of unstable air, strong winds, along with moisture.
Warm air rises through the colder air and this process can cause rotation and produce a supercell and then a tornado.
When the dense, cold air is pushed over the warm, less dense air, the underlying warmer air pushes upward, causing an updraft and lifting the rotation upward.
This rotation can lead to a rotating cell that can form a supercell and then a tornado, a violently rotating column of air that begins horizontally positioned and can be converted vertically and touch the ground, causing much damage to property, buildings, and people.
As the rotating column or supercell is uplifted, it becomes narrower or thinner and rotates faster.
Vorticity is the tendency of a fluid like air or wind to rotate.
Tornado wind speeds can reach 480 kilometers per hour, removing rooftops, uprooting trees, and carrying large objects like cars.
Factors that cause a tornado include the stability of the atmosphere or non moving or non rising air, wind shear patterns, or the change or direction or gradient in wind speed vertically or horizontally, the amount and type of clouds, and the position of jet streams of air, or narrow bands of air currents that circle the Earth.
Tornadoes are commonly very quick and locate in a specific location, lasting only a few minutes in a particular location or along a particular path.
However, tornadoes can last up to one hour and travel dozens of miles. The path of a moving tornado is specific.
Most of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States Midwest and Southeast region in late spring from April to June.
By Owen Borville
March 29, 2021
Atmospheric, Science, Learning
Meteorology is the study of Earth's atmosphere, temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, clouds and cloudiness, moisture patterns, water vapor, precipitation, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder and thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons. Also: climate patterns, atmospheric physics, chemistry, and hydrology
A brief survey of atmospheric topics reveals that many factors in the atmosphere are interrelated and need each other in order to function as part of a unique creation. The laws of physics and chemistry along with the unique environmental conditions on Earth allow for life to exist. Everything must be in place to allow for the unique conditions for life to exist. The Earth is one unit that works together.
TEMPERATURE: What is it?=The physical quantity that expresses hot and cold or heat and absence of heat. It is a measure of thermal energy and exists in all matter, while heat flows as energy from hot and cold and vice versa.
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE (barometric pressure)=is the pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere of Earth. Standard Atmospheric Pressure (1 atm)=101,325 Pa, 101.3 kPa, 1013.25 hPa, 1013.25 mbar, 760 mg Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, 14.696 psi. PRESSURE AT HEIGHT H(Ph)=Sea level pressure (P0) x e^(-mgh/kT); m=mass of one air molecule, g=acceleration of gravity, k=Boltzmann's constant, T=absolute temperature
WHAT IS WIND?=air in motion or moving air molecules of nitrogen and oxygen as air heats up
and cools down and exerts air pressure and a downward force. Air moves from high pressure to low pressure. Therefore, wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure and produces winds of various speeds. Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. Different landforms and water bodies absorb the sun's radiation unevenly and in different ways. The movement of wind is described by speed and direction.
TYPES OF WIND=planetary winds, trade winds, westerlies, periodic winds, local winds
GLOBAL WIND PATTERN MAP: Polar Easterlies, westerlies, trade winds, equator, trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies
PLANETARY WINDS=winds that are caused by solar radiation and earth's rotation
TRADE WINDS= (0 to 30 degrees latitude) winds near equator travel east to west, north of equator called north easterlies and south of equator called southeasterly. Trade winds have been used by sailors since historical times.
DOLDRUMS=area right at equator where there is almost no wind.
WESTERLIES=(30 to 60 degrees latitudes) move eastward and this region contains cyclones and anticyclones. Westerlies carry warm equatorial waters and winds to the western coasts of continents.
POLAR CELL WINDS=(above 60 degrees latitude) winds at the North and South Polar regions
PERIODIC WINDS=change direction periodically during seasons
LOCAL WINDS=winds blown over a limited or smaller area
CORIOLIS EFFECT=phenomenon when a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and axis of rotation, causing deflection of the mass. Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion and counterclockwise from the North Pole. Earth rotates in 24 hours completely about 1,000 miles per hour (460 m/s) and (40,000 km circumference). On Earth, wind is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and deflected to the left in the southern hemisphere. Coriolis effect also affects cyclonic and storm patterns, along with atmospheric circulation patterns, oceanic circulation patterns, flight paths, and anything that flies, including birds and man-made aircraft. Objects travelling long distances around the earth appear to travel in a curve instead of a straight line and is caused by different parts of the earth moving at different speeds. The Earth's rotation is the main cause of the Coriolis Effect. The Coriolis effect is greatest at the Earth's poles and least at the equator. The Coriolis effect is calculated with angular velocity=angular displacement in radians divided by the change in time.
THE SEVEN LAYERS OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
TROPHOSPHERE=lowest part of atmosphere where most weather takes place, from the surface of earth up to 10 km upward. Troposphere is thicker at equator and several miles thinner at the poles. Contains 75 percent of atmosphere's mass. Temperature decreases with increasing height.
STRATOSPHERE=second major layer of atmosphere just above the troposphere up to 50 km above ground. Stratosphere accounts for 24 percent of earth's atmosphere. Most of the Ozone Layer is found in the Stratosphere 90 percent.
OZONE LAYER is in the stratosphere. Ozone layer molecules absorb UV light from the sun and convert the UV energy into heat.
MESOSPHERE=temperatures continue to drop upward, coldest layer of atmosphere, freezes water vapor into ice clouds, some meteor material here with iron and metallic content, strange, unique clouds form here near the poles.
THERMOSPHERE=next layer upward, 500 km thick, temperatures increase because of increased radiation from the sun. Home to the International Space Station and satellites. Helps absorb UV radiation and X-ray radiation from the sun.
IONOSPHERE=above 80 km, turns molecules into ions by radiation with positive charge, reflects and absorbs radio waves, propagating them around the earth. Ionosphere has a high concentration of ions and free electrons. Ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation.
EXOSPHERE=above 500 km, contains mainly oxygen, helium, and hydrogen atoms sparsely populated. The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere before the magnetosphere. The exosphere has thin air and very cold. The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere still affected by earth's gravity.
MAGNETOSPHERE=outer region of earth's atmosphere that acts like a large magnet, trapping electrons and concentrating them into bands, known as Van Allen Radiation Belts 3,000 and 16,000 km above earth. Here charged particles spiral along magnetic field lines. In the Magnetosphere, Earth's magnetic field is dominant, not the magnetic field of outer space. The magnetosphere is formed by the interaction of solar wind with Earth's magnetic field. The magnetosphere is important because it shields earth from interplanetary space weather. Solar wind is deflected around the earth and does not enter earth's atmosphere. The magnetosphere protects earth from the sun's harmful UV radiation and protecting the atmosphere from being stripped away by erosion from solar wind. Magnetosphere creates the Northern Lights
DETERMINANTS OF WEATHER: Solar Energy Amount, Elevation, Proximity to Water, Relative Temperatures, Storms, Air Pressure.
HUMIDITY: Amount of water vapor in the air, caused by evaporation of water into the atmosphere and based on the temperature and pressure of the environment.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY: Amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold (saturation) at the same temperature. Absolute Humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a given volume or mass of air. Specific Humidity is the ratio of mass of water vapor to the total mass of the air parcel.
CAUSES OF HIGH or LOW HUMIDITY are based on how much water evaporates into the atmosphere as warmer places tend to have higher humidity and the pressure of the environment.
TYPES OF CLOUDS:
Clouds are water droplets or ice crystals floating in the sky. Types of clouds include high clouds, mid-level clouds, and low clouds.
High clouds: Cirrus, Cirrostratus, and Cirrocumulus clouds
Mid-level clouds: Altocumulus, Altostratus, Nimbostratus
Low Clouds: Cumulus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus, Stratocumulus
Special Clouds: Contrails, Mammatus, Orographic, Lenticular
WEATHER SYSTEMS AND PATTERNS
Global winds and circulation patterns are caused by the Earth's orbit and rotation on its tilted axis. Six large convection currents cover Earth from pole to pole.
Air Masses are global wind patterns driving large bodies of air called air masses thousands of feet thick
Fronts are where two air masses meet. Cold fronts of cold air can be replaced with warm fronts with warm air and vice versa. Fronts can be tracked on the weather map as they move across the Earth using technology.
Jet Streams are local weather conditions on the Earth's surface related to air masses and fronts. High in the atmosphere, narrow bands of strong wind such as the jet streams, steer weather systems, and transfer heat and moisture around the Earth
Coriolis Effect: as air masses and global winds do not travel in strait lines, but rather these winds are deflected as they move across the rotating Earth. Deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, creating large circulating weather systems as air blows away from or into high or low pressure systems. Hurricanes and nor'easters are examples.
THUNDERSTORM FORMATION
Thunderstorms are caused by this mass of rising unstable air, a lifting mechanism, strong winds, along with moisture. The sun heats up surface air and causes it to rise upward, causing a convection process. As the warm air rises, it cools off, releases the heat, and condenses to form a cloud. The cloud continues to rise into freezing temperatures and form ice particles that collide, bounce off each other and create an electric charge. The ice particles also grow while freezing by condensing vapor. The accumulation of these collisions and electric charges combine to create bolts of lightning and the sound of thunder.
THUNDERSTORM LIFE CYCLE
The thunderstorm life cycle begins with the development stage, or cumulus stage, where a cumulus cloud is pushed upward by a rising column of air (updraft) causing the cumulus cloud to look like a tower. The mature stage begins when precipitation begins to fall as the updraft continues, causing a downdraft downward pushing air column. The downdraft spreads outward and forms a line of gusty winds or gust front. Heavy rain, hail, lightening, strong winds, and tornadoes can form during the mature stage. The downdraft eventually overtakes the updraft in the dissipating stage and the gust front cuts off the warm, moist air that was feeding the thunderstorm.
TORNADO FORMATION is one of nature's greatest phenomena and is not completely understood.
Tornadoes form when warm, humid air masses collide with cold, dense, dry air masses and this mixing of cold and warm air produces thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms are caused by this mass of unstable air, strong winds, along with moisture.
Warm air rises through the colder air and this process can cause rotation and produce a supercell and then a tornado.
When the dense, cold air is pushed over the warm, less dense air, the underlying warmer air pushes upward, causing an updraft and lifting the rotation upward.
This rotation can lead to a rotating cell that can form a supercell and then a tornado, a violently rotating column of air that begins horizontally positioned and can be converted vertically and touch the ground, causing much damage to property, buildings, and people.
As the rotating column or supercell is uplifted, it becomes narrower or thinner and rotates faster.
Vorticity is the tendency of a fluid like air or wind to rotate.
Tornado wind speeds can reach 480 kilometers per hour, removing rooftops, uprooting trees, and carrying large objects like cars.
Factors that cause a tornado include the stability of the atmosphere or non moving or non rising air, wind shear patterns, or the change or direction or gradient in wind speed vertically or horizontally, the amount and type of clouds, and the position of jet streams of air, or narrow bands of air currents that circle the Earth.
Tornadoes are commonly very quick and locate in a specific location, lasting only a few minutes in a particular location or along a particular path.
However, tornadoes can last up to one hour and travel dozens of miles. The path of a moving tornado is specific.
Most of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States Midwest and Southeast region in late spring from April to June.
