Topics Covered in AS 2000 - Introduction to Meteorology, Spring 2011, Between Test 1 and Test 2

Topics covered in AS 2000 - Introduction to Meteorology, Spring 2011, between test 1 and test 2. Demonstrations are indicated in blue.

Ch. 6 Stability and cloud development

1) Thermodynamic diagram

a) Lapse rates

i) dry adiabatic

ii) moist adiabatic

iii) environmental

iv) water vapor mixing ratio

v) lifted condensation level

2) Environmental stability

a) Stable

b) Neutral

c) Conditionally unstable

d) Absolutely unstable

3) Causes of instability

a) Cold air advection aloft

b) Surface warming (demo – cold food color introduced to bottom of beaker with water sitting on a heat plate. After food color disperses across the bottom turn on heat and observe convection)

a) Lifting mechanisms

i) orography

ii) cold fronts

iii) surface heating

iv) convergence

Ch. 7 – Precipitation

a) Cloud drops to rain drops

b) Warm rain processes (collision - coalescence)

c) Ice crystal process

i) Ice nucleation, ice nuclei

ii) Growth by vapor diffusion over ice

iii) Ice crystal shapes = f(T)

iv) Cloud seeding

Ch. 8 –Air pressure, forces, and winds

1) Laws of motion: Force, acceleration, F=ma

2) Forces that affect air motion

a) Gravity

b) Pressure gradient force

i) Differential heating of the earth  Equator to pole pressure gradient

c) Coriolis force

i) Coordinate systems - frames of reference (demo – suspend cup of water with holes in the side. Notice water stops being expelled from cup if cup is allowed to fall. 2nd demo – straight line on a piece of paper in reference space of room curves when captured on a rotating piece of paper.)

d) Friction

3) Force balance

a) Hydrostatic

b) Geostrophic

i) Upper level westerlies

ii) Cyclonic / Anticyclonic circulation

iii) Thermal wind – in presence of horizontal temperature gradient, wind speed increases with height. Leads to jet stream.

c) Gradient – hurricanes – balance of pressure gradient and centrifugal force.

Ch. 9 – Wind: Small-scale and local systems

a) Sea and land breezes

b) Chinooks

Ch. 10 – Wind: Global systems

1) General atmospheric circulation

a) Differential heating of earth's surface

b) Three cell model (Hadley, Ferrel, Polar)

i) Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

ii) Subsidence - deserts

iii) Trade winds

iv) Cell boundaries

c) Upper level westerlies,

i) jet streams

ii) wave structure

2) General oceanic circulation

a) Ekman spiral - upwelling

b) Gulf stream

c) El Nino Southern Oscillation

Ch. 14 – Thunderstorms and tornadoes - Topics

1) Convection

a) Showers

b) Thunderstorms

c) Tornadoes (demo – tornado jar)

Ch. 11 - Air masses and fronts

1) Air mass defintion/ source regions

2) Air mass types and source regions in our area

a) cP  continental Polar - central Canada

b) cT  continental Tropical - central Mexico

c) mP  maritime Polar - northern Pacific

d) mT  maritime Tropical - central eastern Pacific/ gulf of Mexico

e) cA  continental Arctic

3) Fronts (demo – watch change in oil water interface when bottle of oil/water is spun. Discuss differences in hydrostatic pressure profile of oil, which causes variations in the oil water interface. Only partially related to fronts, but shows how fluids of different densities interact)

a) Cold

b) Warm

c) Occluded

d) Stationary

Ch. 12 Middle latitude cyclones

1) Polar front theory

2) Cyclones as eddies in large scale flow - transporting energy

3) Upper level waves

a) Genesis – vorticity – (demo spinning an egg, baseball, rifling).

b) Long

c) Short

4) Vertical structure of cyclone/anticyclone

a) Upper level and low level divergence/convergence

b) Relationship of cyclones, jet stream, upper level trough.

5) Life cycle of extratropical cyclone

a) Cyclogenesis

b) Development

c) Maturity

d) Decay