Weather Review. Air Masses Air Mass – A large body of air through which temperature and moisture...

Weather Review

Air Masses

• Air Mass – A large body of air through which temperature and moisture are the same.

• Types1. Continental – formed over land2. Maritime – formed of water3. Polar – formed near the poles4. Tropical – formed near the equator

Dry and Warm

Dry and Warm

Dry and Cold

Moist and Warm

Moist and Cold

Front – A place where two air masses meet.

Air move from high pressure to low pressure!

Sea Breeze Land breeze

Measures Temperature

Measures Amount of Precipitation

Measures Humidity(Moisture)

Measures Wind Speed

Measures Wind Direction

Measures Atmospheric pressure

Measures Wind Direction

Life Cycle of a Thunderstorm

Radiation

• Heat transfer by electromagnetic waves.

• Wavelengths shorter than visible light are absorbed in the upper atmosphere.

• Solar radiation is absorbed by Earth’s surface or reflected back into the atmosphere (albedo).

What is conduction?

• Conduction is heat transfer through a material.

• The layer of air on Earth’s surface is heated by contact with earth.

What is convection? • Convection is the movement of matter due to

differences in density caused by temperature differences. Warm fluids rise, cool fluids sink.

What is Earth’s heat budget?

• The amount of energy entering the Earth via the sun is approximately the same as the amount of energy exiting the Earth.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

• The greenhouse effect is the warming of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide and water vapor in the air absorb radiation.