Meteorology CP
Final Review
Chapter 1 – Earth and its Atmosphere
 Basic History of Meteorology
 Newton’s Laws
 Albedo
 Structure of the atmosphere
o Pressure
o Temperature
o Density
 Composition
Chapter 2 – Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
 Energy vs. Temperature vs. Heat
 Heat Transfer – to and from and through the Atmosphere
o Radiation
o Conduction
o Convection
 Radiation
o Temperature
o Sun and Earth
o Solar
o Incoming and outgoing
o Electromagnetic spectrum
 Equilibrium
o Greenhouse Effect
o Absorption / Emission
Chapter 3 – Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
 Seasons – Northern vs. Southern Hemispheres
o Angle of Insolation
o Seasonal variations
 Variations of temperatures – seasonal, daily (cloudy vs. clear)
 Measuring Temperatures
Chapter 4 – Humidity
 Circulation of Water – Water Cycle
o Phases of water and energy transfer
 Evaporational cooling
 Condensational warming
 Absolute vs. Relative Humidity
 Dew Point
Chapter 5 – Clouds
 3 basic clouds families
o Altitude
o Basic description
Chapter 6 – Atmospheric Stability
 Stable Atmosphere
 Unstable Atmosphere
 Lapse Rates (Environmental, Dry Adiabatic, Moist/Wet Adiabatic)
 Cloud development
 Lifting Condensation Level
 Lifting mechanisms (Orographic, Convection, Convergence, Frontal)
Chapter 8 – Air Pressure and Winds
 Horizontal Pressure Variations
o Surface
o Upper Atmosphere
o Relation of the two above
 Newton’s Law
 Pressure Gradient Force (High to Low)
 Coriolis
 Geostrophic Winds (Flow parallel to the isobars)
Chapter 9 – Small Scale and local winds
 Wind measurement
 Eddies / Air pockets
 Sea / Land Breeze
 Valley / Mountain Breeze
 Chinook wind
 Katabatic wind
 Santa Ana wind
Additional
 Global winds
 Basic symbols on weather maps
 Basics of extreme weather
o Tornadoes
o Hurricanes
o Thunderstorms
o Blizzards
o Floods/Droughts
o El Nino/La Nina