WEEK 1 WRITEUPS
Chapter one comprised of an introduction to the difference between weather and climate
and how each provides insight on the state of the atmosphere and it’s interaction with
oceans, land, and living things. The chapter talked about how molecules make up the
gases and liquids that are part of our atmosphere and how the force of gravity affects
them. The distribution of gases, Nitrogen being the most common, was mentioned. The
next topic was the carbon dioxide cycle and how the concentration of CO2 has been
increasing in recent years. The hydrologic cycle was introduced and will be talked about
in far more detail in the following chapters. Pressure and Density and the definition of
each were a topic. The Ideal Gas Law states the relationship between pressure, density
and temperature. And finally, much emphasis was put on the levels of our atmosphere
which include the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere and Thermosphere.
This weeks readings had a lot of great information to take away. Some things that I took
away was the difference between climate (condition of atmosphere over many years;
usually 30 years) and weather (condition of atmosphere at a particular location and
moment) One thing that I found to be very interesting was the lapse rate. I understand
that its the correlation with temperature and height, however, its still a little hard for me
to understand the whole temperature inversion. I understood everything that I read when
it came to this, its just still a little confusing that there is an inversion once you enter a
new "sphere". Another thing that was discussed was how weather exists. This is because
of the earths tilt and proximity to the sun. Weather is also created because of about half
of the earth is exposed to the sun, creating huge temperature differences around the world
at any given time. There is also huge differences in temperature around the world
because 2/3 of the worlds land mass is located in the northern hemisphere.
ay. Some things that I took away was the difference between climate (condition of
atmosphere over many years; usually 30 years) and weather (condition of atmosphere at a
particular location and moment) One thing that I found to be very interesting was the
lapse rate. I understand that its the correlation with temperature and height, however, its
still a little hard for me to understand the whole temperature inversion. I understood
everything that I read when it came to this, its just still a little confusing that there is an
inversion once you enter a new "sphere". Another thing that was discussed was how
weather exists. This is because of the earths tilt and proximity to the sun. Weather is
also created because of about half of the earth is exposed to the sun, creating huge
temperature dif
The first chapter was an introduction to the atmosphere. Generally, weather is the
atmosphere at a certain time and in a certain place. Climate is the weather of a region
over a long period of time. About 30 years of weather generates a climate. The
atmosphere is consisted of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon. The amount of carbon dioxide
admitted into the air had increased over the years. The atmosphere can be divided up into
four parts. The parts are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the thermosphere.
The chapter also discussed weather maps that explain wind direction, wind speed,
pressure, pressure tendency, cloud cover, dew point, current weather and temperature.
This week’s reading and PowerPoint focused on what is weather and climate, and what
affects them. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a given place and time, while
climate is the average state of the atmosphere along with the hydrosphere, lithosphere,
and biosphere over 30 years. The most important part of weather and climate is the
atmosphere. The atmosphere is made up of the troposphere, where weather occurs,
stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The atmosphere’s gas contents have
changed over time due to natural occurrences and lately because of human activity, most
notably carbon dioxide. To understand the changing levels of carbon dioxide scientist
study the Carbon Cycle; water also has a cycle. Pressure is very important when studying
weather. Pressure measures how much the air above you weighs. When measuring
pressure, values are always calibrated to sea level. This makes sure that values are
comparable in different locations. In order to study weather in different parts of the world
meteorologists have tools to help them. A few include thermometer, barometer, weather
satellites, and radar. Surface plots are also important to meteorologists to see lots of data
at a glance. These tools help to predict the weather, especially storms.
While reading chapter 1, the book started off with the definition of climate and weather.
Climate is an average temperature in a certain location and weather is never the same it is
always changing. Those were the Major points in the chapter. Then next in the chapter
were the earth’s major surface features and this went into the atmosphere and its
composition and also told all about the other things in our air such as aerosols and trace
gases. After describing the carbon dioxide cycle and the hydrologic cycle, the text went
into dividing up the atmosphere from the troposphere, mesosphere. Stratosphere, and the
thermosphere and how each one of these spheres have an effect on the daily weather and
temperature. For the final part of the chapter the text talked about mapping and on the
little symbols that the describe the weather in that certain area and the wind direction, and
such. These are some of the major components of the chapter.
Our weather is our atmosphere at any particular time and place. It is always changing;
Where as, our climate is daily and seasonal weather that will last over a long period of
time. Furthermore, weather exists from having an unevenly heated atmosphere and a
interesting temperature, while the Earth is being kept heated by our sun and our
atmosphere, which is divided into four layers: The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
and the thermosphere.
WEEK 2 WRITEUPS
Three ways to transfer heat, radiation, conduction, convection. Radiation is how solar
energy reaches the earth, radiation changes with temperature. The temperature measures
the kinetic energy (energy of motion). Radiation is smaller at an angle to the earth and
stronger when the direction is straight toward the earth, solar radiation decreases as you
move pole ward on the earth. The earth is on an axis of 23.5 degrees tilt, perihelion,
closest to the earth in January and is aphelion, furthest in July. The solar output does not
vary. The term Albedo is the amount of light reflected the earth has an albedo of 30%.
Kirchhoffs law, object that selectively absorb radiation also selectively emit radiation.
I already knew some of the terms that were defined in this weeks reading. I knew a little
bit about conduction and radiation but I don't think I ever "really" understood what
radiation is or does. That was very interesting to learn about. I found that all the charts in
the chapter really helped to put some of the information into perspective. I also didn't
know how or why we had the seasons. One of my favorite songs has the line "meet me at
the equinox" in it, and now I know what that means! There was also some information in
this weeks reading about the difference between Kinetic Energy (motion) and Potential
Energy(position). I didn't really know anything about these Energies before I read the
chapter so that was insightful. I liked reading about the rising parcels because they just
sounded really cool. Also It was great to finally know about what causes
thunderstorms....Convection!
Overall this chapter presented a lot of new information and better explained some things
to me that I had heard about but never really comprehended.
I hope that I am able to understand and use this information as the class progresses.
Forces, work, and heat are all part of the energy in the atmosphere. Forces are meant for
the body to accelerate. In order to do work, we need either kinetic energy or potential
energy where as, molecular motions produce specific heat (radiation, convection, and
conduction), or latent heat (evaporation, melting, and sublimation). Furthermore, the
temperature is used to measure the average of kinetic energy of a substance molecule. As
far as seasons go, we are able to have warm temperatures during the summer because the
sun is farther away from the Earth and the Earth is tilting towards the sun. And we are
able to have cold temperature in the winter because the sun is closest to the Earth while
the Earth points away from the sun.
During the readings today, there was quite a bit of information, but some of the info that I
took from it was the three types of heat transfer: radiation, convection, and conduction.
Radiation has different wavelengths, which helps it get through many different types of
atmospheres. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy it contains. Conduction is the
transfer of heat from molecule to molecule and convection transfers heat vertically. One
thing that I found to be interesting is that most of the energy that is around us comes from
the sun! Since the earth is tilted about 23 degrees, this creates the seasons. This tilt and
the rotation of the earth around the sun causes the weather changes.
In the beginning of the chapter, the book talked about force, work, and heat. More
specifically, it talked about kinetic and potential energy and their relation to temperature.
The most common temperature scales are Fahrenheit and Celsius, but the Kelvin scale
can also be used. Units that measure energy are called calories and Joules. Conduction,
convection, and radiation were talked about in the methods of transferring energy in the
atmosphere.
In this chapter, the types of wavelengths were also discussed. From long to short, the
wavelengths are: radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, red light, blue light, ultraviolet
light, and gamma rays (according to worksheet #2, also).
Also having to do with the atmosphere, the sun and its position during the seasons
showed that in certain places where the temperature may be colder, the sun is actually
closer to the earth, like Wisconsin. There are four different positions on the earth during
the seasons. They are the winter and summer solstices and the equinoxes that happen in
September and March.
This week’s chapter focused on how the heating of the Earth affects weather. Through
radiation the sun heats Earth’s surface. Conduction heats the air in contact with Earth,
and convection and advection move the heated air around the atmosphere. Not all of the
suns radiation is absorbed by the Earth. The Earth’s albedo is 30%. The amount of energy
the Earth does absorb depends on the season. The seasons are a product of the Earth’s
axis. In winter the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, causing less energy
to be absorbed. In the summer the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. This
means that more energy is absorbed from the sun. It is often mistaken that it’s summer
when Earth is closer to the sun, but this is not true. The Earth is closer to the sun during
winter. The sun is not the only object that releases energy. Any object with a temperature
gives off energy. That means that the Earth releases terrestrial radiation. In different part
of the globe the amount of radiation received from the sun is not equal to the amount lost.
The area around the equator absorbs more than it releases, while the Polar Regions
release more than they absorb. This imbalance is fixed through weather. Weather acts to
create equilibrium on Earth.
WEEK 3 WRITEUPS
First of all, high temperature faster the molecules move. The important energies in the
atmosphere are kinetic and potential energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
Absolute zero occurs when molecules are cooled to the point they no longer move.
Heat flows from warm to cold. Energy is transferred through conduction, convection,
advection as well as radiation. Temperature is controlled by altitude, latitude, surface
type, and location with respect to water as well as cloud cover. Diurnal temps are lowest
where it is wettest. Pressure drops as you rise. Cold air is dense so it sinks, and warm air
rises.
So in this week's readings, it continued to go more in depth with temperature and the how
the earth is affected by the sun's radiation. When the radiation from the sun increases, the
earth emits radiation as well and the amount also increases. The position of the earth is
what also gives us seasons, and determines how long or short days and nights are. One
thing that I learned is about nocturnal inversion. There is a temperature change shortly
above the surface where it is warmer than at the surface and as you go up in height, the
temperature cools down and is similar to that of the surface.
What I learned this week From Chapter 3 was a lot about temperatures. I learned that
surface temperature is the temperature right above the ground. I also learned how the
earth has a global balance of energy. It has this because earth gains energy from the sun,
and loses terrestrial radiation to space.
WEEK 4 In this weeks chapter I learned all about cloud formation and precipitation!
Some of my favorite things in this chapter were cloud condensation nuclei, the processes
that produce precipitation (collision and coalescence and the Bergeron-Findeisen process)
and also all the different new measurements and temperatures (Dewpoint, wetbulb,
humidities, vapor pressure). I also thought it was really cool to learn about the shape of
rain drops..I never knew that they weren't teardrop shaped! I also had not even thought
that there could be different kinds of fogs. I think my favorite was advection fog(warm
air blowing over a cold surface) I think I have seen this kind of fog before in "real life". I
read about somethings that I had never heard of before like "fallstreaks" and "crystal
habits". Overall, there was a lot of information in this chapter and I totally did not know
how much went into clouds and fog and etc...!
WEEK 5 WRITEUPS
This chapter was all about the different ways that the weather is measured and recorded.
some of the things I already knew about like the Doppler rater, wind vanes and
thermometers but some of them I had never heard of before like the Radiosondes and
aneroid barometers. I thought it was really cool to learn about how colors scatter and
that's why things look a certain way. I also really liked reading about how different
weather phenomenons are created, I especially liked reading about rainbows. I didn't even
know that the two different arcs have specific names (primary and secondary). I also
really enjoyed learning about the two weather satellites (GEO and LEO). I guess I never
really thought about were and how all the information that I see on TV came from.
Overall, this chapter was very informational and it gave me a lot of explanations for
thinks I never really thought about but just took for granted!
In the beginning of chapter five, it talks about measuring temperature, pressure, and
humidity. Measuring these things can be done with radiosonde. Also, measuring upperair weather observations can be done with devices that are launched from land-based
weather stations twice a day. These devices can be balloons with liter bottles attached to
them or soda cans. To be very general, there are two different meteorological satellites
that are used. They are GEO (Geostationary) satellites that sit over one geographical
location that is usually near the Equator and LEO (Polar-orbiting) satellites that pass
overhead at about the same time every day around the Equator.
With this chapter's reading, we learned that there are 2 ways to observe the atmosphere:
directly or indirectly. Directly means that this could be measured with an actual
instrument like a thermometer. Indirectly meant when we need some sort of laser or
sensor to measure the atmosphere. Some instruments there were mentioned was the sling
psychrometer which helps measure humidity, barometers measure air pressure,
anemometer measures wind speed.
The chapter talked about some different satellites as well such as geostationary satellites
which stays at one point on the earth at all times, satellites that are polar orbiters. These
satellites are used in a wide variety to help predict weather, temperature, and possible
natural disasters.his chapter's reading, we learned that there are 2 ways to observe
WEEK 6 WRITEUPS
This weeks chapter was all about wind and it's effects. I've never really thought about
wind and it's creation so a lot of the information in this chapter was new to me. It seemed
like there were many components to the creation and strength of wind. some of them
included: pressure gradients, Coriolis force, Centripetal acceleration, Buys Ballot Law,
and circulations. There was a lot of info about the Coriolis effect. I learned that there is
no Coriolis force at the equator and the force is strongest at the poles. I also learned that
you need to already have wind to have the Coriolis force.I also read about isobars and
what it means when they are closer together or farther apart. another thing that is
important is when the PGF is counterbalanced by the Coriolis force. this is called
geostrophic balance. This helps us to explain the strength and direction of winds.
Overall, this chapter had many new ideas and terms...I hope I can remember them all!
In the beginning of the chapter, forces like gravitational, pressure gradient, coriolis, and
frictional force are talked about. Also, Newton's three laws were discussed in the power
point on how they can be related to things like a car. The Coriolis force deflects motion to
the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. The
chapter also talks about pressures and the direction of winds (surface winds), also isobars.
There are also four primary size categories when it comes to scales of motion. They are
microscale, mesosclae, synoptic-scale, and planetary-scale.
What I learned this week about the many forces in the atmosphere was very interesting to
me. I thought it was crazy about what all has to actually happen in order for there to be
wind. You need Pressure Gradient Force, Coriolis Effect, Cetripetal Force, and Friction.
I never new that all of these Forces and Effects had to occur in order for there to be
wind. Another thing I found to be intreging is the Coriolis Force, if you were to launch a
missle, you would have to play in effect the earth's rotation, and calculate the degree
pretty precisely
The wind is actually moving air. Friction is able to slow down the air by 25 to 75% of
what the speeed would be. Wind can also increas throughout the troposphere by using
geostrophic and hydrostatic force that balance. Futhermore, an engergy imbalance leads
to a force that is able to generate wind. It is mostly located in the atmosphere and the
ocean. As for high and low pressures, low is there when the sky is cloudy and contains
moist air; where as, high pressure is present when there is a clear sky the the air is dry.
One of the things that I took away from all the reading was the Coriolis Effect. In a
nutshell, if you stayed in one spot for 24 hours, you will return to the same spot due to the
earth's rotation. however, the closer you are to the equater, the longer the distance you
will travel, but you will still reach the same spot in 24 hours. This is a very unique
concept, and one that also makes a lot of sense. Its one of those things that one doesn't
realize until it's explained to you then you realize that its common sense, but you never
thought about it until it was brought up.
This week focused on how wind is formed and what effects wind. In order for wind to be
created there needs to be a pressure gradient force. This force is caused by having
differences in pressure in the atmosphere. This difference in pressure causes air to move
from the high pressure to the low pressure creating wind. Once there is wind coriolis
forces can act on it. Coriolis forces are created by the spinning of the earth. In the
northern hemisphere the corilolis forces cause the wind to slightly to the right depending
on altitude and wind speed. Once there is wind there are many balances that act upon it.
Hydrostatic balance is the balance between pressure gradient force and the force of
gravity. This is what prevents the atmosphere form falling or blowing away. Geostrophic
balance is the balance between horizontal gradient and corilolis forces. This balance is
responsible for why winds blow clockwise around high pressures in the Northern
Hemisphere and counter clockwise in low pressures. Winds are formed when there is an
imbalance in the atmosphere. They move from high pressure to low pressure and are act
upon by coriolis forces, friction, and centrifugal forces. Knowing how these forces affect
wind allows for more accurate weather predictions.
WEEK 7 WRITEUPS
Winds that are flowing into a surface low is surface convergence and
winds that are flowing out of a surface high is surface divergence.
Circulations are caused by the Coriolis Effect which deflects motion to the right in the N.
Hemisphere and to the left in the S. Hemisphere. An example of a thermal circulation
would be a Sea Breeze, which land warms up quickly and water warms up slowly. Their
are two types of circulations; thermally direct, which is when warm air rises and cold air
sinks. Thermally indirect is when warm air sinks and cold air rises. The three cell model
consists of the Ferrel Cell, Hadley Cell and Polar Cell. Without these the Earth wouldn't
be rotating.
Jet streams are currents of air that move west to east. Air masses are large bodies of air
that have similar temps and moisture characteristics. Air masses can form in flat places.
In this weeks lesson about winds, we were to understand concepts such as jet stream,
Intertropical Convergence Zone, and circulations such as the Hadley Cell. Also important
is locations of subtropical highs (30 degress north and south), the polar easterlies (at the
north and south poles) and the ITCZ which is in the middle. I felt one of the most
important sections of the chapter was the seasonal variance of the jet streams, rotations,
and direction of winds and where they are coming from.
WEEK 8 WRITEUPS
In this week's reading and powerpoint, hurricanes and optical effects were discusses.
Refraction, reflection, scattering and mirage and how these things have to do with
rainbows, haloes, mirages (inferior and superior), sundogs, coronae, and glories. Also, the
way our eyes see different light like rainbows. No two people see the exact same rainbow
(didn't know that). Another thing that I found interesting in the powerpoint was the green
flash. I never really took the time to notice things like that, but now I'm really interested
in seeing these things.
Some things I got out of the reading:
-There are two types of mirages. Inferior Image(Image is below the actual position and
its caused by a very hot surface) or a superior image(Image is above the actual position
and its caused by a very cold surface)
Different optical phenomena
-Halos-caused by ice crystals and the sun being refracted
-Sundogs
-Sun pillar
-Rainbows-caused by the reflection of the light off rain droplets
Nitrogen and oxygen scatter blue and violet light than any other to form a blue sky. But
our eyes are also sensitive to the blue light, so we will see a blue sky. Furthermore,
different images form in the sky, like mirages, halos, sum pillars, glory’s, and corona and
iridescence. Refraction is essential for halos, reflection is essential for sun pillars, and
diffraction is essential for corona and Iridescence.
WEEK 9 WRITEUPS
In this chapter, hurricanes and typhoons were discussed, which are both considered
tropical cyclones. The distruction that is caused by each of these cyclones, hurricanes
more than typhoons, was talked about like wind, rain, and flooding. Also, the naming of
these storms was discussed in this chapter, like which areas get female and male names,
also the retiring of a name if the cyclone has made a negative impact on life, like killing
people and devistating destruction. Formation and structure were also a part of this
chapter, along with the stages of "their lives."
Typhoons and hurricanes have the same system. The only two differences are that they
both have different names and exist in different oceans. A hurricane will retire when the
WMO makes the decision that is destructive enough to become notorious, and the
deadliest part of the hurricane is are not the strong winds but the waves. And with
cyclones, they are not capable of forming in very dry air.
The end of chapter 8 was on tropical cyclones or hurricanes. Hurricanes are strong
circulating winds around a warm, low pressure eye. The eye can be seen from satellites.
Hurricanes are born as tropical disturbances. With warm water, lack of wind shearing,
and dry air a tropical disturbance can grow into a hurricane. There are different names for
hurricanes depending on their location. They can also be called cyclones or typhones.
Most hurricanes that hit the US form in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the
Caribbean Sea. Strong Hurricanes can also form off Cape Verde. The most deadly aspect
of Hurricanes is rain fall away from the shore. The surges that destroy houses do not
usually take lives because people evacuate these areas. The most important improvement
in hurricane forecasting is satelites. Because of satellites, no hurricane has hit the US
without warning. Hurricanes are strong and fascinating weather phenomenons that are
still not completely understood.
WEEK 10 WRITEUPS
This part of the chapter talked a lot about El Nino and La Nina. These things are affected
by the changing of ocean temperatures and also changes the percipitation (and dryness)
and weather of many areas around the world. Upwelling of water in oceans causes
nutrients to move in order to help the marine life and also changes the temperature of the
water. The Southern Oscillation measures sea level pressure in Tahiti and Darwin,
Australia. There are other oscillations and they are called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
and the North Atlantic Oscillation.
The ocean is divided into 3 vertical layers according to temperature. These layers are the
surface zone, transition zone, and the deep zone. The temperature in the surface and
transition zones is constant, while the temperatures in the transition zone are not. The
winds in the atmosphere make currents in the ocean. When the wind interacts with the
water, it can create upwelling. This is when surface water is pulled away from the shore
and is replaced by deep, cold water. This transition brings nutrient filled water to the
surface for aquatic animals. It also causes colder temperatures on the shore. La Nina and
El Nino effect these temperature changes. When there is strong upwelling and cold
temperatures on the coast there is a La Nina. When there are warm temperatures and little
upwelling there is an El Nino. During La Nina there are thunderstorms over Indonesia
and during El Nino there are thunderstorms over the coast of South America. The
Southern Oscillation is also closely related to El Nino and La Nina. This is classified as
high and low pressure over Darwin, Australia and Tahiti. The ocean and the atmosphere
interact to distribute equal energy across the globe.
El Ninos found in the tropical Pacific changes the climate in mid-latitudes by changing
the jet streams position. Also, and El Nino does have an effect on the oceans.
Furthermore, an atmospheric circulation found in the Pacific Ocean basin does affect the
atmospheric circulations at the Indian Ocean basin. And freezing rain will not had heat in
a saturated atmosphere.
WEEK 11 WRITEUPS
Chapter nine was titled Air Masses and Fronts. It differentiated between the air mass
types. They are Polar, Tropical, Arctic, Continental, and Maritime. These are used
to describe different air masses according to temperature and moisture characteristics.
Arctic masses are the least popular of the five. The chapter also distinguished between
cold and warm fronts. A cold front is when the colder air will follow the front's passage
and a warm front is when warmer air will follow. There are also stationary fronts and
occluded fronts.
WEEK 12 WRITEUPS
This week was about severe weather. Thunderstorms form in unstable air masses. Severe
thunderstorms form when there is wind shearing, change in wind speed or direction with
increase in height. For a thunderstorm to survive there needs to be separation between the
up draft and the down draft by vertical wind shear. There are three different types of
thunderstorms, single-celled, multi-celled, and super celled. Super-celled thunderstorms
create severe weather and they rotate. An element of severe weather is tornadoes.
Tornadoes are rotating air columns in a cells updraft region. They are measured by the
amount of damage they will create on the Fujita scale. Lightning is created out of huge
electrical discharges from rapid rising and sinking parcels of air. Lightening is not a
quick flash, but a series of quick flashes. Flooding is another dangerous side effect of
severe weather. They cause many deaths each year. Thunderstorms are caused by mT air
so they are most common near Florida. Even though Wisconsin is not near Florida, we
still have to be aware of the dangers of thunderstorms.
-Lighting causes Thunder
-Conditions in atmosphere may refract the sound of thunder
-Thunderstorms occur all over in unstable conditions where it is hot
Airmass thunderstorms has three stages
-Cumulus
-Mature
-Dissipating
Fujita scale measures the strength of storms
F0 (weak) F5(strong)
Week 12 focused on chapter 11 titled Thunderstorms and Tornadoes. The chapter goes
into detail describing thunderstorms. There is also a difference between a severe
thunderstorm and an air mass thunderstorm. There are also long-lived supercellular
thunderstorms that need rotation to stay strong. All thunderstorms require really low
stability in the atmosphere. Thunderstorms can be multicellular. Tornadoes, on the other
hand, are farm more severe than thunderstorms. While thunderstorms do have the
capabilities of producing wind, rain and hail, the damage that is done from a tornado is
far worse. The scale that measures the damage is known as the Fujita scale. F0 is a
tornado with the least damage and an F5 is a tornado that has the most damage. F5
tornadoes really rare, too. Waterspouts are like tornadoes, only they form over water.
Other damaging characteristics of storms are strong winds, hail and lightning (which
usually is paired with thunder).
Week 11's chapter was all about one of my favorite weather tings.....thunderstorms!
I never new how important the wind was to the production of thunderstorms and
tornadoes. It was also really interesting to read about storm chasers. some of the pictures
in this chapter were also really, really cool. there was this really amazing one with this
girl standing right next to a huge tornado! It was also really cool to see what air fronts are
needed to create a big storm. I found that shelf clouds are really beautiful and microbursts
are really dangerous!
Overall, this chapter had a lot of useful information and was really entertaining to look
through.
WEEK 13 WRITEUPS
This week we learned about the extratropical cyclone and anticylone. Extratropical
cyclones follow a predicable life cycle that was discovered by Bergen school of
Meteorology. The life cycle of a cyclone includes having a coma shape into having
occluded front. Cyclones form on the downwind side of mountains, warm ocean currents,
and under jet streams. The are made out of a warm front and a cold front that feed off of
each other. Anticyclones are not like cyclones. They are air masses that have fairly calm
weather associated with them. They can turn dangerous though when pollution is caught
in it temperature inversion. Cyclones are traditionally seen as being more dangerous then
the anticyclones, because of the drastic weather they bring with them.
Things to remember:
-Storms form by turning potential energy into kinetic energy. Cold air sinks as warm air
rises. When storms get stronger, so do the winds and voracity increases too!
-Most storms start west and work their way east and more in an easterly and northernly.
This is important because if a person is trying to predict the direction of storms, it good to
know a pattern to get an idea where it could be headed.
-A warm front forms east of the storm and a cold front forms west of the storm
WEEK 14 WRITEUPS
We are always forecasting, whether it be on land, or with satellites outside the earths
atmosphere.
There are Several different types of forecasting:
Persistence: The weather today will be the same tomorrow
Climatology: The next day’s weather will be the normal high and low
Trend: The trend of the weather from yesterday and today will continue on into
tomorrow
Analog: The weather today will be the same way the weather was on the exact day in the
past
Many of these forecasting types have their own flaws, most of which doesn't take into
consideration the surrounding atmosphere such as different air masses coming into the
area. Places like Wisconsin, which can be very affected day to day may not find that
these forecasting types will be very useful.
The reading on week # 13 was all about weather forecasting. It was really silly to read
about some of the old methods of predicting the weather but I thought it was cool to see
that some of them actually worked! It must have been so frustrating for early weather
forecasting pioneers (Richardson, etc..) to either not have enough technology or
knowledge yet or to not be believed by other scientists that your ideas were valid. I
wounder if we will ever be able to fully "predict" the weather? Based on what I read in
this chapter...it looks like we have gotten a lot better but I don't know if we will ever be
perfect. I guess that time will tell!
Persistence forecasts will be very accurate when one day is much like the next.
Forecasts that are set out to 5 day are less accorate than forecasts set out to 2 days.
A seasonal forcast are analog forecasts only look at the upper-level features, and
ingore the surface features. Furthermore, A forecast for a thounderstorm are more
likely to become accurate in a mT airmass then in a cP airmass.
WEEK 15 WRITEUPS
This weeks reading seemed to be tying up the overall picture of weather "Then and now".
I had already known a bit about the tree rings and carbon dating, but it was good to have
a review. I think it is so cool that we can piece together a picture of weather, life, terrain,
etc... from the past with the science that we have now. We are really only getting better
and better at doing it too! It was cool to read about dust in the ice sheets and and the air
bubble glaciers. That I didn't know much about. Overall, this chapter was very
informative and included a lot of information about the history of the earth...very cool!
Chapter 15's reading had a lot of information about the future of our climate and some of
the major things that will continue to effect it. There has been and still is a lot of talk
about global warming so I'm really glad that this chapter covered the topic. I don't think
we are as careful as we should be with how we treat our environment. there are many
people who don't understand that our environment is connected to our climate and our
climate to our weather. It was also really cool to hear about these different ways we can
decipher what a weather pattern used to be, like with the ice samples and etc...