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A
absolute humidity: the ratio of the mass of
water vapor to the volume of air in which it is present.(g/m^3)
acid rain: rain that has become acidic after
contact with certain atmospheric gases (primarily sulfur
dioxide, carbondioxide, and nitrogen oxides)
afforestation: process of establishing a forest.
air mass: a large body of air all of similar
temperature and humidity.
air pressure: barometric pressure; weight of the atmosphere at a particular point of interest. Some Meteorologists use hPa – hectopascal for atmospheric air pressure. The hectopascal is equivalent to the mbar (millibar)
Anemometer: Wind Meter . A gage for recording the speed and direction of wind, see Anemometer
anomaly 1: unusual temperature or precipitation
for a given region over a specified period. Also see
anomaly 2 (Orbital Mechanics section).
anticyclone: high pressure area with counterclockwise
winds in the Southern Hemisphere and clockwise winds
in the Northern Hemisphere.
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder: advanced sounding
instrument designed to retrieve vertical temperature
and moisture profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere
achieving a temperature retrieval accuracy of 1 degree
C with a 1 km vertical resolution. It has been selected
to be onboard the EOS-PM1 a remote sensing satellite
to take orbit in the year 2000.
atmospheric pressure: force exerted on a surface
area, created by the weight of air above it.
B
barometer: tool for measuring atmospheric pressure.
blizzard: severe weather in which there is low
temperatures, strong winds and heavy amounts of snow
falling or blowing.
C
climate: average meteorological conditions in
a certain area over a certain period.
clouds: a suspended mass of water vapor in the
atmosphere. Clouds can be categorized into two general
groups: cumulus clouds (tall, cotton ball) and stratus
clouds (layered); these can be divided even further
to 4 sub-groups describing altitude: 20,000 ft and above
are the cirrus or cirro clouds (cirrocumulus, cirrostratus),
composed of mostly ice crystals; from 6,500 to 20,000ft
are the alto clouds (altostratus, altocumulus); Low
clouds develop up to 6,500ft (stratocumulus, nimbostratus)
,can contact the ground and when they do so, are called
fog; existing at many heights, extending far from their
bases are the Vertical clouds, such as the cumulus (Cumulonimbus
clouds, can have their base near the ground yet reach
heights of 75,000ft.)
convection:the process in which cool air delves
down, while warmer air rises to the top. The warm air
usually cools in the cooler, higher sections of the
atmosphere and again begins to return back down. Local
breezes, wind and even thunderstorms are a result of
convection.
cryosphere: a component of the Earth's system
that is frozen water; the forms include: snow, permafrost,
floating ice, and glaciers. The cryosphere component
is directly related to ocean sea-level, therefore is
indirectly related to changes in the atmosphere and
biosphere.
D
dew: condensed moisture (water vapor), appearing
as small drops on a cool surface; usually occurs after
or during a very warm day.
dew point: the certain temperature at which
dew begins to form and water vapor chages to liquid
form.
doldrums: area near equator that experiences
low pressures and light shifting winds.
Doppler radar: weather radar system that employs
the apparent shift in frequency of radio waves to perceive
air motion and consequently predict tornadoes and precipitation
sooner than previous radars, as well as measure the
speed and direction of rain and ice.
E
eclipse: solar=partial to total darkening of
sun due to moon coming between Earth and sun, lunar=partial
to total darkening due to Earth casting its shadow on
a full moon.
El Ni–o: warming of surface waters in the
eastern equatorial Pacific that brings about strange
anomolous weather patterns to the coastal regions. Certain
economical and ecological disasters can be linked to
this phenomena.
evaporation: the process by which an element
changes phase from a liquid to a gas; the opposite of
condensation.
exosphere: the outer-most layer of the Earth's
atmosphere (500 to 1000km above surface); the only part
of the atmosphere where an appreciable amount of atmospheric
gases escape the Earth.
F
Fahrenheit: temperature scale in which water
boils at 212 ?F and freezes at 32 ?F under standard
atmospheric pressure; named after the designer of the
scale, the German scientist Gabriel Fahrenheit.
front: boundary that defines two separate air
masses; where two different air masses collide, sometimes
resulting in severe weather changes.
frost: water that has condensed at a temperature
below the freezing point, thus has turned to
G
glacier: a large mass of ice (at least .1km^2)
set in motion by the Earth's gravity, which is a result
of accumulated snowfall with little snow melt.
green house effect:process in which green house
gases, like carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere,
cause thermal radiation emitted by the Earth's surface
to be reflected back down, therefore causing the climate
to warm. This natural process is enhanced by man's added
pollutants and can reach proportions at which a number
of animal and plant species can be threatened with extinction,
not to mention cause drastic changes in the Earth's
natural weather patterns.
gulf stream: ocean current flowing along the
coast of the Eastern United States to Ireland, Great
Britain, and the Scandivanian countries, making the
latter three warmer than they otherwise would be.
H
hail: precipitation composed of chunks of ice
that form atop cumulonimbus clouds and fall as soon
as they become too heavy for the cloud updrafts to hold.
haze: a concentration near the surface of the
Earth, of fine particles (wet or dry dust, salt, etc.,)
.
Haze Meter:
An instrument that measures visibility or light transmission. Also known as a
Transmissometer
humidity: is the quantity of water vapor in
the air. Relative humidity is the ration between the
actual quantity of watervapor and the amount of watervapor
that the air can hold at a given temperature.
hurricanes: tropical storms with winds exceeding
74 mph originating over the North Atlantic and North
Pacific oceans near high humidity and light winds. One
well known characteristic of a hurricane is it's eye,
which is generally about 5 to 25 miles in diameter and
in which are present calm conditions, with clear skies
and light winds. Hurricanes can move rather quickly
losing intensity as soon as land is encountered, but
not without having created very high tides and possibly
massive destruction.
hydrosphere: all the components of water present
on the Earth, including bodies of water, water vapor,
ice, etc.
Hygrometer – Hygrometers are instruments designed to measure relative humidity (RH)
J
jet stream: high speed air flow in the atmosphere
forming air rivers several hundred miles across that
generally move west to east and mark the boundary that
separates two global air masses with significant differences
in temperature.
L
low (low pressure system): area with lower atmospheric
pressure than its surrounding areas; this makes air
from surrounding areas to flow into the low, the end
result of which is probably cloudiness and precipitation.
M
mesopause:the uppermost boundary of the mesosphere
with the lowest temperature in the atmosphere.
mesosphere: atmospheric layer above the stratosphere
(50-85 km altitude).
Meter - See http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/meter.html
Metric Conversion Online
See http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/flowmeter_unit_converter/header.htm
monsoon: season of wind originating from the
Indian Ocean and southern Asia, these winds are usually
accompanied by heavy rains.
O
ozone: gaseous form of oxygen that constitutes
less than one part per million of the gases in the atmosphere,
yet absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation which
has been proven to be harmful to humans as well as other
life forms on Earth.
P
precipitation: rain, drizzle and other forms
of moisture falling from clouds. Raindrops form around
particles of dust or salt, join other water droplets
or ice droplets and fall when sufficently heavy in the
from of liquid or ice, depending on the quantity of
collected ice crystals.
S
sea breeze: wind blowing from the ocean to land
at the coast, due to the cool air replacing the warmer
air that has moved up on the coastline.
sea level: the imaginary line from which sea
depth and land elevation are measured.
stratosphere: region between the troposphere
and mesosphere, extending from 10 to 30 miles above
the Earth's surface.
T
temperature: measure of the quantity of thermal
energy in a substance. High temperature indicates more
heat energy than low temperature.
W
Weather Station: Weather Stations gather , record and send out meteorological data . Some may also analyze meteorological data and patterns. Typical weather stations use several types of measuring instruments which might included thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, anemometers, wind vanes, rain gauges . Weather stations supporting airports usually have instruments for measuring rain drop size distribution or Disdrometers , transmissmeters for measuring cloud visibility and ceiling projectors for cloud ceiling
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