Sequoia Baker
Meteorology 100
Final Essay 1/3
Air Masses: Types and Characteristics
An air mass is an extremely large body of air with temperatures and moisture characteristics that are relatively similar in a horizontal direction. Air masses form in air mass source regions where winds are light or nonexistent. This allows air to stagnate for a long period of time, thus forming an air mass. Given this, air mass weather characteristics are largely determined by the surface over which they develop. Air masses can form over land or water, generally falling into (5) categories which include: Continental polar (cP), Maritime polar (mP), Continental tropical (cT), Maritime tropical (mT) and Continental artic (cA). While air masses can move, otherwise
…show more content…
These two processes are key components of models. The process of interpolation creates an evenly spaced dataset from otherwise randomly spaced observations. Interpolated data is then put into numerical models, where data initialization occurs. The process of initializing data is intended to absorb shocks, or balance the data. Raw data often has various factors such as wind or pressure that is unbalanced, which ultimately results in a skewed forecast. Fortunately, we now have computer systems that help to solve the mathematical models involved in data assimilation. If it were not for these systems, models would be useless by the time they are …show more content…
Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere in a region. Overall, weather describes short-term conditions that are subject to quick, and sometimes unexpected change. Climate is defined as the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period. Unlike weather, climate is not subject to sporadic change. Most meteorologists define climates by looking at the average temperatures and precipitation levels over a long period of time. This brief essay outlines how weather and climate differentiate, while also showing how they relate to and differ from
Weather and climate are separate but related terms. The term weather refers to short-run atmospheric conditions that exist for a
Weather is the conditions in the air above the Earth such as wind, rain or temperature. Climate describes the total of all weather happening over a term of years in a certain place. For example, Vancouver has a rainy climate and Toronto has extremely cold winters. The Earth’s climate is always changing because of occurrences that happen in nature. For a long time, Earth’s climate has been warmed by natural events and by generating electrical power. Climate change is affected by weather change. During a drought, if there is rain, that weather change is good cause for only like this situation. However it is usually bad. Because it can change in precipitation patterns an climate average. Using too much energy can harm our
Air masses are an important part of the common weather phenomenons that we experience every day. They can dictate almost every aspect of Meteorology and Climatology. They are responsible for such occurrences as: amount of precipitation and type of precipitation, temperature in a given area, and what types of storms are most likely to take place in a given area. Air masses are also formed all across the globe and, depending on where and when it is formed, can be one of several different types. I believe the most important determining factor when forming an air mass is the amount of atmospheric pressure that certain region of the Earth has at the time of the formation of the air mass.
Meteorologists use data initialization to create balance in the data presented to the model. Another data anomaly is from data being collected away from the center of a grid. Numerical models use grids, a three-dimensional divide of the atmosphere, to make their forecasts. The middle of these grids is called a grid point. Sometimes the data is not collected at this grid point but at another point in the grid. To even out this data from different locations to use in forecast meteorologists use a process called interpolation. Using interpolation and data initialization to balance data is a process called data assimilation. Some of the methods used to check data include checking if a station always reports wrong data, if the data deviates from what is expected through short term forecasts and checking the data against other data observed near by. Of course they also check if the data falls out of any ranges that are possible to be observed in that area. This data is then used in the numerical weather prediction start point, which is in turn used to forecast weather. Recently data assimilation has become useful with satellite data when surface observations are not
As reported by Sandra May (2014) climate change is the change in the usual weather, this could mean how much it has rained in a certain place or it could be in terms of the change in temperature for a month or season. It could also be the change of the Earths climate meaning change in the Earths usual temperature. But the difference between weather and climate is that weather can change in a matter of hours but for the climate it can take hundreds or even millions of years to change.
I. (Main Point = Need) According to NASA climate is made up of two things. Those two things are the climates of certain locations during the different seasons and the Earth’s climate which is a combination of all those different induvial climates.
Climate change can be defined as a significant change in the “average weather” of any given region sustained in the long-term and can be caused by Earth 's dynamic processes, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and also by human activities (USEPA, 2014).
An air mass is a huge body of air in the lower atmosphere that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height. Four major types of air masses influenced the weather in North America: maritime tropical, continental tropical, maritime polar, and continental. Maritime air masses form over the ocean and can be very humid. Continental air masses form over land and drier than maritime air masses. Tropical air masses are warm, form in the tropics, and have low air pressure. Polar air masses are cold, form near the poles, and have high air pressure in North America, most air masses move from west to east. The jet stream is a band of high-speed wind about 10 km above the surface
Climate change is change in global or regional climate patterns, and weather is the state
Climate is the weather conditions over a long period of time over an area. During the long period of time revolution and seasons occur. Weather is the patterns present in a shorter period of time. One factor that determines an area’s climate is temperature and precipitation (any form of liquid or solid water particles that fall from the atmosphere) which plays an important role in regulating the temperature of both land and air. The amount of heat absorbed and the amount of heat released also have influences on the temperature and precipitation. Water heats up and cools down slower than land, on hot days water cools the land and on cold days it warms the land. This creates a reducing effect so that areas with high precipitation and locations near bodies of water don’t experience the temperature extremes that drier climates do. An example are the deserts and the oceans, since deserts don’t have oceans they are cooler at night and hotter during the day. Climate is not to be confused with temperature. Temperature is different from climate since temperature usually refers to heat, precipitation, foggy and etc and it actually helps determine the climate over an area, some factors of temperature are latitude, revolution, and rotation.
Over the years there has been a lot of controversy on if climate change is an issue that needs to be discussed and solved. There is a constant debate among scientist on if human actions are contributing the changing of earth’s climates. Climate change is defined as the change in average weather patterns for a specific region or Earth as a whole. This could include the change in an average temperature for a city or the amount a rainfall it receives (Dunbar, 2015). The main difference between weather and climate is the period of time specific patterns are recorded. Weather patterns are looked at over a much shorter period of time, meaning that these patterns are going to be more sporadic and change more frequently. Climate on the other had is recorded over a much longer period of time and usually show less drastic changes in patterns when compared to weather. Some people may argue that climate change is not an issue because Earth’s temperature is always changing do to natural effects. What people don’t realize is that human activity has effected the rate that earth’s temperature is changing, and just the smallest changes can lead to drastic consequences (Dunbar, 2015).
Climate: This is the average long-term weather conditions (according to the World Meteorological Organization, (WMO), the observation is usually taken over a period of three decades or more defined by the geographical area which includes the weather patterns such as the storm intensity, cold spells, and frequency of heat waves (IPCC, 2007b).
Every place, country, city, region has its own climate. Climate plays one of the important roles in people’s life. Climate is defined as the average weather, which means variety of weather conditions as rain, snow, hail, sun, and wind over period of time about 30 years that can be measured in any particular place.( IPCC Third Assessment Report - Climate Change 2001; editor:A.P.Baede) Climate change is a variation of average weather. There are 2 causes of climate change. The first is human activity which includes deforestation, burning fossil fuels, agriculture, transportation and infrastructure. The second is natural causes which include volcanic eruptions and variations in solar outputs. These causes have negative effect on the natural
Imagine there was no way of predicting the weather. It would be impossible to know if you should wear a coat, or a t-shirt, if you should bring an umbrella, or if it were safe to go outside. In order to obtain this information, meteorologists are constantly researching. That research is what allows me to ask, and research the answer to the question: Is there a relationship in temperature highs and lows, or wind speed for four cities (Manhattan, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah, Madrid, Spain, and Beijing, China) along approximately the same latitude? In order to find the answer to this question, it was necessary to know more about what factors contribute to a region’s climate, weather, and to know more specific information regarding the
Climate happens between earths atmosphere and ocean.This is where energy is exchanged This is where great amount of water evaporate into the air or fall back as rain warm air around the equator rises and goes north towards the pole in the northern hemisphere.we live at the bottom of an ocean of air. Air is made of nitrogen.oxygen, carbon dioxide,water vapor and many other different molecules and atoms on a gaseous state.Air pressure is the force per unit area applied on a surface by the weight of the air above the surface .altitude affects air pressure.Air pressure changes when the air itself is heated or cooled.Wind is the horizontal movement of air from a high pressure area to a low pressure area.To understand the effects of winds on