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 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 large areas of air that are similar in moisture and temperature. They are formed when the air sits over a surface for an extended period of time. Because they form over a surface they take on characteristics of that surface.The five air mass types are continental polar (cP) and tropical (cT), maritime polar (mP) and tropical (mT) as well as continental arctic (cA).
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.
Climate change is of a climate over an amount of time. A climate is the weather conditions in an area, like how warm it is or how much precipitation is received. We have became increasingly aware of climate change as of late. The effects of climate change have begun to affect us more and more, and we have finally started to notice it. Climate has always changed, just not as much as recently. When a volcano would erupt, or when the sun would become more active.
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.
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.
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.
Climate change can be defined as a long-term change in weather environments that include wind, precipitation, and temperature. The direct result of climate change can lead to a change in weather patterns that can last for extended periods of time (Climate Change Summary). Climate change may also be referred to as a change in average weather conditions, which could lead to an increase or decrease in extreme weather events. Recently climate change has been recognized as a problem around the world, while other groups believe climate change is made up of fictional data. Climate change is an ongoing problem in the scientific community, but society has not fully accepted the principles of climate change.
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).
Climate change is how the weather has changed in a specific area over a given period of time-usually 30 years. That means that changes in the weather could be variable or extreme depends on the region you are. We are seeing these changes every year as the seasons change; I.e. Usually we compare the weather of the season this year and the weather of the season from the past year.
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
An air mass is a large body of air in Earth’s lower atmosphere, and it contains similar characteristics throughout. For example, in an air mass, the temperature is almost the same. The temperature of an air mass depends on where it originates. As air masses travel, their characteristics may change. As cold air from the poles moves south, the air temperature slowly heats up as a result of moving over a warmer surface. Because two opposing air masses do not easily mix, they have an area that separates them, called a front. The size of a front can vary greatly. The width of a front can be anywhere from 200 meters to 200 kilometers. They can be as high as five kilometers, and they can even reach 2000 km in their length (about as long as the north-south distance of the continental United States!) Fronts occur most often at mid-latitudes because that is where tropical air moving north, and southward moving polar air often meet. Because
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