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Wed. Sep 3. Today HW #1 deadline extended to 9 pm tonight Syllabus tweaked Extremes (cont’d) Weather Basics Earth’s Atmosphere ( chp 1 ). Wed. Sep 3 cont’d. Next Monday (Sep 8) Geography 101 Warming the Atmosphere ( chp 2). Research Paper. 6 pages minimum
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Wed. Sep 3 • Today • HW #1 deadline extended to 9 pm tonight • Syllabus tweaked • Extremes (cont’d) • Weather Basics • Earth’s Atmosphere (chp 1)
Wed. Sep 3 cont’d • Next Monday (Sep 8) • Geography 101 • Warming the Atmosphere (chp 2)
Research Paper • 6 pages minimum • not including graphics and references • Science research paper • Sound analysis • Topics • Major Storms or other Extreme Events • Atmospheric Phenomena • Famous People in Meteorology • http://ggweather.com/met10/topics.pdf
Term Paper Topics Storm Events1862 Great California Floods 1900 Galveston Hurricane 1935 Labor Day Hurricane 1938 New England Hurricane Hurricane Carol (1954) Hurricane Betsy (1956) Columbus Day Storm (1962) Palm Sunday tornado outbreak (1965) Hurricane Gilbert (1988) Hurricane Hugo (1989) California Freeze (1990) Oakland Hills Firestorm (1991) The “Perfect Storm” (1991) Hurricane Andrew (1992) Hurricane Iniki (1992) Storm of the Century (1993) Midwest Flooding (1993) California Flooding (1995) West Coast Flooding (1997) Hurricane Georges (1998) Hurricane Mitch (1998) Moore OK Tornado Outbreaks (1999 & 2013) Hurricane Floyd (1999) Tropical Storm Allison (2001) Hurricane Isabel (2003) Hurricane Katrina (2005) Southeast Tornado Outbreak - Tuscaloosa (2011) Midwest Tornado Outbreak – Joplin (2011) US Summer Heatwave/Drought (2012) Superstorm Sandy (2012) People in Meteorology Galileo Fahrenheit Celsius Luke Howard Beaufort Fujita Da Vinci
Term Paper Topics Specific Weather Topics acid rain air pollution Air Quality Index (AQI) atmospheric circulation Aurora Borealis ball lightning blizzards chinook wind cloud types contrail cyclone El Nino/La Nina fall wind - katabatic wind fires and weather freezing rain frost Fujita scale (for measuring tornadoes) fulgurite global warming hail heat wave hurricanes ice storms katabatic wind lightning history of meteorology optical phenomena (rainbows, haloes, etc.) ozone depletion (i.e., ozone hole) Pacific Decadal Oscillation paleoclimatology Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Santa Ana Winds smog solar energy space weather temperature scales thermometers tornadoes weather instruments weather folklore wind energy
Weather Extremes • Temperature • Minimum • World -129 ° Antarctica • United States -80 ° Prospect Creek, AK • California -45 ° Boca Reservoir • San Francisco +27 ° • How many times has SF had freezing temperatures?
Weather Extremes • Rainfall • 1 Hour Maximum • World - 15.78” Shangdu, China • United States - 12” Holt, MO (~42 minutes) • California - 4.70” Palomar • San Francisco - 1.92”
Weather Extremes • Rainfall • 24 Hour Maximum • World 73.62” La Reunion Island • United States 43.00” Alvin, TX • California 26.12” Hoegees Camp • San Francisco 6.19”
Weather Extremes • Rainfall • 1 Year Maximum • World 1042” Cherrapunji, India • United States 704” Kukui, Hawaii • California 257.9” Camp 9 • San Francisco 49.27”
Weather Extremes • Highest Normal* Annual Rainfall • World 523” Lloro, Columbia • United States 460” Mt. Waialeale, HI • California 104.2” Honeydew • San Francisco 22.44” • * Normal – defined as 30-year average
Weather Extremes • Snowfall • Have You Ever Seen Snow? In San Francisco? • 1 Year Maximum • World 1140” Mt. Baker, WA • California 884” Tamarack, CA • San Francisco 3.7”
Weather Extremes • Maximum Wind Gusts • World – 253 mph – Barrow Island, Australia • U.S. - 231 mph - Mt Washington, NH • California – 176 mph Ward Peak (Alpine Meadows) • SFO – 78 mph • Angel Island 103 mph
Weather Extremes • Maximum Sustained Wind • 190 mph sustained (Typhoon Tip ) • Tornadoes (F5) • ~ 300 mph
Weather Extremes • Thunderstorms • Are the genesis of • Lightning (and Thunder) • Hail • Downbursts • Tornadoes • Hurricanes
Weather Extremes United States (World) Largest Hail Record • July 23, 2010 – Vivian, SD • 8” diameter, 18.5” circumference, 1.9 lbs. • World Heaviest Hail Record • 2.25 pounds – Bangladesh
Weather Basics • Air is a Fluid • Warm Air Rises • Air Flows from High to Low Pressure • Differential Heating drives the weather • Rising Air Cools by Expansion… and Cooling causes Condensation to occur • Sinking Air Warms by Compression and Warming causes evaporation to occur
WEATHER IMPACTS • Weather-related events cause an estimated $10 billion in property damage annually in the US • Approx. 1/3 of the US Economy is Weather Sensitive • Virtually no part of the globe is free of the threat of extreme weather
ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTIES • Weather Elements • Air temperature • Air pressure • Wind • Humidity • Clouds • Precipitation • Visibility
ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTIES • Temperature • Average speed of the atoms and molecules • Hot = fast • Cold = slow (absolute zero) • Temperature scales • Celsius (ºC) • Kelvin (K) • Fahrenheit (ºF)
SCALES OF MOTION Fig. 1.17, p. 20
Wind flows toward low pressure Note rising air above low pressure
CHAPTER 1 THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE • Atmosphere - delicate life-giving blanket ofair that surrounds the earth • Solar Energy • Warms the atmosphere • Drives the atmosphere • Everyday wind and weather • Allows life to flourish
Very Thin Slice of Life If the earth were the size of a basketball, the atmosphere would be about the thickness of a sheet of paper.
THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE • The earth’s atmosphere is a thin, gaseous envelope containing: • 78% nitrogen (N2) • 21% oxygen (O2) • water vapor (H2O) (volume variable) • carbon dioxide (CO2) (volume variable) • Almost 99% of the atmosphere is within 20 miles of the earth’s surface
____ 275,000’ ____ 158,000’ ____ 42,000’
ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTIES • Atmospheric Pressure • Weight of the air molecules over an area • Atmospheric pressure ALWAYS decreases with increasing height • Average sea level pressure - 1013.25 millibars
ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTIES • Wind • Simply the atmosphere in motion • Scales of motion (micro, meso, macro) • Measurement: speed and direction • Blow from higher pressure toward lower • Northern Hemisphere • Blow clockwise and outward around high pressure • Counterclockwise and inward around low pressure
Particulates (Aerosols) • 1 cm3 of air can contain as many as 200,000 non-gaseous particles. • dust • dirt (soil) • ocean spray • volcanic ash • water • pollen • pollutants O3 1 cm = 0.4 in
Role of Particulates • Scattering of sunlight. • Condensation nuclei for water vapor. • Surface or catalyst for atmospheric chemistry.
THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE • Water - only substance found naturally as a gas (water vapor), liquid (water), and solid (ice). • Both water vapor and carbon dioxide are important greenhouse gases.
CO2 Cycle Fig. 1.7, p. 10