Introduction to Atmospheric Science Summary of notes and materials related to University of Washington introductory course Atm S 301, taught Fall 2010 by Professor Robert A. Houze (RAH), and compiled by Michael C. McGoodwin (MCM). Content last updated 1/4/2011 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Useful Web Links and Abbreviations Encountered ........................................................................................ 4 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols ..................................................................................................... 4 Global/Planetary or Synoptic Scale Earth Weather .................................................................................... 6 Washington, North America, and Eastern Pacific Ocean Weather ............................................................... 6 Tropics ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 General Atmospheric Science, Weather, and Climate ................................................................................. 7 Space Weather (Earth–Solar Interactions) .................................................................................................. 7 Mathematical Symbols; Meteorological Coordinate Systems .......................................................................... 7 Basic Facts about the Sun Compared to the Earth ................................................................................ 9 Atmospheric Sciences Introduction ............................................................................................................. 11 Scope of Atmospheric Sciences⊙ ................................⊕................................................................................ 11 Major Subdivisions of Atmospheric Sciences ............................................................................................ 11 Meteorology and Forecasting ................................................................................................................... 11 Weather and Climate .............................................................................................................................. 13 Chemical Composition of Air (Fixed and Variable Components): ............................................................... 14 Atmospheric Scales ................................................................................................................................. 16 Atmospheric Layers and Relation to Temperature .................................................................................... 17 Global Air Circulation and Winds ............................................................................................................ 18 Jet Streams ............................................................................................................................................ 20 Pressure, Flows, and Fronts ....................................................................................................................... 21 Atmospheric Pressure Variation with Altitude (Geopotential Height) ......................................................... 22 Atmospheric Pressure Variation with Latitude, Longitude, and Season ..................................................... 24 Upper Level Atmospheric Pressures and Flows; Atmospheric Tides ........................................................... 27 Fronts and Their Relation to Baroclinic Waves ......................................................................................... 29 Thermodynamics, Physics of Gases, Water Vapor, Lifting, and Misc. ........................................................... 32 Skew-T, Log-P diagram (STLPD) and Other Thermodynamic Diagrams ..................................................... 32 Symbols and Constants Employed in Equations ...................................................................................... 33 Gas Laws, Equation of State (Ideal Gas Law), Boyle’s and Charles’s Laws ................................................. 35 Virtual Temperature and Equations of State for Dry and Moist Air ........................................................... 35 Hydrostatic Equation, Geopotential Φ(z) and Height Z, Hypsometric Equation .......................................... 36 Reduction of Pressure to Sea Level .......................................................................................................... 36 First Law of Thermodynamics (FLT) and Specific Heats ............................................................................ 37 Dry Adiabatic Processes and Potential Temperature ................................................................................. 37 Moist Air Processes ................................................................................................................................. 39 Lifted Moist Air Parcels, LCL, and LFC ..................................................................................................... 40 Stability of Air Parcels With Respect to Convection: U, CU, and S ............................................................. 41 Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) and Convective Inhibition (CIN) .......................................... 43 Clouds (Unit 3) ........................................................................................................................................... 45 Cloud Classification by Atmosphere Étages ............................................................................................. 45 Selected Cloud Terminology: ................................................................................................................... 45 Droplet and Ice Crystal Formation ........................................................................................................... 50 Thunderstorms (Unit 4) .............................................................................................................................. 54 Atmospheric Kinematics and Dynamics (Unit 5) .......................................................................................... 55 Kinematics of Fluid Flow ......................................................................................................................... 55 Dynamics ............................................................................................................................................... 56 Weather Prediction (Unit 6) ........................................................................................................................ 64 Radiation and Climate Change (Unit 7) ....................................................................................................... 67 Page 1 of 120 AtmScienceSummary_AtmS301_MCM_Fall2010.docx 4 Jan 2011 Basic Properties of Light .......................................................................................................................... 69 Radiation Quantitation (Radiometry) ....................................................................................................... 70 Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) of Earth; Relation to Sunspots; Local Irradiance Pattern ................................. 74 Blackbody Radiation ............................................................................................................................... 76 Radiation for Non-Black Bodies ............................................................................................................... 79 Climate Change; The Greenhouse Effect and Factors Which Can Modify It ............................................... 79 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion and the “Ozone Hole” Centered Over Antarctica ........................................ 83 Pacific NW Weather (Unit 8) ........................................................................................................................ 86 Precipitation, Rain Shadow, and Chinook Föhn Wind .............................................................................. 86 Washington Storms ................................................................................................................................. 87 Seattle Area Rainfall and Temperatures ................................................................................................... 95 Tropical Meteorology (Unit 9) ...................................................................................................................... 96 Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) ..................................................................................................... 96 Thermocline, Walker Circulation, ENSO .................................................................................................. 97 Monsoons and Deserts .......................................................................................................................... 100 Tropical Cyclones, Typhoons, and Hurricanes........................................................................................ 101 Glossary and Miscellaneous Mini-Topics ................................................................................................... 107 Atmosphere Layers and Their Mean Temperatures: “Standardized Temperature Profile: An average temperature profile through the lower layers