2: Fundamentals of Meteorology
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Frame of reference
Whether or not you are moving depends on your point of view
Earth’s rotation 1) Which way 2) When looking from North pole 3) When looking from South pole
1) West to east 2) Anti-clockwise 3) Clockwise
Earth's rotation 1) Which way Apparent rotation of 2) Northern hemisphere 3) Southern hemisphere
1) West to east 2) Anti-clockwise 3) Clockwise
Celestial Sphere
Used to describe the position of objects in the sky, the celestial sphere is a fictitious sphere centred on the Earth upon which all celestial bodies can be projected
When is Earth closest to the sun?
January (147 million km
When is Earth furthest from the sun?
July (152 Million km
How many hours in a: 1) Solar day 2) Sidereal day 3) What is the result due to this?
1) 24 hours 2) 23 hours 56 minutes 40.09 seconds 3) Leap year
Earth’s Tilt 1) Degree of tilt 2) What is at 23.5 N 3) What is at 23.5 S
1) 23.5 2) Tropic of Cancer 3) Tropic of Capricorn
Summer solstice (Longest day of the year)
Dec 22nd (Southern hemi June 22nd (Northern hem
Winter solstice (Shortest day of the year)
June 22nd (Southern hemi Dec 22nd (Northern hemi
When is maximum solar radiation (equinox) at equator
March 21st & September 23rd
1) Why does earth wobble and 2) What effect does it have on earth?
1) Due to earth not being a perfect sphere it wobbles slightly on its axis 2) Changes the equinoxes & Solstices at long time scales of 26k yrs
Equinox
When the sun is directly over the equator
Solar angle (noon)
Shorter wave length to earth as the sun is directly over the top
Solar angle (sunrise & sunset)
Longer wavelengths as passing through more atmosphere (scattering causes red sun)
Why do we get solstices & equinoxes
Due to earth being tilted on itself at 23.5 degrees
4 Spatial scales
Microscale Mesoscale Synoptic scale Planetary scale
Microscale 1) How long they last 2) Two examples 3) Where they occur
1) Happens fast over a short distances 2) Turbulence & clouds 3) Less than 1 km
Mesoscale 1) How long they last 2) Two examples 3) Where they occur
1) A few hours 2) Sea breeze & thunderstorms 3) Up to 100 km
Synoptic Scale 1) How long they last 2) Two examples 3) Where they occur
1) 4-5 days 2) Cold/warm fronts & cyclones due to high/low pressure system 3) Up to 10,000 km
Planetary Scale 1) Define 2) Two examples 3) Where they occur
1) Weather system over the entire planet 2) Rossby waves & jet streams 3) All over the globe
When do the smallest spatial scales occur?
At fast temporal scales
When do the largest spatial scales occur
At slower temporal scales