GROUP II "Atmosphere, Weather and Climate"

OBJECTIVES
- to be able to give the importance of the atmosphere - to be able to name and describe the layers of the atmosphere - to be able to differentiate weather and climate

ATMOSPHERE
The Atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and argon (1%) that surrounds the Earth. The atmosphere plays a significant role in the various cycles of nature (water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle). It is the principal industrial source of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, which are obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air.

Importance
Most living creatures interact with the atmosphere for their metabolism, reproduction and migration. The gases that make up the atmosphere are also essential to life. It supplies most of the oxygen needed by animals for respiration, as well as the carbon dioxide that is necessary for plant photosynthesis. The atmosphere transports energy and water over the face of the earth and makes possible the weathering of rocks, thus, contributing to soil formation. It also shields us from the harmful ultraviolet radiation (with its ozone layer), and from the bombardment of meteors, meteorites, and other objects from outer space. As an insulator, it prevents extreme temperature.

Five Layers of the Atmosphere

 The Troposphere The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. Almost all weather occurs within this layer. Air is warmest at the bottom of the troposphere near ground level. Higher up it gets colder. The bottom of the troposphere, right next to the surface of Earth, is called the boundary layer. The boundary between the top of the troposphere and the stratosphere is called the tropopause. The Stratosphere The stratosphere is the second layer, and is located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere above is called the stratopause. The stratosphere is very dry; air there contains little water vapor. Because of this, few clouds are found in this layer; almost all clouds occur in the lower, more humid troposphere. The Mesosphere The Mesosphere is above the stratosphere layer. The layer above the mesosphere is called the thermosphere. As you get higher up in the mesosphere, the temperature gets colder. The top of the mesosphere is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere. The mesopause is the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere above it. Most meteors from space burn up in this layer. The Thermosphere The Thermosphere is directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Solar activity strongly influences temperature in the thermosphere. The boundary between the thermosphere and the exosphere above it is called the thermopause. The aurora primarily occur in the thermosphere. Charged particles (electrons, protons, and other ions) from space collide with atoms and molecules in the thermosphere at high latitudes, exciting them into higher energy states. Those atoms and molecules shed this excess energy by emitting photons of light, which we see as colorful auroral displays. The Exosphere The Exosphere is the region where atoms and molecules escape into space. The exosphere is on top of the thermosphere. In the exosphere the density is so low that particles collide only rarely. That makes it possible for energetic particles to escape Earth's gravity altogether.

OTHER LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

Within the five principal layers determined are several layers determined by other properties:

The thin Ozone layer in the upper stratosphere has a high concentration of ozone, a particularly reactive form of oxygen. This layer is primarily responsible for absorbing the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

The Ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation.

The planetary boundary layer is the part of the troposphere that is nearest the Earth's surface and is directly affected by it, mainly through turbulent diffusion.

WEATHER
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is understood to be the weather of Earth.

Elements of Weather
Element Precipitation Description Moisture from the sky e.g. rain, snow etc. How hot or cold it is How fast the wind is How it is measured By a Rain Gauge By Thermometers, found inside a Stevenson Screen By an Anemometer Units of measurement Millimetres (mm.)

Temperature Wind Speed

Degrees celsius ( c) Knots, or by the Beaufort

blowing Wind Direction Where the wind is blowing from By a Wind Vane

Scale Points of the compass (north, north-west etc), or bearing in degrees Relative Humidity (% of water vapour that can be held by the air at the actual temperature) Hectopascals (although most people know it as millibars) Oktas - eighths of the sky Kilometres Hours and minutes

Humidity

The amount of water vapour in the air The "weight" of the air pushing on the surface of the Earth The amount of cloud in the sky How far you can see The hours of sunshine

By a Hygrometer (wet and Dry Bulb Thermometers)

Air Pressure

By a Barometer It is observed by a meteorologist It is observed by a meteorologist By a Sunshine Recorder

Cloud Cover Visibility Sunshine

COMMON WEATHER PHENOMENA

Sunny Sunny weather or clear skies is defined as less than 1/8 sky cloud cover. Sunny skies many times are observed when a high pressure area is dominating the weather pattern. High pressure signifies a region of sinking air which tends to dry out the atmosphere resulting in less moisture to form clouds. Wind Wind is the motion of air in the atmosphere and is caused by an imbalance of heating from the sun. The uneven heating generates an unbalanced pressure field. Air from a high pressure area flows toward a region of low pressure to balance the pressure field. A wind vane points to the direction from where the wind is blowing from and an anemometer measures how fast the wind is blowing.

 Snow Snow is the accumulation of crystal snowflakes. Snowflakes are made as water ice crystallizes. The crystals may form in many different shapes dictated by the water content and temperature in the cloud as the snowflakes are forming. Snowflakes can take the shape of columns, dendrites, plates, needles and other six sided shapes. It is possible for it to snow several degrees above freezing if the air aloft is very cold and the above freezing layer is shallow near the ground.

Cloud

Clouds are visible water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere particularly in the troposphere. They are created as water vapor reaches saturation and condenses.

Kinds of Clouds: Cirrus

Cirrus clouds are the most common of the high clouds. They are composed of ice and are thin, wispy clouds blown in high winds into long streamers. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair to pleasant weather.

Cirrostratus clouds are thin, sheetlike high clouds that often cover the entire sky. They are so thin that the sun and moon can be seen through them. Cirrostratus clouds usually come 12-24 hours before a rain or snow storm.

Cirrocumulus clouds appear as small, rounded white puffs that appear in long rows. The small ripples in the cirrocumulus clouds sometime resemble the scales of a fish. Cirrocumulus clouds are usually seen in the winter and indicate fair, but cold weather. In tropical regions, they may indicate an approaching hurricane. Alto Altostratus clouds are gray or blue-gray mid level clouds composed of ice crystals and water droplets. The clouds usually cover the entire sky. In the thinner areas of the clouds, the sun may be dimly visible as a round disk. Altostratus clouds often form ahead of storms with continuous rain or snow.

Altocumulus clouds are mid level clouds that are made of water droplets and appear as gray puffy masses. They usually form in groups. If you see altocumulus clouds on a warm, sticky morning, be prepared to see thunderstorms late in the afternoon.

Stratus
Stratus clouds are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky. They resemble fog that doesn't reach the ground. Light mist or drizzle sometimes falls out of these clouds.

Stratocumulus clouds are low, puffy and gray. Most form in rows with blue sky visible in between them. Rain rarely occurs with stratocumulus clouds, however, they can turn into nimbostratus clouds.

Nimbostratus clouds form a dark gray, wet looking cloudy layer associated with continuously falling rain or snow. They often produce precipitation that is usually light to moderate.

Cumulus
Cumulus clouds are white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton. Cumulus clouds are often called "fair-weather clouds". The base of each cloud is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers. When the top of the cumulus clouds resemble the head of a cauliflower, it is called cumulus congestus or towering cumulus. These clouds grow upward and they can develop into giant cumulonimbus clouds, which are thunderstorm clouds.

Cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds. High winds can flatten the top of the cloud into an anvillike shape. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with heavy rain, snow, hail, lightning and even tornadoes. The anvil usually points in the direction the storm is moving.

Rain Rain is precipitation in liquid form. Liquid precipitation can occur as mist, drizzle, or rain. Rain is formed when condensation of water vapor occurs condenses into water droplets.

 Fog Fog is a stratus cloud on the ground.

Several types of fog:

Advection fog is produced by a horizontal motion of warm moist air over colder ground. An example of this would be a warm front moving across land with a recent snow or cold weather. Radiation fog is produced as heat from the earth surface is radiated back to space at night. A moist layer and nearly calm winds need to be present. Wind can mix in dryer air aloft, keeping the air below the saturation point. Steam fog forms when cold air moves over relatively warm water. This can be observed as wisps of "steam" rising from lakes, rivers or oceans when a cold air mass moves in. Upslope fog occurs as air is pushed up a mountainside and becomes saturated so that condensation occurs.

Dust Storms Dust storms are created by winds moving across an arid region. Many times a strong dry cold front is the mechanism that creates the dust or sand storm. As strong winds move across an arid landscape, sand or dirt is picked up from the ground.

NATURAL DISASTERS
Tornadoes A tornado is a violently rotating column of air usually produced by severe thunderstorms.

Kinds of Tornadoes:
Multi vortex tornadoes are mini tornadoes circulating around a larger one and is usually violent.

Waterspouts tornadoes the form over water.

Landspouts are similar to waterspouts because they are tornadoes on land. Winds in most tornadoes blow at 100 mph or less, but in the most violent, and least frequent, wind speeds can exceed 250 mph. Hurricanes A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more. The eye of a storm is usually 20-30 miles wide and may extend over 400 miles. The dangers of a storm include torrential rains, high winds and storm surges.

Typhoons A typhoon is a violent cyclone that occurs in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Typhoons feature heavy rains and winds that maintain speeds equal to or greater than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour. Similar storms that occur in other parts of the world are called tropical cyclones or hurricanes. The heavy rains and strong winds of a typhoon can cause great loss of life and billions of money in property damage. As a typhoon approaches lands, its winds produce a rush of seawater called a storm surge that can devastate coastal areas.

Ice Storms/ Hail The exact processes that create hail are still being studied. Traditionally, textbooks showed hailstones being formed as a water droplet was carried aloft with an updraft into subfreezing air and freezing. As the ice moved into a downdraft, more water coated the hailstone. The cycle continued with the hailstone continuing to grow with each ride up and down the updraft and downdraft. More recent studies suggest that super cooled water droplets are carried aloft by strong updrafts in thunderstorms. A small ice particle forms and grows as "waves" of supercooled water droplets continue to bump into the ice particle. A new coat of ice grows with each cycle. The hailstone is kept aloft by the strong updraft. The stronger the updraft the greater the force to keep the heavier

hailstones aloft. The hailstone eventually falls to the grown when the weight is too great for it to remain aloft or when it gets pushed out of the updraft. Sometimes hailstones bump into each other while being bombarded with super cooler water droplets and stick together giving the hailstone a spiked appearance. El Nio El Nio is a climate phenomenon within the oceanic-atmospheric system in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This occurrence can influence temperature and precipitation patterns not only there but elsewhere in the world. La Nia Thus, the El Nio phenomenon itself is not anything freakish or "abnormal." It is related to the natural ebb and flow of the trade winds over the tropical Pacific. That, along with associated changes in atmospheric pressure across the Pacific, is known as the Southern Oscillation. The whole process is known as ENSO (El Nio/Southern Oscillation). The opposite phenomenon to El Nio is known as La Nia or sometimes El Viejo. The only atypical aspects of the recent El Nio were its strength and early onset within the calendar year. The southern oscillation index (SOI), which is one measure of the phenomena, is rarely precisely at zero; rather it's usually trending in one direction or another.

CLIMATE
Climate is defined as an area's long-term weather patterns. The simplest way to describe climate is to look at average temperature and precipitation over time. Other useful elements for describing climate include the type and the timing of precipitation, amount of sunshine, average wind speeds and directions, number of days above freezing, weather extremes, and local geography. Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change. The Philippines either experience tropical rainforest, tropical savanna or tropical monsoon, or humid subtropical characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country, the wet season and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. This is dependent as well on your location in the country as some areas experience rain all throughout the year. Based on temperature, the seven warmest months of the year are from April to October; the winter monsoon brings cooler air from November to March. May is the warmest month, and January, the coolest.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and services primarily for the protection of life and property and in support of economic, productivity and sustainable development. The government agency was created on 8 December 1972 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 78 reorganizing the Philippine Weather Bureau into PAGASA. STORM SIGNALS IN THE PHILIPPINES Storm Signal #1 Winds of 30-60 kph may be expected in at least 36 hours or intermittent rains may be expected within 36 hours. Storm Signal #2 Winds of greater than 60 kph and up to 100 kph may be expected in at least 24 hours. Storm Signal #3 Winds of greater than 100 kph up to 185 kph may be expected in at least 18 hours. Storm Signal #4 Very strong winds of more than 185 kph may be expected in at least 12 hours.

QUIZ
A. 1. What is the layer in the atmosphere that is primarily responsible for absorbing the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun? OZONE LAYER 2. It is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. WEATHER 3. It is defined as an area's long-term weather pattern. CLIMATE 4. It is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information. PAG-ASA 5. What is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere? TROPOSPHERE

B. Matching Type A
F 1. Motion of air in the atmosphere D 2. White, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton A 3. Violent cyclone that occurs in the northwest Pacific Ocean B 4. Uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky C 5. Another name of La Nina a. b. c. d. e. f.

B
Typhoon Stratus Cloud El Viejo Cumulus Cloud El Vienne Wind

C.
1. Cite three (3) importance of atmosphere.

a. It supplies most of the oxygen needed by animals for respiration, as well as the carbon dioxide that is necessary for plant photosynthesis. b. The atmosphere transports energy and water over the face of the earth and makes possible the weathering of rocks, thus, contributing to soil formation. c. It also shields us from the harmful ultraviolet radiation (with its ozone layer), and from the bombardment of meteors, meteorites, and other objects from outer space. As an insulator, it prevents extreme temperature. 2. a. b. c. d. Give two (2) elements of weather. Precipitation Temperature Wind Speed Wind Direction e. f. g. h. Air Pressure Cloud Cover Humidity Visibility