Respicio, Daniel I.

BSMT – 1A
Meteorology:
- The study of the atmosphere and motions within the atmosphere on short-time scales.
Commonly known as ‘weather,’ meteorology focuses on the atmospheric variables related to current
or near-future conditions. Several weather elements describe the atmosphere such as temperature,
humidity, precipitation amount and type, wind direction and strength, atmospheric pressure, and
cloud cover.
- Weather is essentially the behavior of the atmosphere during the present time and predicting
future atmospheric conditions, particularly with reference to human comfort and activities.
Temperature, precipitation, relative humidity (RH), cloud cover, wind speed and direction, and
atmospheric pressure are all variables commonly used to characterize the weather for a specific place
and time period.
- The temporal distinction between weather and climate is succinctly stated in adages such as
“climate is what on average we may expect, weather is what we actually get”. “climate lasts all the
time weather only for a few days” and other variants. Weather is then often described against
climatology or the expected state of the atmosphere based on the record of observation and
internationally accepted 30-year averages. The majority of Earth's observed weather is located in the
troposphere.

Oceanography:
- Oceanography applies chemistry, geology, meteorology, biology, and other branches of science
to the study of the ocean. It is especially important today as climate change, pollution, and other
factors are threatening the ocean and its marine life.
- scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of the world’s oceans and seas, including their
physical and chemical properties, their origin and geologic framework, and the life forms that inhabit
the marine environment.
- Traditionally, oceanography has been divided into four separate but related branches: physical
oceanography, chemical oceanography, marine geology, and marine ecology. Physical oceanography
deals with the properties of seawater (temperature, density, pressure, and so on), its movement
(waves, currents, and tides), and the interactions between the ocean waters and the atmosphere.
Chemical oceanography has to do with the composition of seawater and the biogeochemical cycles
that affect it. Marine geology focuses on the structure, features, and evolution of the ocean basins.
Marine ecology, also called biological oceanography, involves the study of the plants and animals of
the sea, including life cycles and food production.

Abyss:
- A very deep hole that seems to have no bottom. Extremely deep or bottomless hole or chasm,
either literal or figurative. An immeasurably deep gulf or great space. A deep fissure in the earth;
bottomless gulf; chasm Anything too deep for measurement; profound depth. The ocean depths.

Adiabatic:
- An adiabatic process is defined as a process in which no heat transfer takes place. This does not
mean that the temperature is constant, but rather that no heat is transferred into or out from the
system. (= heat does not enter or leave the system).

Advection:
- Advection is mechanical transport of solutes along with the bulk flux of the water. It is driven
by the gradient in the total mechanical energy of the solution, just as the water flux is driven.
- The transport of a substance or of heat by the flow of a liquid. The usually horizontal
movement of a mass of fluid (such as air or an ocean current) also: transport (as of pollutants or
plankton) by such movement. The transference of heat energy in a horizontal stream of gas,
Respicio, Daniel I. BSMT – 1A
especially of air. An example of advection is the transport of pollutants or silt in a river by bulk water
flow downstream.
- During advection, a fluid transports some conserved quantity or material via bulk motion. The
fluid's motion is described mathematically as a vector field, and the transported material is described by
a scalar field showing its distribution over space. Advection requires currents in the fluid, and so cannot
happen in rigid solids.

Air Mass:
- An air mass is a large volume of air in the atmosphere that is mostly uniform in temperature and
moisture. Air masses can extend thousands of kilometers in any direction, and can reach from ground
level to the stratosphere—16 kilometers (10 miles) into the atmosphere. Air masses are large volumes
of air that have generally the same temperature and pressure. Unstable air masses have different
temperatures and pressures. Air masses form over large surfaces with uniform temperatures and
humidity, called source regions. Low wind speeds let air remain stationary long enough to take on the
features of the source region, such as heat or cold. When winds move air masses, they carry their
weather conditions (heat or cold, dry or moist) from the source region to a new region. When the air
mass reaches a new region, it might clash with another air mass that has a different temperature and
humidity. This can create a severe storm.
- Meteorologists identify air masses according to where they form over the Earth. There are four
categories for air masses: arctic, tropical, polar and equatorial. Arctic air masses form in the Arctic
region and are very cold. Tropical air masses form in low-latitude areas and are moderately warm.
Polar air masses take shape in high-latitude regions and are cold. Equatorial air masses develop near the
Equator, and are warm. Air masses are also identified based on whether they form over land or over
water. Maritime air masses form over water and are humid. Continental air masses form over land and
are dry.

Wind:
- Wind is the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun. It does not
have much substance—you cannot see it or hold it—but you can feel its force. It can dry your clothes
in summer and chill you to the bone in winter. It is strong enough to carry sailing ships across the
ocean and rip huge trees from the ground. It is the great equalizer of the atmosphere, transporting
heat, moisture, pollutants, and dust great distances around the globe. Landforms, processes, and
impacts of wind are called Aeolian landforms, processes, and impacts.
- Differences in atmospheric pressure generate winds. At the Equator, the sun warms the water
and land more than it does the rest of the globe. Warm equatorial air rises higher into the atmosphere
and migrates toward the poles. This is a low-pressure system. At the same time, cooler, denser air
moves over Earth’s surface toward the Equator to replace the heated air. This is a high-pressure system.
Winds generally blow from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.
Respicio, Daniel I. BSMT – 1A
- The boundary between these two areas is called a front. The complex relationships between
fronts cause different types of wind and weather patterns.

Prevailing winds are winds that blow from a single direction over a specific area of the Earth. Areas
where prevailing winds meet are called convergence zones. Generally, prevailing winds blow east-west
rather than north-south. This happens because Earth’s rotation generates what is known as the Coriolis
effect. The Coriolis effect makes wind systems twist counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and
clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Cyclone:
- In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low
atmospheric pressure. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of
low pressure. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the
largest scale (the synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones
also lie within the synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes, and dust devils lie within smaller
mesoscale. Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off
from the base of the tropical upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern
Hemisphere. Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation and intensification. Extratropical cyclones
begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones.
These zones contract and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in
their life cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air and become
cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering
flow of the subtropical jet stream
- a storm or system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric pressure, advances at a
speed of 20 to 30 miles (about 30 to 50 kilometers) an hour, and often brings heavy rain

Anticyclone:
- A system of winds that rotates about a center of high atmospheric pressure clockwise in the
northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern, that usually advances at 20 to 30 miles
(about 30 to 50 kilometers) per hour, and that usually has a diameter of 1500 to 2500 miles (2400
to 4000 kilometers).
- Anticyclones are the opposite of depressions - they are an area of high atmospheric pressure
where the air is sinking. As the air is sinking, not rising, no clouds or rain are formed. This is because as
the air sinks it warms, meaning it can hold more water.
- The absence of fronts means winds may be very light. Consequently, high-pressure areas are
often associated with settled, dry and bright conditions. In summer, anticyclones bring dry, hot
weather. In winter, clear skies may bring cold nights and frost. In cold conditions, anticyclones may
also bring fog and mist. This is because the cold forces moisture in the air to condense at low altitudes.
Respicio, Daniel I. BSMT – 1A