Term
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Definition
-->Mid-Latitude systems (winter, 'low pressure systems')
-->Tropical Systems (tropical storm, hurricane) |
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Term
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Definition
| Start as collection of T-Storms, grow from positive feedback |
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Term
| How do thunderstorms form? |
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Definition
| Warm, moist air parcel rises and grows thru positive feedback. (see notes for specifics) |
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Term
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Definition
| centrifigul "force" pushes air out, low pressure gradient is pushing in, eventually equilibrium forms and the vortex is formed (eg. whirlpool, tornado, hurrican eye) |
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Term
| Cyclonic Circulation (why c.c. in northern hemisphere?) |
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Definition
| Coriolis effect--playing catch on a merry go round example |
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Term
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Definition
| Low Pressure (sucked up under low pressure of storm), Wind Drag (water blown ashore) |
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Term
| Storm surge from wind drag--circulation cause |
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Definition
| wind drag only affects the surface, pressure gradient forms with depth and forces water out to sea in the deeper sections |
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Term
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Definition
| waves reaching much further--destruction thru erosion |
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Term
| Land and Sea Breezes (cause) |
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Definition
| Heat capacity of earth vs. water, warmer air rises en masse and causes pressure gradient on the surface |
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Term
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Definition
| Landslides, earthquakes, moon/sun (tide), WIND |
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Term
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Definition
| Starts as ripple, grows as it goes through combining with others |
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Term
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Definition
| Variations in horiz. velocity lead to stretching and squeezing which causes height changes (see notes...) |
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Term
| Water parcel path within wave |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| pressure gradient, velocity, and acceleration reduced with depth |
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Term
| Propagation velocity (definition) |
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Definition
| velocity of "hill" through water |
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Term
| Propagation velocity with relation to wavelength |
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Definition
| longer wavelength=faster propagation |
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Term
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Definition
| Sinsusoidal shape, circular (and closed) orbits, perfect 'superposition' |
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Term
| Actual Waves (rather than linear theory) |
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Definition
| Complex shapes; not closed orbits of parcels (wave drift...increases with wave height) |
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Term
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Definition
| Sum of many different waves can create any shape. Ocean waves combine to create irregular wave surface. Often leads to surfers 'sets'. |
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Term
| Waves entering shallow water... |
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Definition
| Wavelength decreases, height increases, speed decreases. |
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Term
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Definition
| Spilling (front wave edge is 'too steep', water falls down) and Plunging (wave crest is 'too fast' and falls off the front, creating pipes) |
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Term
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Definition
| Waves coming near shore at some angle are bent (or 'refracted') toward the shore. |
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Term
| Shoaling/refraction vs. wavelength |
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Definition
| Larger effects on longer period waves (larger swing from fast to slow, all waves same speed at low depth) |
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Term
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Definition
| Water parcels pushed along in front of wave ('surf' the wave), pile water onshore much like storm surge |
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Term
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Definition
| Storm surge circulation goes out at depth, where more sediment is concentrated. This caries out sediment to the edge of the surf zone (sand bar formation, positive feedback) |
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Term
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Definition
| Waves alone (with no currents) tend to sweep sand onshore. The water moves fastest at the crests (onshore direction) and sand motion is sensitive to velocity (higher velocity has proportionally higher effects). |
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Term
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Definition
| During surge, sand is carried out due to pressure gradient. After storm, waves alone are acting on the sand and the beach is rebuilt (finds equilibrium with gravity).....(see notes) |
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Term
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Definition
| One area along beach loses wave power, water rushes out. This often forms rip channel in the sand, perpetuating the effects |
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