Term
| CAPE: convective available potential energy |
|
Definition
| represents the amount of buoyant energy available to accelerate a parcel vertically, or the amount of work a parcel does on the environment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| commonly utilized measure of stability which measures the difference between a lifted parcel's temp at 500 mb and the environmental temp at 500 mb |
|
|
Term
| SWEAT: severe weather threat index |
|
Definition
| evaluates the potential for severe weather by combining several parameters into one index |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| accounts for both static stability and 850 mb moisture |
|
|
Term
| hurricane becomes a hurricane at what mph? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| when does a hurricane become intense? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what scale is used to measure hurricane category and by what? |
|
Definition
| saffir-simpson scale and it is based on wind speeds |
|
|
Term
| what three things are used in a longwave forecast? |
|
Definition
sea surface temp surface map upper-level maps |
|
|
Term
| why is sea surface temps important |
|
Definition
| the warmer the ocean the better the conditions are for producing a strong hurricane |
|
|
Term
| how are surface maps used? |
|
Definition
| they help determine the path of the hurricane |
|
|
Term
| why are upper level maps used? |
|
Definition
| help determine the storms path and intensity |
|
|
Term
| is wind shear good or bad for hurricanes? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| is La Nina good or bad for hurricanes? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| measures the east west component of the wind at the 50 mb level - positive strong winds are bad and negative weak winds are good for hurricanes |
|
|
Term
| what is the current level of CO2? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| how much has the sea level risen in the last century? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat. Why is the current warming trend of particular significance? |
|
Definition
| most of it is very likely human induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1300 years |
|
|
Term
| what is the greenhouse effect? |
|
Definition
| warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from earth toward space |
|
|
Term
| what is the most abundant greenhouse gas? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| initial drivers of a climate shift - solar irradiance is a examples |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| increases an initial warming |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| reduces an initial warming |
|
|
Term
| Nasa says that ______ are causing the Earth's waistline to spread |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| when the Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago, how long was a day? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| why is the earths rotation slowing down |
|
Definition
| the moon is slowing down earths rotation thru the tides that it creates |
|
|
Term
| what is snowball earth theory? |
|
Definition
| is when scientists believe that the earth nearly or completely froze several times |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| National Hurricane Center |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| National Severe Storms Lab |
|
Definition
|
|