Intro to Meteorology

• Science
• 9th Grade

Intro to Meteorology

Earth-Space Science 101

When you think about "meteorology,"
what comes to mind?

Objectives

• Define Meteorology 
• Identify WHERE meteorology is observed and occurs in Earth's atmosphere
• Identify WHAT ingredients support meteorological phenomena
• Introduce HOW to identify different cloud types
• REFLECT, RECALL, & PRACTICE knowledge on Quizlet

Meteorology - the study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena as well as the atmosphere’s interaction with the earth’s surface, oceans, and life in general

WHERE does meteorology exist?

• All weather phenomena primarily occur in the TROPOSPHERE, or lowest level of the atmosphere (surface - 8 to 14.5 km)
•  Beyond the TROPOSPHERE, there are FOUR more layers of Earth's atmosphere

LAYER OF -SPHERE	ALTITUDE	WHAT OCCURS	HINT
EXOSPHERE	600KM - 10,000K	SATELLITES ORBIT	EXO - THINK "EXITING" EARTHS ATMOSPHERE
THERMOSPHERE	85KM - 600KM	HOUSES IONOSPHERE / NORTHERN LIGHTS OBSERVED HERE	THERMO- THINK THIS LAYER IS SO HOT, IT'S ALMOST OUT OF THIS WORLD!
MESOSPHERE	50KM - 85KM	METEOR ACTIVITY/ SHOOTING STARS	MESO - THINK "MIDDLE" LAYER
STRATOSPHERE	8 to 14.5KM - 50KM	COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS / OZONE LAYER	STRAT - THINK STRATEGIC/IDEAL FOR FLIGHTS
TROPOSPHERE	SFC - 8 to 14.5KM	HOUSES ALMOST ALL WEATHER EVENTS	TROP - THINK "TRAPS" THE WEATHER

helpful phrase: "Trevor Sells Maps To Explorers"

How many layers of Earth's atmosphere are there?

1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 6

In which layer do most meteorological or weather events occur?

1. Weather Zone
2. Troposphere
3. Stratosphere
4. Treposphere

What components make up weather?

What components make up weather?

Drag & Drop the Ingridients that Contribute to Weather

Temperature

Humidity

Pressure

Wind

Precipitation

Clouds

How'd you do?

• Weather is a complex mixing pot, that is endlessly changing in one, few, or all its ingredients! 

• Areas of high and low pressure act as the mixer, or driving force, that creates, builds, and/or weakens the meteorological ingredients into the weather phenomena and patterns we observe daily

Which is not an example of a weather ingredient?

1. Temperature
2. Humidity
3. Clouds
4. Terrain

Clouds

• Identifying cloud types can be indicative of specific types of weather or stability of the atmosphere 
• There are THREE main cloud types, identified by their base formation height

High Clouds

• Prefix - CIRRUS
• Often form >20,000 ft
• Composed almost exclusively of ice crystals 

Cirrus	most common, thin, wispy
Cirrostratus	thin, sheet-like, often covering large portions of the sky
Cirrocumulus	least common, small, rounded, individual or rows of white puffs

Mid Clouds

• Prefix - ALTO
• Often form 6,500-23,000 ft
•  Composed of both water droplets and/or ice crystals

Altocumulus	grey, puffy masses
Altostratus	blue-grey, thick or thin layer of extensive cloud

Low Cloud

• Prefix/Suffix - STRATUS  |  CUMULUS 
• Often form SFC - 6,500 ft
•  Composed primarily of water droplets

Cumulus	puffy, white, takes a variety of shapes, most often looks like floating cotton with sharp outlines and a flat base
Stratocumulus	low, lumpy, rows, patches, or rounded masses with blue sky visible between rows
Stratus	uniform, greyish cloud that often covers the entire sky
Nimbostratus	dark grey, "wet" looking, associated with lowering ceilings and steady rain
Cumulonimbus	thunderstorm cloud, may contain all forms of precipitation, anvil forms atop the cloud against the top of the troposphere, sometimes overshooting into the stratosphere

Cloud Type Recap

LOW CLOUDS

MID CLOUDS

HIGH CLOUDS

"wet" looking cloud associated with steady rain

blue-grey, blanket-like 

altocumulus

cloud type composed of exclusively ice crystals

precip producing

That's a wrap!
How do you feel about this new material?
For more practice check out the Quizlet link on the next slide!

Not my best work.

There are too many clouds!

I love Weather!

Just need some more practice!

quizlet.com

Reference Material :

Ahrens/Samson (February, 2010). Extreme Weather and Climate. Cengage Learning US. https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9780495118572