Meteorology

• Dr/ Ahmed Mohammed Eldosouky

 Meteorology
• Meteorology is the study and forecasting of
weather changes resulting from large scale
atmospheric circulation.
 Meteorology Basics

“Climate is what you expect,

weather is what you get.”
Distinguish between…

• Weather
• Seasons
• Climate
Chemical Composition of the Atmosphere

• Nitrogen 78%
• Oxygen 21%
• Argon 0.9%
• Carbon Dioxide 0.03%
• Trace substances
• Water Vapor
Vertical Structure of Atmosphere
• Troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, and
is also where nearly all weather conditions take place. It
contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total
mass of water vapour and aerosols. The average height of
the troposphere is 18 km (11 mi; 59,000 ft) in the tropics, 17
km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) in the middle latitudes, and 6 km (3.7
mi; 20,000 ft) in the polar regions in winter. The total
average height of the troposphere is 13 km.
• An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets, in
air or another gas.[1] Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic.
Examples of natural aerosols are fog, dust, forest exudates and geyser
steam. Examples of anthropogenic aerosols are haze, particulate air
pollutants and smoke.
• The tropopause is the boundary region between the troposphere and
the stratosphere.
 5 variables influence the atmosphere:

• Temperature
• Pressure
• Humidity
• Cloudiness
• Winds
Variables influencing the atmosphere…
temperature:

• Measure of heat
• Average kinetic energy
of molecules
• Weather reports give
air temperature at
ground level
Variables influencing the atmosphere…
pressure:

• High Pressure • Low Pressure

• Region where air has • Region where air has
piled up stretched out
• Warmer and dryer than • Tends to rise and cool,
surrounding air vapor condenses into
clouds
Variables influencing the atmosphere…
humidity:

• “relative humidity” –
the ratio of
amount of water vapor in air at current temp
to
max amount vapor air can hold at that temp
Variables influencing the atmosphere…
cloudiness:

• Water droplets
• Ice crystals
• Warm air rises,
cools and
condenses
(phase change)
Variables influencing the atmosphere…
winds:

• Due to differential
heating of the
earth’s surface
• Warm air rises
• Cooler air flows in
Why is it warmer near the Earth’s
equator and colder near the poles?
What patterns of global air flow occur?

Check your neighbor. Make a sketch

to explain your answer.
Global Air Circulation Patterns
Where does your weather forecast
come from?

• National Weather
Service
• World Weather
Building in Camp
Springs, Maryland
• Media weather
specialists
 Weather Forecasting
• Wrong half the time?
• Many features, all are
changeable
• Nowcast  Forecast
• CNN Weather link
The Instruments

• Thermometer
• Hygrometer
• Barometer
• Weathervane
• Anemometer
The Instrument Carriers

• 10,000 land-based & 7,000 ocean-based

• Weather Balloons (1,000 released 2X/day)
• Buoys (300 drift or are moored at sea)
• Automated Weather Stations (about 1,000)
• Doppler Radar
• Satellites
Reading a Weather Map

• Pressure Centers
• Fronts
• Precipitation
• Temp. Readings
• Surface Winds
 Winter Air Masses
• Continental Polar
• Maritime Polar
• Maritime Tropical
 Summer Air Masses
• Continental Polar
• Maritime Tropical
• Continental Tropical
 “Fronts” = a clash of air masses

• Cold Front
• digs in underneath
a warm air mass
• Warm air rises,
mixes with colder
air, & condenses
into clouds
“Fronts” = a clash of air masses

• Warm Front
• rides up above the
cold air
• In the rising warm
air, clouds form far
ahead of advancing
warm front
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Eldosouky

31