Exam 6: Stability and Cloud Development

Altocumulus castellanus appearing in the sky indicates that the mid-level of the troposphere is becoming ____.

The environmental lapse rate decreases because of cold advection at higher altitudes and daytime solar heating.

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism primarily responsible for most clouds observed?

____________________ act as lids on vertical air motion. When they exist near the ground, stratus clouds, fog, haze, and pollutants are all kept close to the surface.

Inversions that form as air slowly sinks over a large area are called ____________________ inversions.

The temperature of rising air at a given level inside a cumulus cloud is normally warmer than the air around the cloud.

Absolute instability results when the environmental lapse rate is ____ the ____ adiabatic rate.

When air is stable and close to saturation, stratocumulus clouds can be produced by a process called ____________________.

List and explain several processes by which an unstable atmosphere can be made stable.

What transfers heat upward into the atmosphere?

Sinking air sometimes cools adiabatically.

List and explain several processes by which a stable atmosphere can be made unstable.

List four primary ways clouds form, and describe the formation of one cloud type by each method.

Which condition would be described as the most stable ?

Environmental lapse rate and dry adiabatic rate are different expressions for the same phenomenon.

An afternoon sky full of cumulus humilis clouds with little vertical growth indicates ____ weather.

Billow clouds form along the top of a cloud layer when changes in wind speed and direction reach a critical value, and an inversion caps the cloud-forming layers.

At Earth's surface, a parcel of air has ____ the air surrounding it.

An example of orographic clouds would be clouds ____.

Suppose you observe lenticular clouds that appear to be motionless. Is the air in the vicinity of the cloud motionless? Explain.