INTRODUCTION TO

METEOROLOGY
Meteorology

Geronimo R. Rosario
Asst. Professor IV
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Meteorology is the study of the state and processes of the
atmosphere such as weather and climate and how
changes in temperature, pressure, humidity and wind
speed and direction take place.

• Meteorology, the study of the atmosphere -- its patterns

and variations --is a complex science that allows those
skilled in the discipline the ability to analyze and interpret
data, forecasting our weather
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• From the Greek word meteōros – ‘lofty’
• From book by Aristotle (340 B.C.) called Meteorologica
which explored everything known about weather and
climate at that time (as well as chemistry, astronomy and
geography)
• At that time, all substances that fell from the sky were
called meteors falling objects from outside the
atmosphere (meteoroids) and water and ice particles
falling from clouds within the atmosphere (hydrometeors)
• More commonly thought of as restricted to the dynamics
and thermodynamics of the atmosphere as it affects
human life.
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Meteorologist- a scientist that uses scientific principles to
explain or forecast atmospheric phenomena
• Usually a person who has completed a college degree
(B.S.) in meteorology or atmospheric science
• Only small percentage, about 5%, of the 9000
meteorologists and atmospheric scientists in the U.S. do
forecasts for radio and television, stations (broadcast
meteorologists)
• 50% do research and/or teach at universities and colleges
(M.S. or PhD required)
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Universities offering the BS Meteorology course
• Rizal Technical University
• Mariano Marcos State University
• Western Visayas State University
• Bicol University
• Central Luzon State University

• Universities offering the MS Meteorology course

• UP Diliman
• Ateneo de Manila
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Major branches of Meteorology
• Physical meteorology - deals with the physical aspects of
the atmosphere, such as the formation of clouds, rain,
thunderstorms, and lightning. Physical meteorology also
includes the study of visual events such as mirages,
rainbows, and halos.
• Dynamic meteorology - the study of the winds and the
laws that govern atmospheric motion. Equations that
describe atmospheric motions.
• Synoptic meteorology - is the study and analysis of large
weather systems that exist for more than one day.
Weather forecasting is part of synoptic meteorology. Day-
to-day weather and forecasting.
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Agricultural meteorology - deals with weather and its
relationship to crops and vegetation.

• Climatology - is the study of a region’s average daily and

seasonal weather events over a long period. Climate
describes the average weather of a region.

• Aeronomy- is the study of the upper atmosphere with

emphasis on composition and interaction with solar
radiation.
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Branches of Meteorology according to spatial distance

• Microscale Meteorology - the study of atmospheric

phenomena about 1 km or less, smaller than mesoscale,
including small and generally, thunderstorms, fleeting
cloud "puffs" and other small cloud features.

• Mesoscale Meteorology – the study of weather systems

about 5 kilometers to several hundred kilometers, smaller
than synoptic scale systems but larger than microscale
and storm-scale cumulus systems, such as sea breezes,
squall lines, and mesoscale convective complexes.
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Sypnoptic Scale meteorology- is a horizontal length scale
of the order of 1000 kilometres (about 620 miles) or
more. The phenomena typically described by sypnoptic
meteorology include events like extratropical cyclones,
baroclinic troughs and ridges, frontal zones, and to some
extent jet streams.
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Why do we need to study Meteorology?

• Weather is a universal truth

• Meteorology is international
• Meteorology is interdisciplinary
• Accurate weather information is important
THE SCIENCE OF
METEOROLOGY
• Weather and Climate

• Weather – is the condition of the atmosphere at a

particular place over a short period of time.
• Weather can be described in terms of temperature,
precipitation (snow, rain & hail), wind speed and
direction, visibility and cloud amounts.

• Climate - refers to the weather pattern of a place over a

long period, maybe 30 years or more, long enough to
yield meaningful averages.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Atmospheric Environment- refers to the envelope of air
surrounding the Earth, including its interfaces and
interactions with the Earth.

• Chemical composition
• Optical Properties
• Mass
• Thickness
• Vertical structure
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Chemical composition
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Variable Gases

• Water vapor is an invisible gas – clouds are liquid water

droplets and ice crystals.

• Critical component of atmosphere in regard to weather and climate

• Source of precipitation (rain, snow, etc.)
• Water is only element that can exist as solid (ice), liquid (water), or
gas (water vapor) at temperatures found in earth’s environment
• “Latent heat”, an important source of energy that powers storms, is
released during condensation of water vapor to liquid water
• Critical “greenhouse gas”
• Concentration in the atmosphere is highly variable in regard to both
place and time
• Depends mostly on temperature, with near 0% in the arctic and up
to 4% in the tropics.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Trace gas contributing only 0.039% of the volume of the atmosphere
• However, very important in regard to climate since it is an important
“greenhouse” Gas

• Carbon Dioxide Cycle

• Removed from atmosphere as dissolves in oceans
• Oceans contain 50x the amount of CO2 than the atmosphere
• Removed by plants through photosynthesis
• Enters atmosphere by evaporation from oceans, decay and burning of
plant matter, respiration and volcanic activity
• This cycle creates an equilibrium that had maintained stable levels of
CO2 in the atmosphere (280 parts per million [ppm]) for thousands of
years . Since the start of the industrial revolution (early 1800s) we have
increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by 40% due primarily to
the burning of fossil fuels
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Upsetting the Balance

• It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to

form under pressure as plant matter decays
and is buried by overlying earth

• We have upset the balance created by the

CO2 cycle by putting carbon dioxide into the
air in minutes, through burning of fossil fuels,
what took millions of years to create
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)

• These trace gases are present in even more

miniscule concentrations but still have
significant impacts on the behavior of the
atmosphere

• They are both significant greenhouse gases

and, although naturally occurring, both are
increasing in concentration due to human
activities.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Ozone (O3)

• The vast majority (97%) is found in the stratosphere,

above the layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs

• Critical to maintaining life on earth

• Ozone absorbs harmful, high-energy ultraviolet rays from

the sun so that they do not reach earth’s surface
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

• Manmade chemicals used for propellants, refrigerants and solvents

• Function as greenhouse gas but have a more important impact in
reducing ozone levels in the stratosphere
• Release chlorine atoms which facilitate chemical reactions that destroy
ozone, particularly in cold stratospheric clouds that form in winter
• Result is an “ozone hole”, a reduction in ozone concentration over the
polar regions, particularly in the southern hemisphere, which peaks in
early spring
• During spring and summer, the concentrations of ozone “mix out” with
lower latitudes which has caused a decrease in ozone concentrations in
middle latitudes (U.S.) as well.
• Production of CFCs has been eliminated but unfortunately they
breakdown very slowly.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

• In the stratosphere, the CFCs break down and release

chlorine.

• The chlorine reacts with ozone molecules, which

normally block incoming ultraviolet radiation.

• CFCs have a lifetime in the atmosphere of about 20 to

100 years, and consequently one free chlorine atom
from a CFC molecule can do a lot of damage,
destroying ozone molecules for a long time
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Liquids and Solids forms in the atmosphere

• Clouds
• Remember, clouds are liquid water droplets, not water vapor

• Aerosols
• The atmosphere is also filled with numerous tiny solid or
liquid suspended particles of various composition, called
aerosols
• Examples include dust and soil picked up by the wind, salt
from sea spray, smoke from fires and ash from volcanic
eruptions
• These aerosols serve an important function as they act as
surfaces which facilitate the condensation of water droplets
to form clouds
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Optical Properties of the Atmosphere

• The Earth’s atmosphere is relatively transparent to

incoming solar radiation and opaque to outgoing
radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface.

• The blocking of outgoing radiation by the atmosphere,

popularly referred to as the greenhouse effect, keeps
the surface of the Earth warmer than it would be in the
absence of an atmosphere.

• Important aspects are radiation, absorption, refraction

and scattering
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Thickness of the Atmosphere

• The thickness of the Earth's atmosphere is not a

definite number, but is estimated to be about
1000 km. Some says it’s between 100 km to 10,000
km. The reason that there is no definite number is
because there is no set boundary where the
atmosphere ends.

• The thickness of the atmosphere is geographically

dependent where polar areas have thinner atmosphere
while the in the tropics and equator have thicker
atmosphere.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Mass of the Atmosphere

• At any point on the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere exerts a

downward force on the underlying surface due to the Earth’s
gravitational attraction. The downward force, (i.e., the weight) of a
unit volume of air with density is given by:
•
• Force = density x gravity
•
• Ps = mass x gravity (Ps- atmospheric pressure)
•
• Gravity = 9.807 m s-2
• Average mean atmospheric pressure= 985 hPa
•
• Pressure= 1013.25 mb = 1013.25 hPa _=29.92 in. Hg.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Mass of the Atmosphere

• Mass = Ps/ gravity

• = 985 x 102 Pa/hPa/9.807 m s-2
• = 1.004 x 104 kg m-2
•
• The mass of the atmosphere
• Matm = 4RE 2 x m
• = 4 x (6.37 x 106)2 m2 x 1.004 x 104 kg m-2
• = 5.10 x 1014 m2 x 1.004 x 104 kg m-2
• = 5.10 x 1018 kg
•
• The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480 × 1018 kg
• Mass = 5.17 * 1019 Newtons / 9.8 ms-2 = 5.27 * 1018 kilogram
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

• A. Pressure and Density

• 1. Air density- number of air molecules within a given space

Density = mass/volume

• Due to compressibility, near surface air is more dense than that

above
• This may be expressed in terms of the mean free path, or average
distance a molecule travels before colliding with another
molecule.

Weight = mass x gravity

Force = density x gravity
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

• Air pressure- the amount of force exerted by the air molecules on

earth’s surface due to gravity or the weight of a column of air
above any given point

• Pressure= force/area
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Air molecules are attracted to the
earth by gravity, which decreases
with distance from the earth,
therefore, air density and pressure
always decrease with height above
earth’s surface
THE ATMOSPHERIC
ENVIRONMENT
• Atmospheric Pressure
• At sea level, average atmospheric pressure = 1013.25 mb (round
off to 1000 mb) = 29.92 in Hg (14.7 pounds per square inch
(lbs./in2)
• Due to greater gravity near earth’s surface and compression of
the molecules from above, atmospheric pressure decreases
rapidly with height near earth’s surface and then more slowly at
higher altitudes
• At only 18,000 ft. above the surface atmospheric pressure is only
½ of the pressure at the surface, or 500 mb
• At the height of Mt. Everest (29,000 ft.) the pressure is 300 mb
which means 70% of the air molecules are below you
• This low air pressure and density is why it is difficult to get enough
oxygen to breath at this altitude
• The atmosphere extends hundreds of miles up, becoming thinner
and thinner, eventually merging with outer space
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Atmospheric Layers of the Atmosphere based on
temperature profile

• Troposphere (0-20 km)

• Stratosphere (16-50 km)
• Mesosphere (50-90 km)
• Thermosphere (90- 400 km)
• Exosphere (> 400 km)
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Troposphere (0-20 km) (from Greek word, tropein - to
change, circulate or mix) is the lowermost layer of the
Earth's atmosphere

• Air temperature normally decreases with height.

• The rate at which the air temperature decreases with
height is called the temperature lapse rate.
• The average (or standard) lapse rate in this region of the
lower atmosphere is about 6.5°C for every 1000 m rise in
elevation
• Average thickness of 7 km, highest in the equator (17 km),
thinnest at the poles (7 km)
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Troposphere (0-20 km) (from Greek word, tropein - to
change, circulate or mix) is the lowermost layer of the
Earth's atmosphere

• Highest amount of water vapor (99%) and carbon dioxide

• Clouds presence
• Where weather and climate exist
• The term troposphere was first used in 1902 by Leon
Philippe Teisserenc de Bort, a French meteorologist who
was a pioneer in the use of meteorological balloons
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Tropopause - the boundary between the troposphere and
the stratosphere, where an abrupt change in lapse rate
usually occurs.

• It is defined as the lowest level at which the lapse rate decreases

to 2 °C/km or less, provided that the average lapse rate between
this level and all higher levels within 2 km does not exceed 2
°C/km.
• The tropopause is not a well-defined “layer” but a transition
zone and varies in height from location to location
• Commercial airlines prefer to fly just above the tropopause, in the
lower stratosphere, to avoid turbulent vertical motions
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Stratosphere (16-50 km)- is the second layer of the
atmosphere.

• characterized by isothermal structure in the lower portion followed

by increasing temperature in the upper portion.
• This temperature profile is due to the presence of ozone which
absorbs ultraviolet rays from the sun, heating the surrounding air
• Stability generally limits vertical extensions of cloud
• Less dense than troposphere
• Less water vapor
• 25 km ozone layer
• Rare clouds
• Jet streams
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Stratosphere (16-50 km)- is the second layer of the
atmosphere.

• The ozone layer is a region of concentration of the ozone molecule

(O3) in the Earth's atmosphere. The layer sits at an altitude of
about 10-50 kilometers, with a maximum concentration in the
stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 25 kilometers.
• Blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun (UV-C)
• Less energetic, but still dangerous (causes sunburn and skin
cancer), UV-A and UV-B penetrates the atmosphere to earth’s
surface in small amounts but is absorbed and neutralized by the
pigment in our skin (melanin)
• UV-B is necessary for production of vitamin D
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Stratopause- is the boundary between two layers:
the stratosphere and mesopshere.

• 50 to 55 kilometres high above the Earth's

surface.

• Atmospheric pressure – 1 millibar

• Temperature -15oC
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Mesophere (50-90km)- coldest layer of the atmosphere (-
143oC).

• Strong temperature decrease

• air is extremely thin and pressure very low
• Presence of ionized or electrified air- D layer- caused by the
action of UVR on air molecules
• Where meteors are burn before entering the earth
• Various phenomena: Cosmic rays, Noctilucent or night
shining clouds (water vapor) and Air glow( light due to
reradiation of sunlight to heated atmosphere particles).
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Mesopause (85 km) is the boundary between the
mesophere and thermosphere.

• The first 10 km of the mesopause are almost isothermal.

• Presence of noctilucent clouds composed of ice crystals on
meteoric dust
• Increased CO2 in the mesopshere acts to cool the
atmosphere due to increased radiative emission by CO2.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Thermosphere (90-400 km)- hottest layer where air
temperatures can exceed 1000° C (1800° F), primarily due
to oxygen absorbing the sun’s energetic rays.

• Temperatures in the upper thermosphere can range from

about 500° C (932° F) to 2,000° C (3,632° F) or higher.O3,
CO2 and H2O are virtually absent
• Low density
• Broken atoms/ no molecules
• Abundant free particles of negative electricity or electrons
• Important to communications
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Electrically charged layer located between 80 to 400 km
above sea level where molecules of nitrogen and atoms of
oxygen are readily ionized as they absorb.
• Important to radio communications
• The auroras occur in this layer
• Auroras- northern and southern lights
• Aurora borealis- northern lights
• Aurora australis- southern lights

• The aurora forms when charged particles emitted from the

sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic
shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our
atmosphere. These collisions result in countless little bursts
of light, called photons, which make up the aurora.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Thermopause (>400 km) is the boundary between the
thermosphere and exosphere.

• Space missions such as the ISS, space shuttle, and Soyuz

operate under this layer.
• Portion of magnetosphere is found in this layer
• Magnetosphere or protosphere- the upper layer of the
thermosphere. The earth’s magnetic field is more important
here than the gravitational field in controlling the behavior
of protons.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Exosphere (> 400 km) is the outermost layer of the
atmosphere.

• Gases are extremely thin

• H2 dominant
• UVR dominant
• Variable temperature (0oC to 1700oC)
• O2 and other elements exist in atomic forms
• Geocorona is the name for the exosphere's part that is seen
from earth (luminous part of the exosphere)
• transitional zone between Earth's atmosphere and space
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Atmospheric Layers based on gas composition

• Homosphere – the region of fairly uniform amount

of gases (78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxy- gen)
by turbulent mixing located below the
thermosphere.
• Heterosphere- the region of variable amount of
gases. This is due to the infrequent collisions
between atoms and molecules and the air is unable
to keep itself stirred. As a result, diffusion takes
over as heavier atoms and molecules (such as
oxygen and nitrogen) tend to settle to the bottom of
the layer, while lighter gases (such as hydrogen and
helium) float to the top.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• The ionosphere is not really a layer, but rather an
electrified region within the upper atmosphere
where fairly large concentrations of ions and free
electrons exist.

• The ionosphere is defined as the layer of the

Earth's atmosphere that is ionized by solar and
cosmic radiation. It lies 75-1000 km (46-621 miles)
above the Earth.
• The ionosphere has major importance to us
because, among other functions, it influences radio
propagation to distant places on the Earth, and
between satellites and Earth.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Distinct Layers of the Ionosphere

• D-layer- lowest layer containing

the least amount of ions.
• E-layer- (Kennelley-Heaveside
layer), the middle layer containing
a higher concentration of ions
• F-layer- (Appleton layer)-
containing the highest
concentration of ions
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Night time
• During the night, the ionosphere has only the F and E layers. A
VLF wave from a transmitter reflects off the ions in the E layer and
bounces back.

• Daytime
• During the daytime, the Sun’s X-ray and UV light increase the
ionization of the ionosphere, creating the D and enhancing the E
layers, and splitting the F region into 2 layers. The D layer is
normally not dense enough to reflect the radio waves. However,
the E layer is, so the VLF signals go through the D layer, bounce
off the E layer, and go back down through the D layer to the
ground. The signals lose energy as they penetrate through the D
layer and hence radios pick up weaker signals from the
transmitter during the day. When a solar flare occurs, even the D
layer becomes ionized, hence allowing signals to bounce off it.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Why Atmosphere is thicker in the equator?

• Gravitational force from a point is higher closer to it

and reduces with increasing distance from it. Because
the Earth itself is broader at equator, the equator
experiences less gravity allowing air to reach bigger
heights. Poles are closer to gravitational center and
experience higher gravity.
• Earth is rotating at a rate of 24 hours per spin. Not
just the ground, but also the atmosphere is spinning
with it. The gas molecules at poles are closer to this
rotational axis while those near the equator are
farther away on a larger radius. Therefore, air at
equator experience a greater centrifugal force and
moves farther away from Earth.
ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
• Why Atmosphere is thicker in the equator?

• Earth's orientation in space allows equator to be

closer to the Sun. Due to this higher gravity,
atmosphere deforms slightly towards the sun
while draining a bit more air from the poles.
• Regions near equator receives more sunlight
than the poles making them hotter and less air
dense. So equatorial gases reach greater heights
to exert the same pressure as at the poles.
• Just like the tides, Moon's gravity causes the
atmosphere to deform. Since the moon orbits
close to the equator, equatorial thickness is
increased.
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
• Planetary atmosphere refers to the envelope of gases that
surrounds any of the planets or dwarf planets within or
outside the solar system.
• Since, 2006, Pluto has been demoted to a dwarf planet,
although its study within planetary atmospheres is still
valid.
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
• Mercury is the only planet which doesn't have an
atmosphere as such. It does however have what is known
as an exosphere which are gasses captured from the solar
wind and also released from the planet's surface. The gases
include Hydrogen, Helium and Oxygen.
• Venus has a very thick hot mainly Carbon Dioxide
atmosphere. The only way Venus' surface can be seen is to
send a probe through the atmosphere.
• Earth obviously has a breathable mainly Nitrogen and
Oxygen atmosphere.
• Mars has a very thin mainly Carbon Dioxide atmosphere.
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are gas/ice giants and
have substantial atmospheres of mainly Hydrogen and
Helium.
ORIGIN OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• Atmosphere evolved in 4 steps:

• primordial gases (He, H2), later lost from sun's radiation

• exhalations from the molten surface (volcanic venting);

bombardment from icy comets

• steady additions of carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon

monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, hydrogen chloride,
ammonia, and methane from volcanic activity

• addition of oxygen by plant/bacterial life

ORIGIN OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• It is believed that there was intense volcanic activity for the
first billion years of the Earth's existence – the early
atmosphere was probably mostly carbon dioxide, with little
or no oxygen

• There were smaller proportions of water vapour, ammonia

and methane

• As the Earth cooled down, most of the water vapour

condensed and formed the oceans

• It is thought that the atmospheres of Mars and Venus today,

which contain mostly carbon dioxide, are similar to the
early atmosphere of the Earth
ORIGIN OF THE ATMOSPHERE
Earth’s atmosphere has changed drastically over the
last 4 billions years…

Carbon dioxide Methane Ammonia Nitrogen Oxygen Others

4 billion years ago 2 billion years ago Present day

ORIGIN OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• The proportion of oxygen went up because of
photosynthesis by plants

• The proportion of carbon dioxide went down because: -

• It was locked up in sedimentary rocks, such as
limestone, and in fossil fuels
• It was absorbed by plants for photosynthesis
• It is dissolved in the oceans

• The burning of fossil fuels is adding carbon dioxide to the

atmosphere faster than it can be removed meaning the
level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing
ORIGIN OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• As oxygen levels rose atmospheric ammonia (NH3) reacted
with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O) and nitrogen (N2)
• Also, living organisms, including denitrifying bacteria, broke
down nitrogen compounds releasing more nitrogen into the
atmosphere
• Nitrogen is volatile in most of its forms
• An inert gas, not reactive with other materials
• It is very stable in the presence of solar radiation
• And so the atmosphere headed towards a composition that
has remained fairly constant for the last 200 million years.