- Industry: Weather
- Number of terms: 60695
- Number of blossaries: 0
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The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of more than 14,000 professionals, ...
An airport (aerodrome) to which an aircraft may proceed when it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to proceed to or to land at the airport (aerodrome) of intended landing. Alternate airports (aerodromes) include the following:
* Takeoff alternate: An alternate airport (aerodrome) at which an aircraft can land should this become necessary shortly after takeoff and it is not possible to use the airport (aerodrome) of departure. * En route alternate: An airport (aerodrome) at which an aircraft would be able to land after experiencing an abnormal or emergency condition en route. * Destination alternate: An airport (aerodrome) to which an aircraft may proceed should it become impossible or inadvisable to land at the airport (aerodrome) of intended landing.
Industry:Weather
Aviation forecast for another airport (aerodrome) to be used by an aircraft if it becomes inadvisable to land at the airport (aerodrome) of intended landing.
Industry:Weather
A balloon-borne instrument for recording the value of the atmospheric electric field strength within active thunderstorms. A disk of specially treated paper (pole-finding paper), slowly rotated by an aneroid element as the balloon ascends, lies between two iron electrodes, the upper one being electrically connected to a discharge point attached to the balloon and the lower one being electrically connected to a long trailing wire. Currents passing through the paper under the influence of the potential difference set up in the two electrodes discolor the treated paper in a pattern with a size roughly related to the ambient electric field strength. A thermal element and a humidity element that record in aerograph fashion complete the device.
Industry:Weather
An instrument that determines the altitude of an object with respect to a fixed level. There are several types of altimeters: 1) the pressure altimeter, which measures barometric pressure and converts it to altitude above sea level when referenced to the existing measured sea level barometric pressure, or to pressure altitude when referenced to a standard pressure; 2) the radio or radar altimeter, which deduces altitude by measuring the time it takes a radio signal to travel from a transmitter to the underlying surface and back to the receiver; and 3) the Global Positioning System (GPS), which determines altitude by measuring time of travel of radio signals between GPS-equipped satellites and the receiver.
Industry:Weather
A type of rain or snow gauge shield consisting of freely hanging, spaced slats, arranged circularly around the gauge, the height of which is the same as the gauge height. The purpose is to reduce undercatch due to wind by forcing the air toward the surface instead of accelerating over the gauge orifice. Compare Nipher shield.
Industry:Weather
Monoalkenes are hydrocarbon species with general formula CnH2n, where n is an integer, containing one unsaturated carbon–carbon bond. Alkenes are emitted in large quantities by automobiles and by vegetation. They react moderately to very rapidly with hydroxyl radicals and with ozone, which makes them major contributors to atmospheric reactivity, but limits their concentrations in the atmosphere. More complex dialkenes, with more than one double bond, can also be formed.
Industry:Weather
A stream of alpha particles; can also mean a single alpha particle.
Industry:Weather
A form of tundra in which the absence of trees is due to high altitude instead of high latitude. It lies roughly between the summer isotherm of 10°C and the snow line.
Industry:Weather
Physically indistinguishable from the nucleus of a helium atom - two protons and two neutrons bound together by nuclear forces - but usually restricted to the product of nuclear reactions. For example, alpha particles with energies of several million electron volts are emitted in the radioactive disintegration of naturally occurring isotopes of uranium and thorium. The alpha particle carries a positive charge twice the magnitude of the electron charge. Alpha particles are important in atmospheric electricity as one of the agents responsible for atmospheric ionization. Compare beta particle, gamma ray.
Industry:Weather
