What is the scientific study of the atmosphere over the short term called?

What is the scientific study of the atmosphere over the short term called?

• A. Climatology
• B. Meteorology
• C. Oceanography
• D. Geophysics

Answer: (B)

Meteorology. It focuses on weather—the atmosphere’s conditions and processes that change over hours to days, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, and precipitation—and on forecasting those short-term changes using observations and atmospheric models. Climatology, by contrast, studies climate patterns over long timescales (years to centuries). Oceanography is about the oceans, and geophysics covers physical processes of the Earth as a whole, not specifically the short-term study of the atmosphere.

Meteorology. It focuses on weather—the atmosphere’s conditions and processes that change over hours to days, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, and precipitation—and on forecasting those short-term changes using observations and atmospheric models. Climatology, by contrast, studies climate patterns over long timescales (years to centuries). Oceanography is about the oceans, and geophysics covers physical processes of the Earth as a whole, not specifically the short-term study of the atmosphere.