Katabatic (Fall) Wind:
The flow of cold dense air downslope under the
influence of gravity; the direction of flow is
controlled largely by topography.
Katafront: A front where the warm
air sinks down above the frontal surface
(instead of rising up it). It makes the front
weaken and slowly disperses upper cloud.
Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves: Produced
when there is strong vertical shear through a
shallow atmospheric layer where there is a
sharp gradient of temperature and density as
at an inversion. The waves gain energy from
the large-scale flow.
Kelvin Scale:
A temperature scale (also called the Absolute
Scale) used primarily for scientific purposes
and having intervals equivalent to those on
the Celsius scale but beginning at absolute
zero (-273.15
).
Khamsin: A hot, dry, southerly wind
blowing across Egypt and Red Sea ahead of
a Mediterranean depression. Most frequent
between April and June. Khamsin is from
the
Arabic for "fifty", implying fifty days when
it is expected to last.
Kinetic Energy: The energy within a
body that is a result of its motion.
Kirchhoff's Law: The way a substance
absorbs the radiation impinging on it is
identical to the way it emits radiation by
thermal excitation. In the case of a
blackbody, the absorption and emission
efficiencies achieve their maximum values at
all wavelengths.
Knot: A speed of one nautical mile
per hour = 1.1508mph or 0.5144 meters per
second.
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