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Geography 203 Exam 147 Midterm
Questions
_______ converge towards the North Pole, as opposed to ________, which are in fact parallel to one another. - โ โ Meridians, Parallels _______ variations in energy gain and loss - โ โ Latitudinal ______% of the solar radiation that strikes the atmosphere is absorbed. - โ โ 69
- western intensification, upwelling current, downwelling current, thermohaline circulation - โ โ ??? relevant ??? cloud types - โ โ p. 181- *equatorial low (ITCZ), polar high, subtrop highs, subpolar lows, westerlies, polar front, polar easterlies,
- โ โ study sketch of earths wind directions *Land-water heating differences (5 specific differences) - โ โ Evaporation: loss of energy at ocean surface Transparency: water is clear, soil is opaque; water can store more energy over a greater depth of volume Specific Heat: specific heat of water is 4x that of soil Movement: water is fluid & soil is solid. W's movement results in mixing of cooler & warmer currents, which spreads energy over an even greater volume Ocean Currents & Sea-Surface temperatures: ocean currents moderate air temp on land. 2 Major sources of additional carbon dioxide contributing to the greenhouse effect: - โ โ Fossil fuel combustion (the main one) & Deforestation 4 Types of Atmospheric Lifting: (diagram p. 195) - โ โ CONVERGENT: air from different directions enters the same low-pressure area, displacing air upwards. CONVECTIONAL: air passes into a warmer region; heating from the warmer land causes lifting & convection in air. OROGRAPHIC: air is forcibly lifted up-slope as it's pushed against a mountain; lifting air cools.
FRONTAL: (cold/warm front) place of atmospheric discontinuity; narrow zone forming a line of conflict between 2 air masses of different temp, pressure, humidity, wind direction & speed, and cloud development. absorption - โ โ assimilation & conversion of radiation from one form to another in a medium. The temp of the absorbing surface rises, affecting the rate & wavelength of radiation from that surface. adiabiatic - โ โ occurring without loss or gain of heat advection - โ โ horizontal movement of air or water from one place to another Air - โ โ a simple mixture of gasses that is naturally odorless, colorless, tasteless, and formless, blended so thoroughly that it behaves as if it were a single gas air mass - โ โ A distinctive, homogeneous body of air that has taken on the moisture & temp characteristics of its source region air pressure - โ โ the weight of the atmosphere described as force per unit area albedo - โ โ The reflective quality of a surface, expressed as the % of reflected insolation to incoming insolation anemometer - โ โ measures wind speed in km/hr Antarctic Circle - โ โ (66.5 S lat.) the northernmost parallel in the S Hemisphere that experiences a 24-hr period of darkness in winter or daylight in summer. anticyclone - โ โ A dynamically or thermally caused area of high atmospheric pressure with descending & diverging airflows that rotate clockwise in the N Hemisphere & counterclockwise in the S Hemisphere aphelion - โ โ The point of Earth's further distance from the Sun in its elliptical orbit. Reached on July 4. apparent temperature - โ โ the outdoor temperature as it is perceived by humans Arctic Circle - โ โ (66.5 N lat.) the southernmost parallel in the N Hemisphere that experiences a 24- hr period of darkness in winter or daylight in summer. atmosphere - โ โ thin veil of gases surrounding Earth; forms a protective boundary between outer space & the biosphere axial parallelism - โ โ Earth's axis remains aligned the same throughout the year Barometers - โ โ used to measure atmospheric pressure
Degree = ____ minutes; 1 minute(') = ____ seconds(") - โ โ 60, 60 Development of tropical cyclones: - โ โ these cyclones are homogeneous, with no fronts or conflicting temperature. Warm air & water provide abundant water vapor & thus latent heat to fuel the storm. The warmer the ocean & atmosphere, the most intense the conversion & powerful the storm. Slow moving easterly waves of low pressure begin cyclonic motion. dew-point - โ โ the temp at which a sample of vapor-containing air becomes saturated & net condensation begins to form water droplets diffuse radiation - โ โ incoming energy that reaches Earth's surface after scattering occurs Earth's albedo: - โ โ 31% Earth's atmosphere has a/an _________ boundary - โ โ indefinite Earth's revolution - โ โ The annual orbital movement of Earth around the Sun; determines the length of the year & the seasons Earth's rotation - โ โ The counter-clockwise turning of Earth on its axis, 24 hr cyclonic circle of illumination electromagnetic spectrum - โ โ All the radiant energy produced by the Sun placed in an ordered range, divided according to wavelengths Energy is lost during ________. - โ โ reflection environmental lapse rate - โ โ The actual rate of temp decrease with increasing altitude in the lower atmosphere at any particular time under local weather conditions. May deviate above or below the normal lapse rate equal area (equivalence) - โ โ trait of a map projection: indicates equivalence of all areas on the map's surface, although shape is distorted evaporation - โ โ Results in latent heat transfer. Change in state from liquid to vapor requires energy input & cools the water's surface. When the vapor condenses to form clouds in the atmosphere, the change in state from vapor to liquid releases the stored latent heat as sensible heat, warming the atmosphere.The net result is that energy is transferred from the surface of the earth to the atmosphere evapotranspiration - โ โ the combined processes of evaporation and transpiration Eyewall - โ โ wall of dense rain bands within a tropical storm; the zone of the most intense precip. fog - โ โ cloud layer on the ground, with visibility restricted less than 1 km
formula for relative humidity - โ โ (actual water vapor in air/ max possible in the air at that temp) x 100 global dimming - โ โ The decline in sunlight reaching Earth's surface due to pollutants, aerosols, & clouds great circle - โ โ any circle drawn on a globe with its center coinciding with the center of the globe. An infinite # of great circles can be drawn, but only 1 parallel of lat.- the Equator- is a great circle. greenhouse effect - โ โ Process by which radiactively active gases (CFCs, methane, CO2, water vapor) absorb & emit the energy at longer wavelengths, which are retained longer, delaying the loss of infrared to space. Thus, the lower troposphere is warmed through the radiation and re-radiation of infrared wavelengths. Gulf Stream - โ โ moves northward off the east coast of NA; carries warm water far into the North Atlantic, causing the southern 1/3 of Iceland to experience relatively mild winters. heat - โ โ the flow of kinetic energy between molecules and from one body or substance to another resulting from a temperature difference between them How are Adiabiatic Temps measured? (2 ways) - โ โ dry adiabiatic rate (DAR): rate at which 'dry' air cools by expansion as it rises or heats by compression as it falls moist adiabiatic rate (MAR): rate at which an ascending air parcel that is moist/saturated cools by expansion humidity - โ โ the amount of water vapor (moisture) in the air hydrologic cycle - โ โ Elaborate, open, global system that encompasses the vast currents of water, water vapor, ice, and associated energy. Circulates & transforms water throughout Earth's lower atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, & lithosphere to several km beneath the surface. hydrosphere - โ โ an abiotic open system that includes all of Earth's water Incoming Energy: - โ โ shortwave energy from the Sun insolation - โ โ Solar radiation that is incoming to Earth's systems isotherm - โ โ (isoline)- a line along which there is a constant value- that connects points of equal temp. to portray the temperature pattern. These lines cannot cross each other. June (summer) Solstice - โ โ June 21. Time when the Sun's declination is at Tropic of Cancer. Night is 24 hr long S of the Antarctic Circle. Day is 24 hr long N of the Arctic Circle.
Mercator Projection - โ โ true-shape projection with meridians appearing as equally spaced straight lines & parallels appearing as straight lines that are spaced closer together near the Equator. midlat. cyclone/ wave cyclone - โ โ migrating low-pressure weather systems that occur in the middle lats, outside the tropics. They have low pressure centers with converging, ascending air spiraling inward clockwise in the Northern Hem. & counter-clockwise in the Southern Hem. moisture droplet - โ โ approx. 20 micrometers in diameter. It takes at least 1 million to form an average raindrop monsoon - โ โ annual cycle of dryness & wetness, with seasonally shifting winds produced by changing atmospheric pressure systems: affects India, SE Asia, Indonesia, N Australia, & parts of Africa mountain & valley breezes - โ โ local winds resulting when mountain air cools rapidly at night & when valley air gains heat energy rapidly during the day normal lapse rate - โ โ 6.4 degrees C / 1000 m OR 3.5 degrees F /1000 ft occluded front - โ โ In a cyclonic circulation, the overrunning of a surface warm front by a cold front & the subsequent lifting of the warm air wedge off the ground; initial precip is moderate to heavy One "degree" of lat. or long. = - โ โ approx. 70 miles Outgoing Energy: - โ โ longwave energy lost from the Earth ozone depletion is caused by: - โ โ chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) perihelion - โ โ The point of Earth's closest approach to the Sun in its elliptical orbit. Reached on Jan 3. phase change (of water) - โ โ Melting: solid to liquid Freezing: liquid to solid Condensation: vapor (in air) to liquid Evaporation: liquid to vapor Vaporization: Evaporation at the boiling point/temp Sublimation: solid (ice) to vapor Physical Structure of tropical cyclones: - โ โ They have steep pressure gradients that generate inward-spiraling winds towards the center of low pressure; lower central pressure causes stronger pressure gradients, which = stronger winds. Eyewall is formed as winds rush toward cyclone's center & turn upward.
plane of the ecliptic - โ โ Earth's axial tilt is 23.5 degrees from a perpendicular to this precipitation - โ โ the moisture supply to Earth's surface in all its forms (rain, sleet, snow, hail) pressure gradient - โ โ a physical quantity that describes which direction and at what rate the pressure changes the most rapidly around a particular location. pressure gradient force - โ โ causes air to move from an area of higher barometric pressure to an area of lower barometric pressure Prime Meridian - โ โ 0 degrees longitude Principal Temperature Controls (5 things that affect Earth's temp.) - โ โ insolation latitude altitude & elevation cloud cover land-water heating differences radiation - โ โ the transfer of heat in electromagnetic waves, such as that from the Sun to the Earth radiation fog - โ โ forms when radiative cooling of a surface chills the air layer directly above that surface to the dew-point, creating saturated conditions rain shadow - โ โ the dry, leeward side of a mountain where air that was warm & moist on the windward side of the mountain becomes hot & dry. reflection - โ โ The portion of arriving insolation that is returned directly to space without being absorbed & converted into heat & without performing any work refraction - โ โ The bending effect on electromagnetic waves that occurs when insolation enters the atmosphere or another medium; dispersed the component colors of light passing through a crystal or prism relative humidity - โ โ amount of water vapor in the air compared to the max amount of water vapor possible in the air at a given temp. (ratio expressed as a %) rhumb line - โ โ a line of constant compass direction, or constant bearing, that crosses successive meridians at the same angle & appears as a straight line only on the Mercator Projection. Role of the Stratospheric Ozone: - โ โ absorbs UV rays, protecting Earth from excessive UV radiation
The molecules that constitute air create ____ _____, which is exerted on all surfaces in contact with air - โ โ air pressure The most powerful tropical cyclones are: - โ โ hurricanes, typhoons, & cyclones The Stefan-Boltzman Law Measures: - โ โ energy emissions ( I = ฯT4 ) The Sun emits _____ energy The Earth emits _____ energy - โ โ I โ 64,000,000 watts/m
I โ 390 watts/m the Sun's altitude - โ โ the angle between the horizon and the Sun the Sun's declination - โ โ the latitude of the subsolar point The thermal equator - โ โ an isotherm connecting all points of highest mean temp, roughly 27 degrees Celsius Transmission - โ โ the uninterrupted passage of shortwave and longwave energy through either the atmosphere or water transpiration - โ โ The movement of water vapor from leaves or the grass, drawn by the plant roots from the soil, and transpired through the leaves' pores. (Compared to the more simple case of evaporation directly from the surface.) Tropic of Cancer - โ โ 23.5 degrees N lat. The parallel that marks the farthest north the subsolar point migrates during the year (June Solstice) Tropic of Capricorn - โ โ 23.5 degrees S lat. The parallel that marks the farthest south the subsolar point migrates during the year (December Solstice) tropical cyclones - โ โ powerful manifestations of the Earth-atmosphere energy budget, originating entirely within tropical air masses. tropical cyclones are classified according to: - โ โ wind speed true shape (conformality) - โ โ a map property showing the correct configurations of coastlines vapor pressure - โ โ the share of air pressure that is made up of water-vapor molecules; expressed in millibars (mb)
wavelength - โ โ a measurement of a wave; distance between the crests of successive waves What 3 thing is Earth's Atmosphere made of? What percentage of each is there? - โ โ โข 78% Nitrogen
- 21% Oxygen
- 1% Argon Why is the sky blue? - โ โ Scattered blue light(from the sun); prevents us from seeing the stars. Why is the sunset red/orange? - โ โ It's penetrating the atmosphere at a long angle so there are many miles of thick air for the sunlight to penetrate. The beam from the sun has a lot of the blue (short) wavelengths scattered, so the red/orange (long) wavelengths are visible. wind - โ โ the horizontal motion of air across Earth's surface
