10 Flashcards
T/F: At any given time, only one jet stream, which is fast flowing, narrow, meandering current can be found in the atmosphere, Jet streams are tracked by meteorologists because they always have a tampering effect on the intensity of winds aloft
False
In the northern hemisphere, air found to be north of the polar fronts is _____ whereas air farther south is ______.
Cold, warm
T/F: most of the United States is located within the prevailing easternlies wind belt
False
T/F: off the west coast of the USA, the pacific high is a major semipermanent subtropical high that influences weather patterns in North America.
True
If earths surface was homogeneous (either all land or all water) then…..
Then the semipermanent highs and lows would disappear altogether
T/F: the polar front jet stream can affect. Weather as far as Florida and Mexico
True
T/F: the average winds aloft are the strongest in winter
True?
The jet stream flows ______________.
In a wavy pattern from west to east
T/F: the general circulation of the atmosphere represents the natural air low around the world and not just an average
False
T/F: a jet stream transfers more heat across the globe when it is zonal
False
There are annual patterns in the movement of jet streams meaning that the position of the pacific high over the North Pacific high over the North Pacific Ocean shifts _______ (direction) in winter and _________ (direction) in summer
Southward, Northward
in the northern hemisphere, the polar jet stream is strongest when ________________.
Air north of the polar front is much colder than air south of the polar front
The subtropical jet stream is usually found between?
20 degrees to 30 degrees latitude, 200 mb level
T/F: Areas over the ocean in weak pressure gradients lie in the center of a high producing weak winds, are commonly referred to as dog days latitude.
False
Near the equator, the northeast trades converge with the southeast trades to form:
The inter tropical convergence zone
If we look at atmospheric patterns and circulation the atmosphere, we can situate Chicago, Illinois, (latitude 42 degrees N) in the
Westerlies
Which statement describes the polar front jet stream
It forms a boundary called the polar front
The ultimate cause of jet streams is:
The energy imbalance between high and low latitudes
Upwelling is ?
The rising of cold water from below
As an air parcel aloft moves northward from the equator it moves closer to the Earths axis of rotation because of the conservation of momentum, the air parcels motion should _________________.
Increase in speed
In the three-cell model, the wind belt obscured on the polarward side of the polar front is called the ________
Polar easterlies
In the three-cell model the atmosphere, the circulation of wind in the atmosphere is driven by the rotation of the earth and the incoming energy from the sun. Each hemisphere has a cell: the Hadley cell, the Ferrell cell, the polar cell, but most motion occurs in the ________
Hadley cell
The ____________ jet is known to show seasonal variations. In winter, the winds are stronger, and the jet moves farther south as the leading edge of the cold air can be extended into subtropical regions, as far south as Florida and Mexico. In summer, the jet is weaker and is usually found over more northernly latitudes.
Polar-Front
On a weather map of the northern hemisphere, one would observe the westerlies __________________.
Between the sub polar lows and the subtropical highs
In terms of the three-cell circulation model, the driest regions of earth should be near
30 degrees latitude and the polar regions
T/F: an increase in either mass or velocity (or both) produces a decrease in momentum
False
Because of the larger frictional drag in water, ocean currents move _____________ the prevailing winds above
More slowly than
T/F: The polar frontal boundary separating cold polar air to the north from warm subtropical air to the south, the greatest contrast in air temperature occurs along the frontal zone
True
Both the polar frontal jet stream and the subtropical jet stream are found in which level of the atmosphere?
The tropopause
T/F: in the general circulation of the atmosphere, one would find the region called the doldrums near the equator
True
T/F: the polar front jet stream is stronger in winter than in the summer
True
According to the three-cell general circulation model at the equator, we would not expect to find ___________.
A ridge of high pressure
The large convection cell that is driven by convective “hot” towers (a tropical cumulonimbus cloud that reaches out of the troposphere into the stratosphere, which can have rotating updrafts ) along the equator is the __________.
Hadley cell
T/F: Not all jet streams form at the tropopause
True
The north-south temperature contrast along the polar front is strongest in ______ and weakest in _______
Winter, summer
The worlds deserts are found at 30 degrees latitude because of
The sinking air of the subtropical highs
The inter tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is often known of as the doldrums or the calms, and totally dreaded by pirates and merchant sailors alike in a region where __________.
Northeast trades converge within southeast trades
T/F: the general circulation of the atmosphere represents the actual air flow around the world and not just an average
False
T/F: the Hadley cell is referred to as a thermally direct cell because it is driven by energy from the sun as warm air rises and cold air sinks
True
The majority of the United States lies within this belt
Westerlies
