Air-Sea Interaction Flashcards
How and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by wind.
Physical Oceanography
Heat that causes a change in temperature in an object
Sensible Heat
Heat that causes change in state with no change in temperature.
Latent Heat
Atmosphere and ocean one ____ system
Interconnected
____ is hot ball of glowing gases.
_____ heats the earth surface and creates atmospheric winds, which drive most of surface currents and waves.
Sun, Solar Energy
Average solar radiation received per unit area on the Earth’s surface is ____? Also called ___?
342 Wm^-2, Solar Irradiance
Energy flux at surface of the sun:
63 x 106 Watts/m^2
Surface temperature of Sun
5780K or 5507C
____ passes through the atmosphere as incoming ____. Part of this is reflected by the atmosphere and earth’s surface as reflected solar radiation. A larger part is absorbed by the earth’s surface and warms it and is converted into heat causing the emission of _____ or _____ radiation back to the atmosphere.
Solar Radiation, Solar Radiation, Longwave Radiation or Infrared Radiation
Equatorial regions ____ heat.
Polar regions ____ heat
More, Less
_____ in the high latitudes creates a large “solar footprint” (solar energy is dispersed across a wide area). On the other hand, _____ in the low latitudes creates a small “solar footprint” (solar energy is focused on a narrow area of Earth’s surface)
Low Angle of Incidence, High Angle of Incidence
% of incident light reflected back to space. The average ___ of earth is?
Albedo, 30%
More _____ is reflected back to space at high latitudes because ice has a much _____ albedo than soil, vegetation, or water.
Radiation, Higher
High density of incident rays is also called the _________ and the ______ while Low Density of Incident Rays is also called the _______ and the ______ depending on the date or time of year.
Northern Summer, Southern Winter, Northern Winter, Southern Summer
Earth is most inclined towards the sun, longest day. It is either of the two times in the year, the _____ and the ______, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.
Solstice (Summer and Winter Solstice)
The time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length.
Equinox
Causes of variation in Solar Radiation:
- Daytime, nightime cycle
- Change in season
Less dense, so it rises (heat rises). On the other hand, this is more dense, so it sinks.
Warm air, Cold air
Air contains H2O (molecular wt is 18) = _____, Air contains no H2O, just N2 (mol wt is 28) and O2 (mol wt is 32) = _______
Moist Air, Dry Air
Depends on the weight of the column of air above. _____ at sea level; declines with altitude.
Atmospheric Pressure, 1 Atm
Air always moves from regions of ____ pressure to ____. Cool Dense Air, _____ surface pressure. Warm less dense air, ____ surface pressure.
High, Low, Higher, Lower
Air (wind) always moves from regions of high pressure to low with a North-South flow. This is called a?
Convection or Circulation Cell
Apparent force acting on freely moving objects due to the rotation of the earth. Causes deflection of motion to the right (left) in the northern (southern) hemisphere. Can act on large scale motion such as ocean currents and atmospheric winds
Coriolis Force
Coriolis maximized at _____ latitudes; weak at ____ latitudes.
High, Low
Boundary between trade winds and prevailing westerlies. Sinking air in these regions causes high atm pressure and results in clear, dry, fair conditions. Surface winds are light and variable.
Horse Latitudes
In the N Hem, trade winds curve to the ____ due to Coriolis effect and blow from northeast to ____. In S Hem, trade winds curve to ____due to Coriolis and blow from southeast to _____.
Right, Southwest, Left, Northwest
Boundary between the 2 trade wind belts along the equator is the ____ (lack of winds). Today it is called the _____?
Doldrums, ITCZ
Boundary between the prevailing westerlies and polar easterlies, cloudy and plenty of precipitation.
Polar Front
Warm, light, ascending and converging air. ITCZ and trade winds.
The Equatorial Low (0 degree Latitude)
Hot, dry air that forms as the warm air descending from the tropics becomes hotter. This is where the ____ is found.
Subtropical High-Pressure Cells (30 Degree N & S latitude), Westerlies
Cool, wet weather. This is where the ____ is found.
Subpolar Low-Pressure Cells (60 Degree N & S latitude), Easterlies
90 N and S Lat is where it is located.
Polar High
Describes the conditions of the atmosphere at a given time and place
Weather
Long-term average of weather
Climate
Factors that influence regional winds and storms:
- Land/Sea Breeze
- Mid-latitude storm systems
*Low pressure
*Warm front
*Cold front
Land heats up 5x more than the sea. Rising air creates low pressure region over land, pulling the cooler air over the ocean toward land.
Sea Breeze
Land cools 5x faster than the sea. Cool, high density air sinks creating a high-pressure region that causes wind to blow from land.
Land Breeze
Contact between a warm air mass moving into an area occupied by cold air
Warm Front
Contact between a cold air mass moving into an area occupied by warm air; steeper; greater temperature gradient; rainfall heavier and briefer
Cold Front
Warmer, less dense air always rises above the denser cold air. Warm air cools as it rises, so its water vapor condenses as ____.
Both Warm and Cold Front, Precipitation
Huge rotating masses of low pressure characterized by strong winds and torrential rains; largest storm systems on earth
Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones in N and S Atlantic, Tropical cyclones in western N Pacific, Tropical cyclones in Indian Ocean
Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones
Tropical cyclone begins as a ____ that breaks away from the equatorial low-pressure belt and grows as it picks up heat energy in the following manner.
Low Pressure Cell
Tropical Storms classified according to their maximum sustained wind speed:
- Winds < 61 km/hr
- Winds between 61 and 120 km/hr
- Winds exceed 120 km/hr
- Tropical Depression
- Tropical Storm
- Tropical Cyclone
____originate in low latitude warm regions. They are influenced by ____, they curve to right in N Hem, and to left in S Hem which cause them to move to middle latitudes where they are steered by westerlies to east. Once they move away from tropics to cooler water or land, their energy source is cutoff and they dissipate.
Cyclones, Easterlies
Destruction from storm is caused by:
- High winds
- Flooding from intense rainfall
- Storm surge
____ is the rising of the sea level due to the low pressure, high winds, and high waves associated with a hurricane as it makes landfall. It can cause significant flooding and cost people their lives if they’re caught unexpected.
Storm Surge
Strongestlandfalling tropical cyclone on record
Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda
Warmer than normal SST in central and eastern Pacific, near equator off west coast of S America; warm Pacific nearly stationary or pushes eastward and gains heat
El Nino
Colder than normal in same places; blows more warm water west, allows cold water below ocean’s surface to push towards the top near the South American coast to replace the warm water
La Nina
