chap 8 mc Flashcards
Horizontal air pressure gradients arise from horizontal gradients in
air temperature.
vapor pressure.
air density.
any of these are correct
Neglecting friction and the Coriolis Effect, what would be the direction of the wind along a coastline if the air pressure were higher over the land than over the adjacent water body?
from land to water
The Coriolis Effect
arises from the fact that
friction balances the horizontal pressure gradient force.
Earth rotates
there are horizontal gradients in air density.
all of the above
______ is the movement of air measured relative to the Earth’s surface.
wind
In a synoptic-scale cyclone, vertical wind speeds are usually ___________ horizontal wind speeds.
weaker than
a force gas
both direction and magnitude
The ______ causes air to flow from areas of relatively high pressure to areas of relatively low pressure
pressure gradient force
A vertical air pressure gradient is directed from the ______ to the ______.
troposphere to stratosphere
is numerically equivalent to a force per unit mass.
acceleration
At middle latitudes, the surface air pressure is higher in a(n)
anti cyclone
At middle latitudes, the surface air pressure is ______ in an anticyclone then in a cyclone.
higher
A change in horizontal air pressure gradient from 2 mb per 100 kilometers to 4 mb per 100 kilometers will result in ______ wind speed.
higher
Due to the air pressure gradient alone, a parcel of air is accelerated
toward low pressure and perpendicular to isobars.
Where the horizontal air pressure gradient is zero over a broad region,
the air is calm
The Coriolis Effect arises from the fact that
earth rotates
At middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect causes air that is initially blowing from north to south to become a wind blowing from the ________.
northeast
In middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect causes a wind blowing from the west to become a(n) ______ wind.
north west
In middle latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect causes a west wind to become a(n) ______wind.
southwest
The Coriolis Effect produces its maximum deflection of moving air at the
poles
The Coriolis Effect is zero and produces no deflection at the
equator
n the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect causes air initially moving southward to swerve toward the
south west
The Coriolis Effect has maximum deflection at
the poles
In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect always acts
at a right angle and to the left of the initial direction of motion
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect always acts
at a right angle and to the right of the initial direction of motion.
The Coriolis Effect ______ in magnitude with decreasing wind speed and latitude.
decrease
Friction affects horizontal winds
by slowing the winds and shifting them across isobars toward low pressure .
Air that blows from land to sea typically undergoes horizontal ______ near the coastline.
divergence
Air that blows from sea to land typically undergoes horizontal ______ near the coastline.
convergence
Which one of the following surfaces has the least surface roughness and therefore offers the least resistance to the horizontal wind?
tidal mud flats
With hydrostatic equilibrium, the vertical air pressure gradient in the atmosphere is balanced by ______.
gravity
The geostrophic wind is blowing directly from west to east. The highest air pressure is located to the
south
In the geostrophic wind, the Coriolis Effect is balanced by
the horizontal pressure gradient force.
tThe geostrophic wind is blowing directly from north to south. The highest air pressure is located to the
west
The geostrophic wind blows in a ______ path.
straight
If air is flowing parallel to straight isobars, what horizontal forces are acting on the air?
Coriolis Effect and pressure gradient force.
Curved large-scale horizontal wind above the atmospheric boundary layer:
gradient wind
The horizontal pressure gradient force and wind speed decrease as the spacing between isobars
increase
In a Northern Hemisphere anticyclone above the atmospheric boundary layer, the horizontal pressure gradient force ______ the Coriolis Effect.
is slightly less than
In a Northern Hemisphere cyclone above the atmospheric boundary layer, the horizontal pressure gradient force ______ the Coriolis Effect.
is slightly greater than
Horizontal wind speed generally increases with altitude above Earth’s surface because
friction with the surface slows the air near the ground.
If Earth rotated in the direction opposite to what it now does, in the Northern Hemisphere
air would flow counterclockwise out of a surface high
in a Northern Hemisphere ______ viewed from above, surface winds blow counterclockwise and inward.
cyclone
In a Northern Hemisphere anticyclone viewed from above, horizontal winds above the atmospheric boundary layer blow
clockwise and parallel to isobars
In a Southern Hemisphere anticyclone, horizontal winds above the atmospheric boundary layer blow
counterclockwise and parallel to isobars.
The anemometer that is based on the effect of wind on the propagation of sound waves is the
sonic anemometer
From largest to smallest, the scales of atmospheric circulation are designated
Correct planetary, synoptic, meso, micro.
