Chapter 2 part 2 (lecture)

Question 1

The trade winds result from

Answer 1

the flow on the equatorial side of the subtropical highs and blow generally from ENE in the NH and from ESE in the SH

Question 2

The trade wind inversion is strongest near

Answer 2

the center of the subtropical anticyclones, over cold currents, and cool waters upwelled by trade winds blowing away from the subtropical highs

Question 3

The inversion affects

Answer 3

daily weather and air quality in the boundary layer in the subtropical and into the poleward region of the tropics, mainly through its influence on stability, clouds, and precipitation

Question 4

The TWI is a stable layer, which means that its formation and maintenance are dependent on factors that lead to

Answer 4

increasing potential temperature with height

Question 5

The most important factor that contributes to increasing the static stability is

Answer 5

strong divergence away from the subtropical ridge. the inversion weakens as divergence weakens to the west

Question 6

………….. weakens the inversion

Answer 6

radiative processes

Question 7

………. is necessary to maintaine the thermal trough

Answer 7

the seperation of the regions of maximum cloudiness and minimum pressure

Question 8

The mean position of ITCZ is

Answer 8

15 N in boreal summer and 5 S in austral summer

Question 9

Because of the land‐water contrasts, the ITCZ is not oriented

Answer 9

exactly zonally, but meanders north and south

Question 10

The ITCZ takes its largest poleward excursions in

Answer 10

the summer hemisphere over large land masses

Question 11

Because the NH has much more land than the SH

Answer 11

the ITCZ is closer to the poles in boreal summer than in austral summer

Question 12

The trade‐wind trough occurs over the

Answer 12

open ocean areas of the north atlantic and over the northeast and north central pacific

Question 13

The monsoon trough occurs near

Answer 13

large continental areas, and is prevalent in the western pacific and indian oceans

Question 14

A region where the cross‐equatorial winds recurve from easterly to westerly is referred to as a

Answer 14

near equatorial buffer zone

Question 15

Since the buffer zone is so close to the Equator, and Coriolis is

Answer 15

negligable in this region, terms such as cyclonic or anticyclonic have rather unclear meaning when applied to circulation in the buffer zone

Question 16

In its mean annual position, the axis of the SPCZ stretches from

Answer 16

New Guinea east‐southeastwards to about 30oS, 120oW. In its northwestern sector, the SPCZ becomes more zonal and merges with the ITCZ, which extends westwards to the Indian Ocean (

Question 17

The SPCZ lies in a region of

Answer 17

low‐level moisture convergence, between the predominantly northeasterly flow west of the eastern Pacific subtropical high and the cooler predominantly southeasterly flow from high latitudes

Question 18

Thus, the SPCZ is characterized by

Answer 18

a band of low‐level convergence, cloudiness and precipitation lying from the west Pacific warm pool southeastwards towards French Polynesia

Question 19

The SPCZ is a very important determinant of

Answer 19

South Pacific climate producing variability from interannual to multidecadal scales. Its location plays a key to climate anomalies and shifts

Question 20

During El Niño episodes, tropical rains that are usually centered over

Answer 20

Indonesia shift eastward, influencing atmospheric wind patterns worldwide

Question 21

Possible impacts include a shifting of

Answer 21

the jet stream, storm tracks and monsoons, producing unseasonable weather over many regions of the globe

Question 22

El Nino events were found to be associated with

Answer 22

increased amounts of rain, while La Nina events were associated with less rainfall amounts