Climate Flashcards
What are the six factors that affect climate?
- Earth in space
- Differential heating of land and water
- Ocean currents
- Air masses
- Relief barriers
- Global pressure belts
What should be included in a diagram of the earth’s orbit around the sun?
The diagram should include labels for the months and seasonal events (i.e. equinox, solstice).
How does the earth’s tilt affect climate?
As the earth tilts away from the sun, the height of the sun in the sky decreases, leading to a reduction in solar radiation that reaches the earth.
What is the angle of incidence?
The angle at which sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface.
How does a greater angle of incidence affect surface area?
It results in more surface area being covered by the same amount of radiation due to the curvature of the Earth.
How does a greater angle of incidence affect the atmosphere?
It means more atmosphere for sunlight to pass through, leading to more radiation being reflected back into space.
What is the effect of a greater angle of incidence on solar radiation reaching polar regions?
Less solar radiation reaches polar regions.
If the greenhouse effect didn’t exist, what would be the average global temperature?
-18 degrees C
What is the ‘solar radiation budget’?
The solar radiation budget demonstrates what happens to solar radiation when it reaches earth. The result is that our atmosphere is, in a sense, heated more from earth than from the sun.
How much of the suns solar radiation actually reaches earths surface?
About 50% of solar radiation reaches the earth’s surface.
What is meant by ‘differential heating’ of land and water bodies?
Land and water bodies store solar energy differently: land absorbs and loses heat quickly , while water bodies gain and lose heat slowly
What two general types of climate does differential heating create?
Differential heating creates continental and maritime climates.
What would a climate graph from a maritime climate look like?
A climate graph from a maritime climate would have a lower temperature curve - not too hot, not too cold; lots of precipitation.
What would a climate graph from a continental climate look like?
A climate graph from a continental climate would have a higher temperature curve - hot average temperature and less precipitation.
What do warm ocean currents do to land masses they pass by?
Warm ocean currents give humidity and precipitation to the region.
What do cold ocean currents do to land masses they pass by?
Cold ocean currents pull moisture out of coastal regions, making them dry.
What are the four ocean currents that influence the climate of North America?
1) Alaska (W)
2) California (C)
3) Labrador (C)
4) Gulf Stream (W)
What is an air mass?
An air mass is a large package of air that shares features such as moisture content, air pressure, and temperature.
Why are air masses critical to climate?
They can carry these air masses a long way from their source regions, pulling general weather systems with them.
What is a ‘front’ in meteorology?
A boundary zone that develops when two unlike air masses meet.
What determines the intensity of the storm at a front?
The degree of difference between the ‘clashing’ air masses.
What determines the length of the storm at a front?
The speeds of the air masses.
How does altitude affect climate?
When air warms, it ascends. As it rises, it expands due to less air above it, leading to cooler temperatures. This process is known as adiabatic cooling.
What happens to air masses when they fall after rising?
As air masses fall, particles collide, creating warmth. This process is known as adiabatic warming.
How do mountains influence climate?
Mountains can isolate climates by blocking air mass movement or modify air masses that cross relief barriers.
What is orographic precipitation?
Orographic precipitation describes how mountains cause air masses to condense, forming clouds and often precipitation.
What is the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR)?
The dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) expresses the rate at which an air mass will cool as elevation increases, which is 1 C / 100 m.
What is the wet adiabatic lapse rate (WALR)?
The wet adiabatic lapse rate (WALR) expresses the cooling rate of an air mass but accounts for the heat released during condensation, lowering the rate to 0.6 C / 100 m.
What does high pressure mean and what kind of weather is it associated with?
An area of high pressure means that a tall column of air is pressing down, resulting in cool, descending, clear air.
What does low pressure mean and what kind of weather is it associated with?
An area of low pressure means that less air is pressing down, leading to warm, moist, and ascending air.
What is the link between an isobar and a contour line?
Isobars link similar bands of weighted air, while contour lines link points of similar elevation.
What does it mean if isobars or contour lines are far apart?
If the lines are far apart, it indicates a gentle slope or gradual change.
What does it mean if isobars or contour lines are very close together?
If the lines are very close together, it indicates a steep slope or rapid change.
What is a convection current?
A convection current is a loop of air that moves from warm to cold (warm air rises, expands, cools, and then falls). The cool air rushes in to take the place of packages of air that have warmed and risen.
What are the three ‘cells’ created by convection currents?
The three ‘cells’ created by convection currents are the Hadley cell, Ferrel cell, and Polar cell.
What bands of latitude do the convection cells correspond with?
The Hadley cell corresponds with the equator to about 30 degrees latitude, the Ferrel cell corresponds with 30 to 60 degrees latitude, and the Polar cell corresponds with 60 degrees latitude to the poles.
Why are many of the world’s deserts found where they are?
They are at a band of latitude ~30 degrees North, where there is a global pressure belt of HIGH pressure (cold, heavy, descending), which sucks up moisture.
What is the effect of the CORIOLIS Force in the northern hemisphere?
All winds in the northern hemisphere bend to the RIGHT.
What creates a low pressure system?
A concentration of solar energy: this causes warming, evaporation and ascending air.
What is El Nino?
An El Nino occurs when a bulge of warm water from Australia / Indonesia moves across the Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America. This results in a global change in air pressure. The high pressure system over coastal Peru now becomes a low pressure system, and brings rainfall. The low normally over the western Pacific now becomes a high and brings dry conditions to Australia and Indonesia. This happens every 3 to 5 years.
What can be the effects of El Nino?
It can cause serious flooding and major droughts.
How does El Nino affect mosquito-borne illnesses?
In damp conditions, in tropical areas, it can increase the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses like cholera.
What historical impacts has El Nino had on civilizations?
It has caused the collapse of civilizations in the past, major social disruption, and migrations of people.
What causes the Santa Ana winds?
The Santa Ana winds are caused by wind flowing over the Sierra Nevada and Santa Ana mountains.
What happens to the air as it descends from high elevations to sea level?
The falling air becomes compressed and heats up, causing humidity to drop.
How do gaps in the mountains affect the Santa Ana winds?
Gaps in the mountains form wind tunnels that strengthen the wind as it pours warm air through.
What effect do the Santa Ana winds have on vegetation?
The blowing wind dries out vegetation, making fuel for fires.
This quote is connected to global warming by al gore, “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” Why did he make this connection?
Al Gore connects this to global warming by stating that we know for sure everything about global warming, yet there is a common belief that we don’t know anything for sure about it.
What is global warming and what is it doing to the atmosphere? And why is it bad?
Global warming is caused by pollution thickening our atmosphere. Cause solar radiation to not be able to escape the atmosphere as it is getting thicker
How is the Futurama clip about global warming a metaphor for real-world handling of the issue?
The clip suggests that we are putting a ‘bandaid’ over the problem instead of addressing the root of the issue.
Who began recording daily carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa, Hawaii in 1958?
A scientist named Charles David Keeling.
Why was Mauna Loa chosen for recording carbon dioxide levels?
It is a point on earth that is basically as far as it gets from cities that could affect the results.
Why do atmospheric CO2 levels fluctuate up and down every year?
In spring/summer, plants take in more CO2, but in fall/winter, plants release CO2.
What method do scientists use to study climate change in Antarctica?
Ice cores are drilled and removed from glaciers to measure oxygen isotopes.
How can scientists determine past CO2 and temperature levels from ice cores?
They can count back year by year, similar to how a forester counts tree rings.
How far back can scientists go using ice core data?
They can go back 250,000 years.
What climatic issues are connected with rising ocean temperatures?
Warmer ocean temperatures cause more water evaporation, which leads to much bigger storms.
What category was Hurricane Katrina when it originally struck Florida?
It was a Category 1 hurricane (74-95 mph).
How did Hurricane Katrina change before it hit New Orleans?
It blew over the Gulf of Mexico, and the evaporating water and currents helped the storm grow fast.
What does the term ‘canaries in a coal mine’ mean?
‘Canaries in a coal mine’ is a saying meaning ‘a signal of danger.’
What is the first ‘canary’ region mentioned by Gore?
The North Pole.
How has the increase in global temperature affected the permafrost in the northern tundra?
The duration and thickness of the permafrost has been decreasing.
What is one effect of the melting permafrost on buildings?
Foundations are breaking down because they were built on the permafrost.
How is the Alaska Oil Pipeline affected by the melting permafrost?
It is warping and getting wrecked because the permafrost it was built on is shifting.
How has truck transportation been affected by the changes in permafrost?
Fewer days of the year are safe for trucks to drive on.
How are submarines affected by the melting ice?
They are able to surface more and more inland because the ice is thinner.
What percentage of incoming solar radiation does the polar ice cap reflect?
The polar ice cap cools our planet’s temperature by reflecting 9% of incoming solar radiation.
What happens to polar regions as ocean temperatures increase?
Polar regions will shed more ice and absorb more solar energy, which will further warm the Earth.
How did the end of the last Ice Age affect the North Atlantic current?
The freshwater from the North American glaciers melting caused the belt to stop and made Europe colder.
What is the second ‘canary’ region mentioned?
Greenland.
If the ice covering Greenland were to melt, how much would global sea levels rise?
Global sea levels would rise by 20 feet.
Why is a rise in sea level a concern for human populations?
It will de-home hundreds of millions of people, and the places that don’t flood won’t have space for the refugees.
Specific cities at risk include NYC, India, and Europe.
Approximately how many people would be affected by rising sea levels?
Hundreds of millions of people.
How does Al Gore’s illustration about technology and war connect to humans and our environment?
We keep getting newer technologies that allow us to do more to stop climate change, but we continue our old habits that wreck the Earth.
What percentage of the surveyed scientific articles disagreed with the IPCC’s conclusions on global warming?
0%.
What percentage of mass media articles disagreed with the IPCC’s conclusions on global warming?
90%.
