Exam 2 Flashcards
Hydrologic cycle
Precipitation, evaporation, freezing and melting and condensation are all part of the hydrological cycle
What powers the Hydrological Cycle?
the Sun
Why is water polar?
uneven distribution of electrons, creating partial charges
What are the effects of polarity on water?
Adhesion, cohesion, surface tension, capillary action
Polarity
the uneven distribution of electrical charge across its atoms
What causes Surface Tension in water>
The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules
What is Adhesion?
the tendency to stick to something else
What is cohesion?
the ability to stick to each other (one’s self)
Heat Capacity
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius
Measured in Calories (small)
1 Calorie in joules
4.1 joules
What is latent heat?
the energy required for a phase change without temperature change
how does water change state WITHOUT changing temperature?
Temperature remains constant while latent heat is added or removed
Latent Heat of vaporization (liquid to gas)
The heat required to turn liquid water into vapor
Thermal Inertia
a material’s tendency to resist changes in temperature
Properties of Ice
- Defined Crystalline structure
- Becomes less dense than water
- Expands ~9% as crystals form
Why does ice float?
It’s less denser than liquid water
What is Salinity?
Measure of Seawater’s Total Dissolved Inorganic Solids
What is the Ocean’s Salinity
The average is 35 parts per thousand (ppt)
what is a Salinometer
The way Salinity is measured
Conductivity
what is the Practical Salinity scale
Ratio of the conductivity of a seawater sample to a standard solution of potassium chloride
what is Absolute Salinity
the mass fraction of dissolved salts in seawater. It’s expressed in grams per kilogram (g/kg).
What solutes are in the ocean?
Sodium (Na), Chloride (Cl), Sulfate (SO4), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), and Potassium (K)
How does the ocean maintain salinity balance?
Input (rivers, volcanic activity) vs. Output (precipitation, biological processes)
Gases that dissolve in the OCEAN
Nitrogen (48%)
Oxygen (36%)
CO2 (15%)
How does CO2 affect the ocean pH?
Makes it more acidic
Oceans Density Zones
Surface Zone (2%)
Pycnocline (18%)
Deep Zone (80%)
Surface Zone
Sunlight Zone
Receives the most sunlight of all ocean zones
Home to many well-known organisms, including whales, dolphins, jellyfish, sharks, and algae
Warm because of heating from the sun and constant mixing by wind and currents
What is the Pycnocline? what are it components?
Pycnocline is the one of the strongest changes of density
Do Thermocline and Halocline differ by latitude?
Yes. In low latitudes, seawater properties include a thermocline, a halocline, and a pycnocline due to temperature and salinity differences. In high latitudes, a halocline can occur, but thermoclines and pycnoclines are generally weak or non-existent.
Deep Zone
The deep zones of the ocean include the bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadalpelagic zones. These zones are characterized by extreme conditions, including cold temperatures, darkness, and enormous water pressure
Light Scattering
Light bounced between air and water molecules, dust +
other objects
Photic Zone
Near the Surface;
deepest for blue wavelengths
Residence time
average length of time an element spends in the ocean
acid
a substance that releases a hydrogen ion in
solution
Base
a substance that combines with a hydrogen ion
in solution
Ocean pH
slightly alkaline
pH ~ 8
How is the Ocean Stratified?
- Density (Temperature and Salinity)
- Light
Refraction
the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave’s change in speed
Light
form of electromagnetic radiation, or radiant
energy
What is the SOFAR Channel?
a Deep ocean sound channel where sound travel effeciently
Active Sonar
Projection and return through water of short pulses of
high-frequency sound
- Used to search for objects in the ocean
- Example type: side-scan sonar
Seismic Reflection Profilers
Used to see into sediment layers below the surface
What is the Thermocline
a layer in the ocean where the temperature rapidly changes
What is the Halocline?
a layer in the ocean where the SALINITY rapidly changes with depth
Rain Shadow effect
a weather pattern that causes a region to have less rainfall than the surrounding areas due to a mountain range blocking moisture-laden winds
Heat Bursts
a rare weather event that causes a sudden increase in air temperature near the ground.
Weather
Local atmospheric state
Climate
long-term statistical sum of weather in an area
Layers of the atmosphere
Thermosphere
mesopause
Mesosphere
Stratopause
stratosphere
tropopause
troposphere
what gases make up the atmosphere?
Nitrogen (78)
Oxygen (21)
Argon (~1)
CO2 (trace)
What affect the atmosphere/air density?
Temperature, humidity, pressure
Radiation
the sun heats the ground
Conduction
the ground heats the Air
Convection
warm air rises and cool air fall
Coriolis effect
the apparent deflection of an object’s path due to the Earth’s rotation. It’s responsible for the curved paths of air currents, ocean currents, and airplanes
Which way does the coriolis effect deflect objects?
Right in the northern hemisphere
left in the Southern hemisphere
what are the three types of atmospheric circulation cells?
Hadley, Ferrel, and polar
what is the ITCZ?
A low-pressure zone near the equator with rising moist air
Properties of Hadley cell
Warm air rises at equatoe and loops;
mirrored on both sides of equator;
creates Trade Winds
Trade Winds
Surface winds of the Hadley cells;
Easterlies( east to west)
Doldrum
Dead Wind zone
Properties of Polar Cell
cold air heads to the equator but warms up in the process and loops back
from east to west
creates a lift pattern
WHat direction do Polar Jet Stream go?
same direction as the earth spins
What is a Polar vortex?
Looping jet winds
comes towards the equator —> Cold snaps
Ferrel Cell
Mid Latitude cell
Creates Westerlies winds
Westerlies Winds
Surface winds from Ferrel Cells
West to east
Properties of Santa Ana Winds
Dry
Compressing
downwarn
heating
Properties of Chinook winds
Descending air warms and accelerates
What are Monsoons?
a Pattern of wind circulation that changes with the season
Key characteristic of Spring monsoon
- Land is warmer than ocean
- moist air blows from above the ocean to land. moisture condenses and becomes rain on land
Key Characteristics of Winter Monsoon
- Land is cooler than the ocean
- dry air blows from land to ocean
What causes Local Winds?
Uneven heating of the earth from the sun
What are Storms?
regional atmospheric disturbance
Cyclone Storms
rotating mass of low pressure within of between large masses of aire
May be tropical or extratropical depending on orgins
Tropocal cyclones
Form from disturbances within one warm and humid air mass
- Water evaporates from ocean surface and contact COLD air mass, forming clouds
- a column of low pressure develops at the center. wind form around the column
- as pressure in the column weakens, the speed of the winds increas
Cyclone rotations
Northern = counter clockwise
southern = clock wise
Where do hurricanes form?
Over warm water, influenced by the Coriolis Effect
Air mass
Large body of air with nearly uniform temperature, humidity, and density
Lots Energy is required to mix air masses. Sometimes masses slide over one another
What is a Front?
the boundary of two air masses
occluded front
when a warm front and cold front are on top of each other
Extratropical storm development
- Stationary Polar Front
- Cyclogenesis
A wave develops along the frontal boundary as opposing air masses interact - undeveloped low-pressure cell
The faster-moving COLD air forces the warm air to lift above the cold - Developed low-pressure cell.
Full rotation develops
North = counterclockwise
south = clockwise - Occlusion
Complete occlusion occurs when the warm air fully caught up by the cold air is lifted away from the surface.
Cause the warm air is completely separated from the surface, the characteristics of the cold air are felt on the ground in the form of unsteady, windy, and wet weather
What are Surface Currents?
Wind-driven movements of water at or near the ocean’s surface
What drives Surface currents?
winds
What is the the deep ocean conveyor belt?
a global circulation system driven by Thermohaline (temperature and Salinity) Forces
How does the Coriolis Effect influence ocean currents?
The Coriolis Effect deflects currents right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere
Thermohaline Currents
deep circulation
movement of water due to different densities
Why are western boundary currents stronger than eastern ones?
Due to the earth’s rotation and the conservation of angular momentum
What is an Ekman Spiral?
the Phemoneon where surface curant move the water below it incrementally at an angle due to wind and Coriolis effect
Maury in 1855
already knew about the Gulf Stream
What are the 5 major ocean gyres?
North atlantic,
South Atlantic,
North Pacific,
South Pacific,
Indian Ocean
What is upwelling?
When deep, nutrient-rich water rises to the surface
What is downwelling?
The process where water from the surface zones circulate and sink to the deeper zones of the ocean, bring oxygen down to the deep ocean.
How do el nino affect weather?
El Nino causes warming and rainfall in dry regions
how does La Nina affect weather?
La Nina causes cooling and altered/blocked jet streams
Gulf Stream
Largest western boundary currents
what drives Thermohaline Circulation?
Differences in water density, temperature, and salinity
What is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current?
A major Current that flows around Antarctica
west wind drift
how does the gulf stream affect the climate?
The Gulf Stream brings warm water to Europe, moderating temperature
what is the role of the Indian Ocean Dipole?
influences the climate variability in the indian Ocean region
What is a gyre?
Current flow around the periphery of an ocean basin
Properties of Gulf Stream
- Take warm water to Europe
- narrow
- North Atlantic Gyre
- fast
Properties of the Canary Current
- North Atlantic Gyre
- Wind driven
- Eastern Boundary Current
Southern Oscillation
The oscillation between La Nina and El Nino
Stuff about Size of Polar Ice caps
Atmospheric effect of the LA and California fires
