Final Flashcards
Gas that accounts for 21% (dry wt.) of the atmosphere in this room
Oxygen O2
Gas that makes up about 0.04% of the air in this room
Carbon Dioxide CO2
What are the greenhouse gases?
CO2, H2O, CH4, O3, N2O
Which gases are not greenhouse gases? (2)
Nitrogen (N2), Oxygen (O2)
Upper atmospheric zone normally characterized by a decrease in temperature as altitude increases
Thermosphere
In which level of atmosphere does most weather occur?
Troposphere
The south pole will have 12 hours of night on ___.
September 22
The day of the year in which the sun will reach its highest noontime altitude at Beaumont is ___.
June 21
The day of the year with the least hours of solar energy at 30 degrees S latitude is ___.
June 21
Day of year with the MOST hours of solar energy at 30 degrees S latitude is __.
June 21
Day of the year in which the sun will reach its LOWEST noontime altitude at Beaumont is __.
December 22
Air with a temp at or below the dew point has an RH of __ %
100%
Which wavelengths are best described by O2 in the troposphere on a clear day
UV
Which wavelengths are greatly absorbed by H2O
InfraRed
Warm air rising in the form of thermals is an example of
Convection
Based on this semester’s recorded weekly world wide temps, which region has been the hottest place on earth
Death Valley, CA
The bottom of the homosphere is also the bottom of
troposphere
What a0ltitude corresponds with an atmospheric pressure of 1/2 of the sea level in the atmosphere
18,000 ft.
Recently the chair of the IPCC equated the planet’s climate change situation as being 5 ___ before midnight.
minutes
Which latitude did not get any direct sunlight between March 21 and September 21?
90 degrees south (South Pole)
Which atmospheric wave lengths are most important in warming our atmosphere
Infra Red
Raining, 50,000 ft. tall hurricane cloud towers are called ___ clouds.
Cumulonimbus
A gram of 25 degree Celcius water must lose __ calories to cool down to 20 degrees celcius.
5
The evaporation of a gram of 30 degree Celcius gulf of mexico water into the atmosphere requires about ___ calories of solar energy.
800
A 1 gram cube of ice at 0 degrees celcius requires ___ calories for it to melt into liquid water at 0 degrees celcius
80
Winter time southeast texas fog which forms as warm gulf of mexico air crosses cool coastal waters is called __ fog.
advection
Low level clouds are opaque primarily because in addition to humid air, they are mostly concentrated, light as air ___
liquid water droplets
Which clouds are usually made of ice crystals?
Cirrus
Which gas is generated and emitted through the process of respiration
H2O
273 K = __ C
0
When air in the uppermost atmosphere is heated it is primarily from
solar radiation
On August 22, 2/3 of summer had passed with one moth left until Fall, the sun reached a noon time altitude of 90 degrees (straight overhead) at approximately what latitude?
8 degrees North
in what state is oxygen usually found in the heterosphere?
O
On February 21 (2/3 winter will have passed with one month left until spring), the sun will reach a noon time altitude of 90 degrees (straight overhead) at approximately what latitude?
0 degrees (equator)
Which gas accounts for about 1% of the atmosphere>
Argon
Which gas concentration has significantly increased because of burning fossil fuels
CO2
Which gas makes up about 78% of the air in this room
N2
Which gas is a good absorber of UV radiation?
O2
On September 8, 1900, the storm surge near Galveston Island came from ___
bay and the gulf
Boyles Law shows that if the pressure on 1 liter of air is increased to 2x the original pressure, its volume will become __ L.
0.5 L
Charles’ law shows that the warmer air becomes (K units), it’s volume in cc’s will __.
Increase at the same rate.
Trade winds off the Peruvian coast are __ during La Nina.
Unusually Strong
Compared to average years during El Nino, the number of named tropical storms in the North Atlantic usually __.
Decreases
Prevailing surface winds between 0-30 degrees latitude are called
Trades
On a global scale, prevailing surface winds between 30-60 degrees North (our US lats)generally blow from the
SouthWest
In North Atlantic Ocean the zone from 30-35 degrees North is known as the __ latitudes
Horse
On a global scale, temperate rain forest climates are generally associated with __ degrees North latitudes.
60 degrees north latitude
Upper tropospheric winds in the 0-30 degree cell blow from __ latitutdes to ___ latitudes
low; higher
Air rising at 0 degrees helps to maintain __ on lands near the equator
rain forests
Polar jet streams primarily blow in the ___
Upper troposphere
Which is a katabatic wind>
Santa Anna
Air usually starts to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure because of __ force
Pressure Gradient
One atmosphere at sea level averages __ mb.
1013
The winds at Sea Rim State Park which tend to reverse 180 degrees daily are known as
Sea Breezes
The warm and dry winds which flow down the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains are __
Chinooks
One name for the giant dust storms that impact the middle east and arizona is __
haboobs
In the original 1700s Hadley Cell, descending air occurred at __ degrees latitude
90
On a global scale, desert climates are generally associated with __ degrees N & S latitudes
30
Because of global wind circulation patterns, the surface currents in the north atlantic ocean between 0 and 60 degrees generally flow in a __ pattern
clock-wise
Compared to warm fronts, COLD FRONTS are usually ___
faster moving
Day long drizzling rain is primarily associated with the approach of ___
warm fronts
Forests may add large amounts of water vapor to the atmosphere via
transpiration
The wet adiabatic rate cools at about __ degrees C/km of altitude rise
5-9
If the adiabatic cooling rate for an air mass is 9 degrees C/km and the environmental rate is 6 dC/km, the air mass will display __ characteristics
stable
As orographically lifted air rises it __.
expands and cools
Which is an air mass lifting agent?
Convergence
Which of the ingredients are involved in cloud droplet formation
water vapor, rising air, adiabatic cooling, salt dust
The formation of rain drops from warm clouds often starts with the collision of __
Cloud droplets
The Bergeron method of raindrop formation involves the capture of water molecules from super-cooled cloud droplets on nuclei of __
ice crystals
The formation of Cyclones in the Indian Ocean will not occur until surface water temperatures there are __dF or greater
80
cP air masses are __ and __
cool and dry
mT air masses are __ and __
warm and humid
cT air masses are __ and __
warm and dry
mE air masses are __ and __
ultra warm and ultra-humid
as cP air behind a cold front passing thru SE texas lifts the in-place mT air, we may expect ___
Thunderstorms, lightning, strong rain, localized flooding
mT air generally blows from the ___ as a cold front approaches se. Texas from the northwest
Southwest
The solar warming in the Southern hemisphere since the september equinox has resulted in global low temperatures in Antarctica ranging as high as __ dF
-56
Which gas is most effective Greenhouse gas in our atmosphere
water vapor (H20)
Along with the US, which political region releases most of the worlds greenhouse gases?
China
It is estimated that one CFC molecule in the stratosphere may destroy 100,000 ___ molecules
ozone
When the destroying CFC molecule in the question above loses an atom of ___ in the stratosphere, that ‘‘free agent’ atom most likely will begin to destroy O3 molecules
Cl (Chlorine)
In which level does ‘bad ozone’ occur
troposphere
Spring time wave cyclones, squall-line thunderstorms, hurricanes, Alberta clipper cold fronts are all Texas storms that may produce __.
tornadoes
With the exception of Ike and Katrina, average hurricane storm surge height rises about__ ft with each increasing cat level from 1-5
4
Based on historic records, what are the approximate chances a hurricane or tropical storm will reach landfall somewhere between Freeport and High Island in the 2014 hurricane season
1 in 8
Cape Verde hurricanes which often form in North Atlantic midway between north america and africa usually originate as low pressure systems in the __ region
Sahel
Southern hemisphere cyclone winds blow in a __ pattern
Clockwise
The new category EF5 tornado has winds greater than __ mph
200
The deadliest hurricane to hit texas was __ hurricane
The 1900 hurricane
Hurricane Andrew had wind speeds of a ___ at landfall near Miami
Cat 5
The strongest tropical storm on record is __
Typhoon Haiyan
A good example of non-point source air pollution is __
a rice field
The world’s population is about __ times greater than when the Industrial Revolution began 200 years ago
7
During the past 600,000 years, Earth’s climate has ___ significantly
cooled and warmed
The best example of a point source of air pollution in the Golden Triangle is __
a refinery flare
Air pollution may be unusually high when __ persists
warm air over lying cold air
An example of a primary pollutant is __
NOx
An example of a secondary pollutant is __
HNO3
Coal burning electric power plants are considerred to be a cause of acid precipitation mainly because most coal contains significant amounts of __
Sulfur
A major primary pollutant released by burning coal changes to a secondary pollutant in the atmosphere when it becomes __
H2SO4
Last week in addition to a tropical storm in the Northwest Pacific, another one formed in the __ ocean
North Indian
US vehicles account for about __% of our air pollution
50
Ozone levels in the golden triangle since the early 1970s have __
decreased significantly
One of the main primary pollutants which cause ground level ozone to form in the golden triangle is __
NOx
Another group of primary pollutants which when exposed to ultraviolet radiation may cause formation of ozone in beaumonts air is __
VOCs
Which by-products of gasoline combustion do not react with water to form atmospheric acids
H2O
In general, between 1970 and 2013 air pollution emissions decreased in the US because of ___.
Federal Legislation, State legislation, new technology, pubic concern
This month the earth’s hottest spots occured in __
Australia
