final geog 2050 Flashcards
What is an air mass? Describe the characteristics of an mT air mass. Where does it form?
A region of air that has the same temperature and moisture characteristics. MT is a maritime tropical air mass meaning hot and humid that’s over water. One example is the Gulf of Mexico and the Equatorial Pacific.
What is a thunderstorm? What kind of cloud produces a thunderstorm? What are the three types of thunderstorms?
A thunderstorm is severe weather with thunder and lightning. It’s produced by cumulonimbus clouds and can be single cell, multiple cell, and super cell thunderstorms.
Describe the global geographic pattern of thunderstorms. Where are they most and least frequent, and why?
It’s mostly in the ITCZ and the most thunderstorms are in Florida. They don’t happen in super dry places like the Artic.
Describe the life cycle of single-cell thunderstorms. How long do they last, and what causes them to dissipate?
They don’t last for very long and dissipate when the cold air overtakes the warm air. They could be just one afternoon. The lifecycle is growth, mature stage (one updraft and one down draft), dissipation.
What is a squall line, and how does it relate to multicell thunderstorms?
Add wind sheer to create the multicell until it becomes a wall (cold front/squall line). Multicell thunderstorms are multiple cells of up and down draft.
What is a supercell thunderstorm? How does it relate to a mesocyclone?
Supercell thunderstorms have a spiralling updraft. The mesocycle is the rotating updraft.
What is lightning? What kind of cloud produces it?
A positive and negative charge. Cumulonimbus produce it.
Review outdoor lightning safety. Is it safe to be in a car during a lightning storm? Is everywhere indoors safe from lightning?
It is ok to be in your car. You should be on the ground floor away from windows.
What is a tornado? What system is used to rank tornado strength, and on what evidence is it based?
When the mesocycle extends from the base of the ground all the way to the ground. The Fujita Scale is used and it’s based on damage.
Where in the world are tornadoes most powerful and most frequent?
They’re most frequent and intense in the US because of the mountains on each side and the cold dry in north and warm wet in south.
What are the four major stages of hurricane development?
Tropical distrubance, depression, storm, full-fledge cyclone
Draw and label the anatomy of a hurricane. Where are winds fastest? Where are they slowest? Describe air movement direction in a hurricane.
the winds are the fastest part of a hurricane is the eyewall and the slowest part of the hurricane is in the eye
the movement of the hurricane is counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere
Explain the role of the hurricane positive feedback in maintaining high wind speeds. Why is sea spray so important to this feedback?
It’s super easy to evaporate sea spray, which allows for more warm water in the atmosphere.
Describe and explain the global geographic pattern of hurricanes.
Hurricanes are only in the tropics because they need warm water but not at the equator because there is no Coriolis effect there. They are guided by the subtropical high, being most frequent in the Western Pacific and most deadly in the Indian Ocean
What aspects of hurricanes are the most dangerous?
Storm surge and in land flooding
What ocean basin has the most dangerous hurricanes? What makes this area so dangerous?
The Indian Ocean is most deadly because there are so many people living on the coast in poverty with no warning systems in place
What is a midlatitude cyclone? Where do midlatitude cyclones occur? How do cold fronts and warm fronts relate to them?
Midlatitude cyclones are large cyclonic events, occurring in the subtropics and tropics, and they’re composed of cold and warm fronts
Compare a cold front with a warm front in terms of how they form and the weather that is typically associated with each.
a cold front is where cold air, with severe weather, comes into a warm area and a warm front is when warm air, without severe weather, comes into a cold area
Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclone, beginning with a stationary front and ending with an occluded front.
It starts as a stationary front, then a disturbance forms along that front, which develops into cyclonic circulation, until the warm and cold fronts are separated, and the warm air is forced upwards.
What influences does El Niño have on global climate and weather?
El Nino makes the water warmer and affects the precipitation.
Which coastal states in the United States have the shortest hurricane return period?
The South Easter part of the US has the shortest hurricane return period, meaning they have the most frequent amount of hurricanes
In the context of climate change, why might a person reasonably expect that hurricanes should be getting more frequent and stronger?
hurricanes are fueled by warm seawater, so if climate change causes large masses of seawater to warm up, then hurricanes will become more frequent and stronger
Why did the Medieval Warm Period occur? Why did the Little Ice Age occur?
MWP - increased solar activity, changes in ocean circulation, less volcanic activity
LIA - reduced solar output - changes in atmo. circulation - explosive volcanism
What impacts on human societies did the medieval warming period and little ice age have?
They prevented some societies from being able to produce crops or access other civilizations. During the Litle Ice Age, the water surrounding Greenland froze and anyone living there couldn’t escape
