GEO CH 8

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

the short-term, day-to-day condition of the atmosphere

Question 2

Factors that contribute to weather: (5)

Answer 2

• Temperature
• air pressure
• relative humidity
• wind speed and direction
• seasonal factors

Question 3

Meteorology

Answer 3

The scientific study of the atmosphere

Question 4

….. drives the daily drama in the atmosphere as it absorbs and releases vast quantities of heart energy

Answer 4

Water

Question 5

Airmass

Answer 5

the air that is overlying the surface of earth, and this air takes the moisture and temperature of the surface

Question 6

moist and dry areas

Answer 6

Continental: DRY
Maritime: moist
Arctic: VERY COLD
Polar: COLD
Tropical: Warm to HOT

Question 7

Describe the lake effect

Answer 7

when below freezing air passes over a lake and gains warmth, and gets humidified.

Question 8

What happens to the airmass when it is lifted?

Answer 8

it is cooled down adiabatically (by expansion

Question 9

What are the 4 types of lifting

Answer 9

1- Convergent lifting
2- convectional lifting
3-orographic lifting
4-Frontal lifting

Question 10

Convergent lifting:

Answer 10

when air flows toward an area of low pressure. Air from different directions move to the same low pressure area converging, displacing air upwards

ex: the southeast and northeast trade winds converge, forming an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and areas of convergent uplift

Question 11

Convectional lifting:

Answer 11

Convectional lifting: When an air mass from a maritime source region to a warmer continental region, heating from the warmer land surface causes lifting and convection in the air mass. Unstable conditions cause clouds to form as uplifting keeps occurring.

Ex: Urban surfaces with high albedo, and desert hot surface

Question 12

Orographic lifting:

Answer 12

air is forcibly lifted upslope as it is pushed against a mountain. The lifting air cools adiabatically.

orographic barrier enhances convectional activity

Question 13

Rain shadow:

Answer 13

The dry side (leeward side)

Leeward side: air descends, heats up, and becomes dry

Question 14

Chinook winds:

Answer 14

the warm, downslope airflows characteristic of the leeward side of mountains

Question 15

Windward side of the mountain:

Answer 15

air rises, cools, and precipitates

Question 16

What is a front?

Answer 16

a boundary where 2 different air masses meet

cold front: cold air mass

warm front: warm air mass

Question 17

Cold front:

Answer 17

When a dense, cold air mass pushes warm air upward

This lifting of warm air causes it to cool then form clouds

Question 18

Warm front:

Answer 18

warm air mass moves into a colder region but can’t push the dense cold air out of the way so Instead, the warm air slides over the cold air, forming a wedge shape

Also forms clouds as the warm air rises gently

the temperature inversion it sometimes causes can lead to stagnant air

Question 19

Midlatitude cyclonic systems:

Answer 19

Vast low-pressure system that migrates across a continent pulling air masses into conflicts along fronts

moves from west to east

Question 20

Ground based doppler radar:

Answer 20

used to locate precipitation

Calculate its motion

estimate its type

Question 21

Satellites and radar stations

Answer 21

different forms of weather forcasting

Question 22

Thunderstorms:

Answer 22

warm, moist surface air

A conditionally unstable atmosphere

Convection lifting

cumulonimbus clouds

heavy rain and hail

gusty winds

thunder and lightening

possible tornadoes

Question 23

Winter storms and blizzards:

Answer 23

• Large systems
• Heavy snowfall
• freezing rain
• High winds
• Snow and ice cripple infrastructure

Question 24

Damaging winds:

Answer 24

Straight-line winds or derecho-severe, fast moving thunderstorms

• downbursts – thunderstorms
• microbursts – affects less that 4 km^2
• plough winds: effect and damages crops

Question 25

Tornadoes:

Answer 25

Associated with thunderstorm squall lines and supercell thunderstorms

Violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground surface

Question 26

Tropical cyclones (big topic)

Answer 26

1/6:
- originate in the tropics
- sea surface temperatures exceed 26 degrees to a depth of 60m
- homogenous air mass, warm air, highly humid
- heat energy from the ocean gets converted to mechanical energy (wind)

2/6
- Low pressure center
- steep pressure gradients generate inward spiraling winds
- high precipitation at the eye wall

3/6
- classification based on wind speed + meteorological features
- 100s to over 1500 km wide
- full height of the troposphere

4/6
- high damage potential

5/6
- about 80 tropical cyclones occur per year
- 45 are powerful enough to be classified as hurricanes

6/6
- results in economic + insured losses
- Higher economic loss than insured