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Geo of Hazards > Lecture #5 > Flashcards

Lecture #5 Flashcards

1
Q

What 2 processes does the suns energy drive?

A

Hydrologic cycle

All Weather phenomena

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2
Q

What % of solar radiation makes it down to earths surface?

A

45%

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3
Q

What are the gases that make up the atmosphere?

A

N2 78%
O2 21%
Water vapour, CO2, other trace gases= 1%

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4
Q

What is the structure of the atmosphere?

A

Tropo
Strato
Meso
Thermo

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5
Q

Which area of the atmosphere is all whether confined too?

A

Troposphere

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6
Q

Which layer of the atmosphere has the O3 layer?

A

Stratosphere

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7
Q

What does the O3 layer do?

A

Naturally occurring and protect us form harmful UV rays

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8
Q

What are the 3 prefixes for naming clouds and what elevation do they refer too?

A

-Heigh of cloud
High cloud: cirro
Mid level: alto
Low cloud: strato

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9
Q

What are the 2 suffixes for naming of clouds and what do they describe?

A

-Appearance of cloud
Puffy: cumulus
Flat: stratus

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10
Q

What does it mean if a cloud name contains “nimb”?

A

Cloud will produce precipitation

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11
Q

What are fronts?

A

Mark the boundaries between 2 air masses

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12
Q

What does the name of fronts describe?

A

Describes the type of air behind that front

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13
Q

What are the 2 types of fronts?

A

Hot: less dense
Cold: More dense

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14
Q

At any moment how many thunderstorms are occurring on Earth?

A

2000

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15
Q

What is required for the development of a thunderstorm?

A
  • Unstable environment
  • Water vapour
  • Rising air (or a lifting mechanism like a front)
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16
Q

What are the 3 stages of thunderstorm development?

A
  1. Cumulus
  2. Mature
  3. Dissipative
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17
Q

What is hail and where is it formed?

A

Its formed during thunderstorms in tall clouds

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18
Q

How is hail formed?

A

Updrafts in the cloud repeatedly force water droplets up. It develops a ring of ice around it each time it enters the cold part of the cloud

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19
Q

Lightening definition

A

A spark of electricity occurring in a cloud

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20
Q

Where does the majority of the lightening strike?

A

within the cloud

-sometime the atmosphere refracts thunder making it inaudible

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21
Q

What is the main requirement for lightening ?

A

cumulonimbus cloud containing a region of opposite charges

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22
Q

Tornado definition

A

A rotating column of air touching the ground that formed within a supercell thunderstorm

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23
Q

What is a funnel cloud?

A

When a rotating column is NOT touching the ground

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24
Q

Characteristics of tornadoes?

A
  • ~300m wide
  • Travel SW–>NE ~50km/h
  • Exist for less than 30 mins
  • Common in spring
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25
What are the 3 defined stages of a tornado life cycle?
1. Organizational stage 2. Mature stage 3. Rope Stage
26
What is the organizational stage?
- Wind shear causes rotation to develop - funnel cloud protrudes from above - dust and debris rotate beneath
27
What is the mature stage?
Most severe damage occurs at this stage
28
What is the rope stage?
Tornado stretches out and weakens
29
What is wind shear?
a change in wind speed or direction over a distance
30
What scale do we use to classify tornadoes?
Enhanced Fujita Scale | 0-5
31
Characteristics of an EF5 tornado?
Complete devestation | Wind 322km/h
32
What is the US and the Canadian tornado Alleys?
US: kansas + Oklahoma Canada: Southwestern ontario
33
Why do tornado alleys exist?
They occur where hot and cold air masses collide | -also in areas of relatively flat land
34
What and when was the "Super Outbreak" of tornadoes
Occurred April 3rd 1974 where 148 tornadoes touched down between Ontario and Alabama in one day
35
What year did the largest tornado outbreak occur? and how many?
2011 SE USA 358 touched down -324 people killed
36
Why is it easy to predict the direction of tornadoes?
They generally move in an almost perfect straight line
37
Characteristics of the Goderich Tornado?
- Killed 1 person - August 2011 - EF3 - Radar showed curved wind formation on RADAR - Formed over Lake Huron - Warning issued 12 mins before it reached to town
38
What are tropical cyclones?
high winds, heavy rains and storm surges - need warm water and form near the equator - Includes tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes
39
What are extratropical cyclones?
Form at latitudes 30-70degrees - associated with front - contain rain snow freezing rain
40
What are the 4 stages of tropical cyclone development ?
1. Tropical disturbance: Large area of low pressure with unsettled weather 2. Tropical Depression: Unorganized area of thunderstorms 3. Tropical Storm: Orangized area of thunderstorms; wind speed 65-119km/h 4. Hurricane: Area of low pressure; wind speed of at least 120km/h
41
How warm does the water need to be in order to form a tropical cyclone?
26 degrees C
42
What are the 3 components of a Hurricane?
1. Eye: region in the center with light winds and clear skies 2. Eyewall: ring of intense thunderstorms that whirl around the eye 3. Spiral Rain Bands: Rings of tall clouds and heavy rain that exists throughout the hurricane
43
What are the 5 letters skipped for male/female naming of thunderstorms?
Q U X Y Z | -naming started in 1953
44
Do hurricanes typically move faster or slower?
Slower - ~20km/h - speed varies depending on what side of the hurricane you're on
45
What is a storm surge?
When powerful winds create an abnormal rise in sea level | -most devastating effect of hurricanes
46
What scale do we use to classify hurricanes?
Saffir-Simpson Scale 1-5 -based on wind speed
47
When is the official hurricane season?
June 1st-November 30th | -most occur in august-sept
48
What was the main cause of damage from Katrina?
From flooding | -actual city is below sea level, and on the other side is the mississippi
49
What is fog?
It is a cloud with its base at the earths surface and reduces visibility to less than 1 km
50
When does fog occur?
At night when the air cools to dew point and the vapour condenses to droplets - stays near the ground because its the coolest - cold dense air sinks
51
What characteristics classify a Blizzard?
- Wind at least 40km/h - Snow falling or blowing - Visibility less than 400m - All must occur for at least 4 hours
52
What is lake effect snow?
Cause by cld air moving over relatively warm water | -heavy snowfall downwind from lakes are the snowballs
53
What is lake effect clouds?
Clouds form over lakes and move down wind
54
What are Haboobs?
Sandstorms that occur in arid and semi arid regions | -Forms from downdrafts on the leading edge of a thunderstorm
55
What are dust devils?
Small spinning vortex of air formed over hot dry land - caused as hot air rises, the wind direction may change due to obastacles - results in a spinning column - no clouds
56
Ice storm definition?
Mainly caused by freezing rain - rain freezes upon impacting the surface - weight major issue
57
What is a drought?
Extended period of unusually low precipitation
58
What is wind chill?
It is a correction facto to a temperature reading cause obit the presence of wind making the air feel cooler than the temperature suggests
59
What is Humidex?
It is a correction factor to a temperature reading caused by high levels of humidity making the air feel warmer than the temperature suggests
60
How do we minimize severe weather hazards?
weather satellites detecting cloud cover | -RADAR
61
What are the 3 categories of altering people of weather hazards?
Watch: An alert covering a wide area. Conditions favour the development of hazardous weather but none has been reported Warning: An alert that usually covers smaller areas. Indicated that hazardous weather is currently occurring in the area Advisory: used to alter the public of less hazardous weather conditions

Geo of Hazards (12 decks)

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