Lecture 7 Temperature Controls and Distribution Flashcards
The ______ quantifies the enhanced rate at which body heat is lost to the air.
Wind chill factor
______ is a measure of the average kinetic energy of individual molecules in matter.
Temperature
______ is used to record air temperature which is 1.3 -1.5 m off the ground
Stevenson Screen
True or False: At climate stations, we typically record the highest and minimum temperature that occur
every 24 hours, and calculate the daily mean by averaging the two values.
True
True or False: The temperature range is greatest at high latitudes
True
True or False: Low latitude and high elevation can still provide favorable crop growth.
True
True or False: The result is that average air temperatures are lower, nighttime cooling is greater, and the temperature range between day and night is greater than at low elevations.
True
The _______ seen on mountain slopes is the lower limit of permanent snow and indicates where winter snowfall exceeds the amount of snow lost through summer melting and evaporation.
snowline
True or False: Low elevation = warmer region.
True
True or False: In the evening hours, the surface cools as outgoing longwave radiation is emitted from the
surface and Q* becomes more negative.
True
_______ are the most variable factor influencing Earth’s radiation budget,
Clouds
when light reaches a body of water, it penetrates the surface because of water’s _______ —water is clear, and light passes through it to an average depth of 60 m in the ocean.
transparency
Amount of heat required to raise 1 gram of a substance by 1oC at sea level
atmospheric pressure is _______
specific heat
True or False: the specific heat of water is about four times that of soil.
True
True or False: convection currents in water bodies distribute heat more evenly than in land
True
A marine or ______is moderated by proximity to a large water body.
maritime climate
A _______ is one that is not influenced by the moderating effect of large water
bodies.
continental climate
True or False: maritime climate has more fluctuation,.
false, continental climate
Type, height, and density of cloud influences temperature through controls on ______and
longwave radiation
albedo
True or False: There is a cooling effect if the clouds are low level (low altitude) and conditions are
consistently overcast, while night time cloudiness alone (and thin high cloud), has a
warming effect on climate.
True
True or False: In January, the warmest temperatures are in continental areas of the southern hemisphere and we
see cold temperatures in the continental northern hemisphere.
True
In July, isotherms bend ______ and in january isotherms bend _______
poleword, to equator
The ______ is an isotherm connecting all points of highest mean temperature, roughly 27°C; it trends southward into the interior of South America and Africa, indicating higher temperatures over the interiors of landmasses.
thermal equator
Maximum range is in eastern Siberia and NW Canada
because of:
- continental climates
- high latitudes (much variation in solar radiation during year)
Minimum range is in the equatorial regions
because of:
- predominance of marine (maritime) climates
- low latitude (little variation in solar radiation during year)