Midterm 1 Study Guide

Question 1

March of the seasons, what happens on these significant days and where?

Answer 1

June solstice (June 21st) - sun over tropic of cancer

September equinox (Sept. 21st) - over the equator (sun 12 hours a day)

December solstice (Dec. 21st) - sun over tropic of capricorn

March equinox (March 21st) - sun over equinox

Question 2

Electromagnetic spectrum, what can we see, where is UV, where is infrared? What color is UV?

Answer 2

-Visible light
-UV (too short to see) - unknown colors
-Infrared (too long to see) - unknown colors

Question 3

Coriolis effect, what are the effects? Where?

Answer 3

Northern hemisphere - turns to its right

Southern hemisphere - turns to its left

Question 4

Density of atmosphere, where is there more or less and what does that mean?

Answer 4

More dense in the ground because of gravity, less dense in the atmosphere

Question 5

Climate vs weather

Answer 5

Climate - long term, aggregate of daily weather conditions

Weather - short-term atmospheric conditions for a specific time at a specific region

Question 6

Controls on climate

Answer 6

Latitude, altitude, atmospheric general circulation, oceanic circulation, coriolis effect

Question 7

Radiation

Answer 7

sun radiates shortwave wavelength

Question 8

Absorption

Answer 8

energy assimilated into an object

Question 9

Reflection

Answer 9

repels energy that strikes it
reflected energy that is deflected = same wavelength

Question 10

Albedo

Answer 10

overall reflectivity of an object
high albedo = snow low albedo = ocean

Question 11

Scattering

Answer 11

deflection of light waves by gas/particles like dust, happens before it hits surface

Question 12

Transmission

Answer 12

light waves passing through a medium (car window glass example)

Question 13

Greenhouse effect

Answer 13

warming caused by differential transmission of shortwave and longwave radiation

Question 14

Conduction

Answer 14

transfer of heat/energy

Question 15

Convection

Answer 15

transfer of energy by vertical circulation of fluid or gas

Question 16

adiabatic cooling

Answer 16

warm air rises, expands, molecular collisions decrease, temps go down, key to cloud formation

Question 17

adiabatic warming

Answer 17

cold air sinks, temps go up, hinders cloud development

Question 18

Land water contrast

Answer 18

Land heats up 5x faster (low specific heat)
There is transmission in water and high evaporation, high mobility, higher specific heat

Question 19

general atmospheric circulation

Answer 19

warm air rises > ITCZ > Hadley cells > STH > trade winds, westerlies

Question 20

Wind direction, global and regional patterns

Answer 20

pressure gradient - wind going from high to low pressure

Midlatitudes - west to east
Tropics - east to west

Question 21

High and low pressure, how can you tell? Explain

Answer 21

High Pressure - diverging air
Low pressure - converging

Question 22

7 components of general circulation

Answer 22

• ITCZ
• Trade wings
• STH
• Westerlies

Question 23

STH, why is it high?

Answer 23

STH = descending air from hadley cells

Question 24

Sea Breeze

Answer 24

Sea Breeze - daytime onshore winds
Land Breeze - nighttime offshore winds

Question 25

El Nino where?

Answer 25

-Abnormally warm waters appear along coast of South America - more storms and rain

Question 26

Properties of water

Answer 26

-Liquidity
-ice expansion
-surface tension
-universal solvent
-high specific heat

Question 27

Latent Heat

Answer 27

energy used to break or form bonds (like it causes water to evaporate

Question 28

Exchange of latent heat

Answer 28

-Evaporation (liquid to vapor) (cooling)
-Freezing (liquid to ice)
-Condensation (vapor to liquid water) (heating)

Question 29

Relative Humidity

Answer 29

Ratio of actual water vapor to air’s water vapor capacity (describes how close the air is to saturation)

Question 30

Dew Point Temperature

Answer 30

Temp air must cool to reach saturation

Question 31

LCL (Lifting Condensation Level)

Answer 31

rising air reaches dew point, saturates, condenses = forming clouds

Question 32

Rain Shadow

Answer 32

leeward side, dry side of the mountain

Question 33

Fronts and zones of interaction

Answer 33

Front - boundary zone between cold and warm fronts

Cold Front - cold air wedges up
Warm Front - gentle slop of warm air rises above cool air

Question 34

Midlatitude Cyclones

Answer 34

Large, migratory low pressure cells, between 30 and 70 latitude, migrates from west to east (westerlies)

Question 35

Midlatitude Anticyclone

Answer 35

NO FRONTS FOR HIGH PRESSURE
No clouds

Question 36

Tropical Cyclone

Answer 36

smaller than midlatitude cyclones
formed over warm water poleward of itcz

Question 37

Thunderstorms (Where do thunderstorms mostly occur and why?)

Answer 37

Occurs mostly in Florida due to western intensification (warm waters and warm winds from trade winds)

Mostly on the low latitudes or tropics.