Midterm 1 Study Guide Flashcards
March of the seasons, what happens on these significant days and where?
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
Electromagnetic spectrum, what can we see, where is UV, where is infrared? What color is UV?
-Visible light
-UV (too short to see) - unknown colors
-Infrared (too long to see) - unknown colors
Coriolis effect, what are the effects? Where?
Northern hemisphere - turns to its right
Southern hemisphere - turns to its left
Density of atmosphere, where is there more or less and what does that mean?
More dense in the ground because of gravity, less dense in the atmosphere
Climate vs weather
Climate - long term, aggregate of daily weather conditions
Weather - short-term atmospheric conditions for a specific time at a specific region
Controls on climate
Latitude, altitude, atmospheric general circulation, oceanic circulation, coriolis effect
Radiation
sun radiates shortwave wavelength
Absorption
energy assimilated into an object
Reflection
repels energy that strikes it
reflected energy that is deflected = same wavelength
Albedo
overall reflectivity of an object
high albedo = snow low albedo = ocean
Scattering
deflection of light waves by gas/particles like dust, happens before it hits surface
Transmission
light waves passing through a medium (car window glass example)
Greenhouse effect
warming caused by differential transmission of shortwave and longwave radiation
Conduction
transfer of heat/energy
Convection
transfer of energy by vertical circulation of fluid or gas
adiabatic cooling
warm air rises, expands, molecular collisions decrease, temps go down, key to cloud formation
adiabatic warming
cold air sinks, temps go up, hinders cloud development
Land water contrast
Land heats up 5x faster (low specific heat)
There is transmission in water and high evaporation, high mobility, higher specific heat
general atmospheric circulation
warm air rises > ITCZ > Hadley cells > STH > trade winds, westerlies
Wind direction, global and regional patterns
pressure gradient - wind going from high to low pressure
Midlatitudes - west to east
Tropics - east to west
High and low pressure, how can you tell? Explain
High Pressure - diverging air
Low pressure - converging
7 components of general circulation
- ITCZ
- Trade wings
- STH
- Westerlies
STH, why is it high?
STH = descending air from hadley cells
Sea Breeze
Sea Breeze - daytime onshore winds
Land Breeze - nighttime offshore winds
El Nino where?
-Abnormally warm waters appear along coast of South America - more storms and rain
Properties of water
-Liquidity
-ice expansion
-surface tension
-universal solvent
-high specific heat
Latent Heat
energy used to break or form bonds (like it causes water to evaporate
Exchange of latent heat
-Evaporation (liquid to vapor) (cooling)
-Freezing (liquid to ice)
-Condensation (vapor to liquid water) (heating)
Relative Humidity
Ratio of actual water vapor to air’s water vapor capacity (describes how close the air is to saturation)
Dew Point Temperature
Temp air must cool to reach saturation
LCL (Lifting Condensation Level)
rising air reaches dew point, saturates, condenses = forming clouds
Rain Shadow
leeward side, dry side of the mountain
Fronts and zones of interaction
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
Midlatitude Cyclones
Large, migratory low pressure cells, between 30 and 70 latitude, migrates from west to east (westerlies)
Midlatitude Anticyclone
NO FRONTS FOR HIGH PRESSURE
No clouds
Tropical Cyclone
smaller than midlatitude cyclones
formed over warm water poleward of itcz
Thunderstorms (Where do thunderstorms mostly occur and why?)
Occurs mostly in Florida due to western intensification (warm waters and warm winds from trade winds)
Mostly on the low latitudes or tropics.
