Midterm

Question 1

What is an inversion?

Answer 1

When temperature in the atmosphere increases with altitude
When warm air and cold air come together, the warm air rises and creates an inversion

Question 2

How long is climatology

Answer 2

30 years

Question 3

How does rising air stop rising? its called ___ inversion

Answer 3

Radiation inversion - when it encounters a stable layer of the atmosphere.
In this scenario, warmer air above cooler air creates a stable condition that prevents further upward movement of the cooler, rising air parcel. This stability acts like a “cap,” halting the ascent of the air parcel

Question 4

Do the Ferrel cell and Hadley cell share a common boundary?

Answer 4

Yes, around 30 degrees latitude
- the descending air from the Hadley cell meets the ascending air from the Ferrel cell, creating a region of subtropical high pressure

Question 5

What are the 4 mechanisms of uplift?

Answer 5

1. Orographic uplift: The upward displacement of air that leads to adiabatic cooling. On the leeward side of a mountain ridge, air descends the slope and warms by compression to create a rain shadow effect
2. Frontal uplift: Air flow along frontal boundaries results in cloud development.
   - Cold air moves toward warmer air (cold front), and the denser cold air displaces the lighter warm air ahead of it. (straight up)
   - Warm air flows toward cold air (warm front); the warm air is forced upward in the same way as in geographic. (Angled)
3. Convergence: When a low-pressure cell is near the surface, winds in the lower atmosphere tend to converge towards it; the air has nowhere to go but up.
4. Convection: Localized convective lifting due to buoyancy because heating the air near the surface forces air up by convection

Question 6

What do changes in barometric pressure have to do with wind?

Answer 6

The pressure changes alter the pressure gradient forces within an air mass, the primary driving force behind wind.
Air moves from high pressure to low pressure, and the strength of the wind is determined by the pressure gradient force.

Question 7

Is water vapour considered condensation?

Answer 7

No, it’s a gaseous form of water

Question 8

Which layers make up the lower atmosphere?

Answer 8

Troposphere and stratosphere

Question 9

Which prefix is used to help define middle-elevation clouds?

Answer 9

Alto

Question 10

Does unstable air continue to rise? why or why not?

Answer 10

Yes, because the temperature within a parcel of air is warmer than the surrounding air, it rises until it stabilizes with warm air.

Question 11

Which atmospheric gas absorbs energy the best?

Answer 11

water vapour

Question 12

Which layer of the atmosphere does the Ozone (O3) layer occur in?

Answer 12

Stratosphere

Question 13

What are mare’s tail clouds
What are they made of

Answer 13

Cirrus - wispy aggregations of ice crystals

Question 14

How many temperature-defined layers are in the atmosphere?

Answer 14

4 (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

Question 15

Which atmospheric layers make up the upper atmosphere?

Answer 15

Mesosphere and thermosphere

Question 16

Where are the mid-latitudes?

Answer 16

the areas surrounding the 45 degree north and south latitudes (between 30 and 60)

Question 17

What is a fohn (foehn), and when is the best time of year to create a fohn?

Answer 17

Foehns flow down mountain slopes, warm by compression and introduce, hot, dry and clear conditions in the lowlands.
In the Rockies, they are called Chinook, called Santa Ana in California
- Occur in winter months to create thaw conditions

Question 18

Which type of precipitation is not considered to be in a frozen state?

Answer 18

Super-cooled water remains liquid even at temperatures below freezing due to the salt effect. Supercooled water will attach to an ice nucleus to become hail

Question 19

What are the 4 forces that move winds on Earth?

Answer 19

• pressure gradients
• Coriolis effect
• friction force
• gravity

Question 20

Which front moves the fastest?

Answer 20

Cold front: when the cold air comes in behind the warm air and pushes the warm air directly up and fast

Question 21

What type of cloud would you expect to see if the isobars of the high-pressure system dominating your weather were spaced very far apart?

Answer 21

None because high-pressure systems are associated with sinking air, which inhibits cloud formation.
Clouds form when air rises

Question 22

If a cloud’s base level temperature is -5, what is the most probable state of the water at the base of that particular cloud?

Answer 22

super-cooled water

Question 23

What is the most important factor in determining wind speed?

Answer 23

Pressure gradient force

Question 24

What happens when relative humidity reaches 100%?

Answer 24

Saturation/precipitation

Question 25

What is the difference between a variable gas and a permanent gas?

Answer 25

permanent - homogenously mixed, long residual time and are in equilibrium N2: 78% O2: 21% Argon: 1% Variable - heterogenously mixed (proportion changes). Most are GHG and important for climate change with relatively short residual time - water vapour - carbon dioxide - ozone - methane

Question 26

How is water vapour measured in the atmosphere?

Answer 26

Relative humidity

Question 27

Which type of front creates stratus clouds?

Answer 27

warm front due to the gentle lifting of air over the cooler air mass

Question 28

What would come from episodic preparation from cumuliform clouds

Answer 28

Snow showers during winter conditions since they are made up of ice and water

Question 29

Where do the polar jet streams occur?

Answer 29

Next to the polar front

Question 30

Zonal vs Meridional Jet streams

Answer 30

Zonal: west to east - move weather quickly - stable weather but cold on one side and warm on the other Meridional: North to south - Slower moving weather systems - More extreme weather

Question 31

Describe the direction of spin in the northern hemisphere vs the southern hemisphere

Answer 31

Anticyclones are high pressured and rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere Cyclones are low-pressure systems, spinning counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere (low pressure = left spinning)

Question 32

Name and define the four types of fronts

Answer 32

Cold front: When a wedge of cold air moves toward the warm air ahead of it. Move faster than warm fronts Warm front: A warm air mass moving toward a cold one. Gradual uplift to predictable cloud formation, gentler precipitation over a longer period of time Stationary front: non-moving boundaries Occluded front: Occurs when a cold and a cool front meet, lifting the "warmer" air. The occluded front becomes longer as more of the cold air converges with the cool front. Eventually, the entire system is occluded.