Oceans/Meteorology Flashcards
3 ways water can come
Precipitation Runoff Infiltration
Infiltration:
Water going through soil
3 ways water leaves
Evaporation Runoff Infiltration
Fact about water coming and leaving
In one area the 2 cant balance but in the world they MUST balance
Salinity:
Total amount of solid material dissolved in water
What is most of the salt
Sodium chloride
Ways salt gets into oceans
- Chemical Weathering
2. Undersea volcanoes and hotspots
How is salt removed from the oceans
Subduction
What happens to the saltyness over time
Escalates then stays the same unless no subduction is occuring
Describe water being evaporated
100% fresh water
Water cycle
Evaporate, condense, precip, soak into ground
What is the energy of the water cycle
Sun
How much of earths water is in oceans?
97%
Pycnocline:
Where seawater density changes fast
Where is the thermocline
300m-1000m down
Processes that reduce salinity (5)
Precip; Sea Ice Melting; Icebergs Melting; Runoff; Marine Orgs.
Processes that increase salinity
Evaporation; Formation of Sea Ice; Ocean Temp Variation
Ocean temp variation:
Oceans surface is heated by the sun
Thermocline:
Where water temp changes fast
What is density defined as
Mass per unit of volume it can be thought of a measure of how heavy something is for its size
What is seawater mainly affected by
Salinity and temp; faster evap and less precip; ocean layering
3 layers of ocean
Mixing, transition, and deep layer
Where is transition layer
Between surface layer and deep zone
Deep layer (3)
Sunlight doesnt reach it; temp is just above freezing; constant high density water
How much of our water is fresh
2.5%
Surface currents
Movements that flow horizontal in the upper part of oceans surface
How do surface current develop
Friction between ocean and wind
Gyres
Large circular swirls in large ocean basins that dominate ocean surfaces
Coriolis effect
Deflection of currents away from original course as result of the earths rotation
What way does the coriolis effect go
Right in N Hem. Left in S Hem.
Upwelling
Cold water being pulled up with nutrients
What is a land breeeze also called
Offshore
Amount of water that soil will hold
Porosity
Density currents
Vertical currents of ocean water that result from density differences in water masses
Where is the denser part of ocean
Bottom
Permeability
Speed at which water will flow thru dirt or soil
Where do waves get energy from
Wind
Ocean current
Mass of ocean water that flows from one place to another
Wave height
Vertical distance between trough and crest
Where in the ocean is the most saline
30* latitude
What zone has the most life
Mixed zone
Fetch
Distance wind has traveled across open water
Whats the biggest wave
Tide
Whats a spring tide
Big tidal range when sun and moon in line
How can you tell if its a spring tide
Full moon or new moon
Whats a neap tide
Small tidal range
What does upwelling bring
Fertilizer to ocean life
Speed at which water will flow thru dirt or soil
Permeability
What does increase in seawater density cause
Decrease in temp. or increase in salinity
Runoff
Movement of water along earths surface
The movement of water from plant to atmosphere
Transpiration
All non frozen freshwater is where
Groundwater
What do you measure salinity in
Parts per thousand
Long term what do rivers do to the salinity to oceans
Decrease it
In order: A) cold salty water sinks B) sea ice forms during winter C) salty water migrates on ocean floor to equator D) salt (ions) gather beneath ice
B D A C
How often does spring tide come
12 hours 25 minutes
What forces cause tides
Gravitational and centripital
Where do areas of upwelling occur
Trade wind belts
What happens with trade winds
They blow surface water offshore that is replaced by upwelling deep water
Amplitude is also known as
Displacement
2x amplitude is
Wave height
How can you tell if its a neap tide
Quarter moon or three quarter moon
Porosity
Amount of space in between the particles of dirt or soil
Differing amount of solar radiation across earths latitude affects the oceans…
Temp at the surface
Most important factor in seawater density
Temperature
What happens in halocline
Salt content changes rapidly
Main cause of deep ocean currents
Density differences
Ozone is important in atmosphere bc it
Absorbs harmful radiation
2 principal gases dissolved in ocean water
Nitrogen and oxygen
Deep currents are caused by
Differences in density of ocean water
Weather:
What atmosphere is doing at a given place or time
Climate:
Based on observations of weather over many years
How much of air is water vapor
0-4%
Components of air (3)
3/4 nitrogen 1/4 oxygen 1% CO2
Water vapor:
Spurce of all clouds and precip. Absorbs some solar energy
Layers of atmosphere
Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere
What warms the stratosphere
Ozone
Heat:
Energy transferred from one object to another because of different temps.
What does heat explain
How thermal energy moves
Temp:
Average thermal energy
Conduction
Transfer of heat through touching
Convection
Transfer if heat by circulation within a substance
Mechanisms of energy transfer:
Conduction, convection, radiation
Radiation:
Transfer of energy (heat) through space by electromagnetic waves
What is the heat transfer form that can go through space
Radiation
Sublimination
Solid to a gas without passing through liquid state
Deposition
Gas to solid (vapor to solid)
Relative humidity
Ratio of airs actual water vapor content compared to amount of WV air is able to hold at that temperature and pressure
Called this when air holds max amount of water
Saturation
Hygrometer
Measure relative humidity
Dry aduabatic rate
The temp that dry air rises at:
10*/1000m
Wet adiabatic rate
5*/1000m
Most common state of matter in universe
Plasma
Most effective way to heat something across short distances
Conduction
Amount of reflected radiation
Albedo
What wavelength is given off hottest object
Gamma
What kind fo waves does the sun give off?
Short
What kind of waves does the earth give off (2)
Long and infared
What kind of waves does space give off
Radio
About 35% of the energy that reaches earth is reflected by…
Clouds, atmosphere and sea/land
Dark or light absobs more energy
Dark
Earth has albedo of…
35%
Conduction heats what levels of atmosphere
Lower
Conduction can be slower by
Insulator
Conduction can be speeded up by…
Use of a conductor
Temperature:
Speed of particles in an object
Absolute zero is when
No atomic movements or vibrations
If there is dew air was cooled to…
Condensation point
If air rises it can hold______water molecules
Fewer
What happens at LCL
Water condenses to droplets and clouds form
As air rises what falls (2)
Pressure and temperature
Warm air masses will keep rising if air above is
Cooler
Wind blows from areas of
Hogh pressure to low pressure
Wind is slowed by
Friction on land
Name layers of atmosphere
Troposphere; staratisphere; mesosphere; thermosphere
dew point:
Temperature that air must be cooled to constant pressure to reach saturation
Lifted Condensation Level
Height at which condensation occurs
Temp inversion
Increase in temp with height in an atmospheric layer
Short term climate change
Seasonal el nino volcanic eruptions
Long term climate change
Sunspots earths wobble tilt in earths orbit eccentricity of orbit
Human factors of climate change
Imcreased CO2 emmision, Increased in greenhouse gases cause changes in temp
Why temps vary
Land and water, Geographic position, Altitude
Warm periods between ice ages
Interglacial intervals
Where is el nino
West coast of South America
One positive of el nino
Decreases chances of hurricanes
Period of low sunspot activity
Maunder minimum
Orbit fact
When orbit is more circular temps dip
When orbit elongates temps become warmer
Axis range every 41,000 years
22.1-24.5
What star do we currently point at
North Star Polaris
What star will we point at in 14,000?
Vega
What does volcanic activity do to temperatures?
Layers if ash in the air can block solar radiation making global temps decrease
How are air masses classified
By temp humidity and pressure
Rain shadow fact
RISING AIR=CLOUDS
DROPPING AIR=SUN
What air is used in rain shadow
mP
3 wind systems
Northeast trade winds
Prevailing westerlies
Polar easterlies
Jet stream flows where
west to east
Jet stream
Narrow band of fast moving air at high altitudes
Warm front
When warm air Moves into area formerly covered by cold air
What front moves slow and which fast
Warm front moves slow Cold front moves fast
Cold front
When cold dense air moves into a place occupied by warmer air
What happens during cold front
Cold air pushes warm air up
Thunderstorms happen
What happens during warm front
Warm air moves up like a hill onto cold
Clouds and precipitation happen
Stationary front
When 2 fronts meet and neither gives way
Occluded front
When active cold front over takes warm front
Whats at 30N latitude
Horse latitudes
Where are polar easterlies
North pole to 60* lat.
Where are the doldrums
Equator
Where is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
Just below equator
Where are NE trade winds
Equator to 30* lat.
Where are prevailing westerlies
30-60 lat.
Whats on side of earth
Convection cells
How often does earths wobble occur
24 billion years
How often is tilt in earths orbit
41 thousand years
How often eccentricity of orbit
100 thousand years
Anthropogenic:
Manmade causes of global warming
How much has world temp gone up
1*C
What happens in valley breeze
Air rises
What happens in mtn. breeze
Air falls
What causes el ninõ
NE & SE trade winds
How often is el ninõ
Every 7 years
What do volcanic eruptions change
Albedo
Name all 4 long term climate changes
Sunspots E Wobble E tilt Eccentricity of orbit
