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A2 Geography > Physical - Atmosphere and Weather Systems > Flashcards

Physical - Atmosphere and Weather Systems Flashcards

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1
Q

particles attracted to water eg. Dust or pollution

A

Hygroscopic Nuclei

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2
Q

Average weather over a period of 30 yrs

A

Climate

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3
Q

Day to day changes in the Earth’s atmosphere

A

Weather

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4
Q

The layer of atmosphere with: cloud formation, 50% of atmosphere’s gases + rapidly increasing temps

A

Troposphere

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5
Q

The layer of atmosphere with: light winds (increase in strength with heights), steady temp increase, ozone layer + low pressures

A

Stratosphere

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6
Q

The layer of the atmosphere with: very little gas, decreasing temps + winds reaching 3000km/hr

A

Mesophere

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7
Q

The layer of the atmosphere with: warming up to 1500ºc (oxygen absorbing insolation)

A

Thermosphere

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8
Q

A gas which is an essential macronutrient for plants, 80% of the atmosphere and dilutes oxygen concentration to 20%

A

Nitrogen

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9
Q

A gas which is used for respiration and combustion. 20% of the atmphere

A

Oxygen

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10
Q

A gas that is used in photosynthesis, traps heat + absorbs long-wave radiation. 0.005-0.03% of the atmosphere (changed over 100yrs from 0.027-0.04%)

A

Carbon dioxide

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11
Q

A gas that is essential for weather and the formation of clouds, a natural greenhouse gas + absorbs/reflects radiation

A

Water vapour

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12
Q

A trace gas that is a natural greenhouse gas, absorbing/reflecting radiation and is essential for life (filters out harmful UV rays)

A

Ozone

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13
Q

A gas that is a natural greenhouse gas. 0.0002% of the atmosphere

A

Methane

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14
Q

The perfect balance between insolation absorbed by the earth and terrestrial radiation escaping it in the form of radiation

A

Earth’s heat budget

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15
Q

The amount of solar radiation reaching a given area.

A

Insolation

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16
Q

A movement of heat from cold to hot regions and vice versa by wind (80%) and ocean currents (20%)

A

Horizontal heat transfers

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17
Q

A movement of heat upwards, preventing the Earth’s surface getting hotter and atmosphere getting colder by: radiation, convection, conduction and latent heat

A

Vertical heat tranfere

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18
Q

The heat required to convert a solid into a liquid or vapour, or a liquid into a vapour, without a change of temperature.

A

Latent heat

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19
Q

Changes due to fluctuations that happen during the day and the variations in the day-night cycle

A

Diurnal variations

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20
Q

A model that gives an understanding as to how our atmosphere’s circulatory patterns functions

A

Tri-cellular model,

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21
Q

Intercontinental tropical zone

A

ICTZ

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22
Q

A large air mass that rotates around a strong centre of low atmospheric pressure, a type of meteorological hazard

A

Cyclone

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23
Q

Weather phenomenon of a large-scale circulation of winds around an area of high pressure where air is sinking and gets colder, pushing warm moist air upwards

A

Anticyclone

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24
Q

A narrow band of powerful air currents between the cells: polar front (arctic), subtropical (tropics), conventional (equator)

A

Jet streams

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25
Q

Movement of air from the equator due to the Earth’s axial rotation

A

Coriolis effect

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26
Q

The coldest cell of the tri-cellular model,

A

Polar cell

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27
Q

A cell where air flows poleward, playing a major part in horizontal transport

A

Ferrel cell

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28
Q

A cell which circulates around the equator rising, then falling on the tropics

A

Hadley cell

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29
Q

Particles attracted to water that readily permits condensation eg. dust or pollution

A

Hygroscopic nuclei

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30
Q

The merging of water droplets after colliding

A

Coalescence

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31
Q

Hot, rising air which is unpredictable and lighter than the atmosphere

A

Unstable air

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32
Q

A region having little rainfall because it’s sheltered from prevailing rain-bearing winds by a range of hills

A

Rain shadow

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33
Q

The temperature the air needs to be cooled at in order to condense + form clouds

A

Dew point

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34
Q

Facing the wind

A

Windward

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35
Q

Slopes oriented away from the wind, little rainfall

A

Lee slope

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36
Q

Downwind from the wind, sheltered

A

Leeward

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37
Q

Hills on land from the sea

A

Relief rainfall trigger

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38
Q

Collision of warm air to cold air, usually up a hill

A

Frontal rainfall

39
Q

Rise in flat ground’s temperature

A

Convectional rainfall trigger

40
Q

An air mass known as “the beast of the east” from Russia. Winter: cold+ snow (from North Sea), high wind chill factor. Summer: warm and stable

A

Polar continental

41
Q

An air mass that only occurs during the summer when sub-tropical high pressures move north, heatwave conditions in lower layers and unstable at upper layers (conventional uplift leads to thunderstorms), gentle winds, dusty haze

A

Tropical continental

42
Q

A cold and wet air mass that brings snow and stong winds

A

Arctic Maritime

43
Q

An air mass hotter and wetter than tropical maritime

A

Equitorial Maritimes

44
Q

Bands of fast-moving winds between cells of the tri-cellular model. Move in a westerly direction and can be up to 200km/h. Jet streams are within these

A

Rossby waves

45
Q

The formation of waves

A

Cyclogenesis

46
Q

Stage where two fronts of air, warm and cold and produced due to Coriolis force and jet streams

A

Embryo stage

47
Q

As the warm sector gets squeezed eventually the cold front catches up with the warm front and all of the air is now pushed up into the upper atmosphere creating a layer of cloud that eventually breaks up and the depression dies.

A

Occluded front

48
Q

Large areas of low pressure that form and are being pusher East to West across the Atlantic. They usually last for 4-5 days

A

Depression

49
Q

Fast-moving air cold air that have large towering cumulonimbus clouds and heavy rainfall with strong winds and a large pressure gradient

A

Cold front

50
Q

An area of no rain and high cirrus clouds at the beginning and as it moves towards the warm sector, there’s long periods of heavy drizzle and thicker nimbostratus clouds as moisture rises along the front forming long lasting rain

A

Warm front

51
Q

An area of a depression where there’s no clouds and stable conditions with a uniform pressure gradient

A

Warm sector

52
Q

An area of a depression where conditions are stable with some cumulus clouds, little rain and clear skies

A

Cold sector

53
Q

When the cold front meets the warm front and air rises and dissipates and the depression ends

A

Decay

54
Q

Where the cold front reaches the warm front

A

Occlusion

55
Q

In a normal summer where westerly winds are blocked by anticyclonic systems and jet streams over UK bring stable conditions

A

Blocking phase

56
Q

In the summer when jet streams flow across UK, allowing Atlantic depressions increasing the chance of floods and storms

A

Progressive phase

57
Q

A weather map, showing simple weather patterns

A

Synoptic chart

58
Q

A British saying for high pollution and smog

A

Pea souper

59
Q

Amount of solar radiation received on the earths surface at a given time

A

Insolation

60
Q

A localised, very intense low-pressure wind system, forming over tropical oceans and with winds of hurricane force. Known as Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. Formed by: 27c, warm, shallow seas, 5-25 N and S of equator, Coriolis effect and low pressure

A

Tropical Storm

61
Q

A coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones due to the displaced water from swelling at low pressure areas.

A

Storm surge

62
Q

cloud forming a towering mass with a flat base at fairly low altitude and often a flat top, in tropical storms and depressions

A

Cumulonimbus

63
Q

A scale 1 to 5 based only on a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed. Doesn’t take into account: storm surges, rainfall flooding, or tornadoes. Estimates potential property damage.

A

Saffir Simpson Scale

64
Q

The price of a product or service measured in comparison to the price of another product/ region eg. for the Philippines, $12bn Typhoon Hayan damages was a lot

A

Relative Cost

65
Q

The cost of something on a global economic scale

A

Absolute cost

66
Q

A decrease in the usual amount of precipitation for that area over an extended period of time (usually a season)

A

Drought

67
Q

A calculation that lets us analyze data points by creating a series of averages based on different subsets of a data set

A

Rolling average

68
Q

A drought where lack of precipitation effects water supplies eg. Groundwater levels, rivers, lakes and reservoirs

A

Hydrometrological

69
Q

A drought due to lack of precipitation or dryness from region to region

A

Metrological drought

70
Q

A drought where the lack of precipitation affects agriculture or where the overuse of agriculture causes droughts

A

Agricultural drought

71
Q

A drought where the demand for water has an economic impact eg. HEP or water needed for Social aspect could be lack of water leading to disease like cholera usually in an LEDC

A

Socioeconomic drought

72
Q

Water in this zone is used by plants + animals and can infiltrate or be evaporated + lost to the atmosphere

A

Surface water

73
Q

The boundary between water-saturated ground and unsaturated ground

A

Water table

74
Q

Water in this zone can be stored for long periods of time (100,000yrs) and can flow out as springs. It can be recharged by rains infiltrating through the unsaturated zone, pumping water in. It’s lost via extraction, creating a cone of depression around a well. Droughts lead to groundwater deficit.

A

Groundwater/aquifer

75
Q

Causing a shape of an inverted cone in the water table and develops around a well from which water is being withdrawn

A

Cone of depression

76
Q

Water in this zone can by used by plants + animals and can infiltrate and be stored as soil moisture. During hot weather, sun increases evaporation and water is drawn upwards via capillary action +lost to the environment

A

Subsurface Water

77
Q

Volume of water flowing through a river channel; measured at any given point

A

River discharge

78
Q

Shows the predicted path of the typhoon, grows wider and further away from the storm

A

Cone of uncertainty

79
Q

Data that require supercomputers to sort

A

Big data

80
Q

Predicts weather forecast

A

Supercomputers

81
Q

Balloon that carried instruments aloft to send back info on atmospheric pressure, humidity + wind

A

Weather balloon

82
Q

Standard shelter (from wind + precipitation) for meteorological instruments eg. wet+dry bulb thermometers recording humidity + air temp

A

Stevenson screen

83
Q

Weather stations that measure a large variety of different meteorological parameters

A

Ground stations

84
Q

Measures velocity (speed+direction) of objects eg. precipitation

A

Doppler radar

85
Q

The scientific term for a weather map providing information on distribution, movement and patterns

A

Synoptic charts

86
Q

Weather buoys that collect data on open seas

A

Ocean buoys

87
Q

Military aircraft flying routine weather reconnaissance tracks to detect the formation of tropical cyclones eg. Hurrican hunters

A

Weather aircraft

88
Q

Satellites that stay over a particular spot, orbiting with the earth, detecting development of rapidly changing weather

A

Geostationary satellites (GOES)

89
Q

Satellites that move pole-to-pole, orbiting perpendicular to the Earth, monitoring long-term weather changes

A

Polar-orbiting satellites

90
Q

Uses mathematical modelling of atmosphere + ocean to predict the weather based on current weather conditions (using supercomputers)

A

Numerical weather prediciton

91
Q

Flood defences made of compacted soil to provide protection to small areas but are expensive and require lots of land

A

Levees

92
Q

Vertical walls for flood protection made of manmade materials, common in urban areas with deep foundations and high costs

A

Flood walls

93
Q

Area designated to flood because of land gradient to protect vulnerable floodplains

A

Controlled flooding

94
Q

Flood protection with level surrounding it that contains water

A

Compartmentalising flooding

A2 Geography (5 decks)

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