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Geog 121 (Physical Geography) > Test 1 (Ch. 1-7) > Flashcards

Test 1 (Ch. 1-7) Flashcards

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1
Q

lithosphere

A

the rocks of earth’s crust, rolling hills and valleys

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2
Q

atmosphere

A

air, densest at sea level and thins with altitude, in constant motion

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3
Q

hydrosphere

A

water, related to cryosphere (frozen water)

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4
Q

biosphere

A

all parts of earth where living organisms exist, plants and animals

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5
Q

soil

A

has parts of every sphere

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6
Q

closed vs. open systems

A

closed: self-contained, cannot be outwardly influenced
open: full of energy and matter exchange where inputs/outputs enter/leave the system

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7
Q

latent heat

A

transfer of energy (freezing, liquid, gas)

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8
Q

positive vs. negative feedback loops

A

positive: change within a system in one direction
negative: inhibits change, maintains equlibrium

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9
Q

terrestrial vs. jovian planets

A

terrestrial: mercury, venus, earth, mars
jovial: jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
pluto’s still a planet!!! <3

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10
Q

latitude

A

north/south, parallels

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11
Q

longitude

A

east/west, meridians that cross all parallels at right angles

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12
Q

prime meridian

A

13 degrees, 15’ 12’’
reference point for east/west measurement. greenwich, freetown

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13
Q

perihelion

A

when the earth is at its closest point to the sun

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14
Q

causes of the seasons

A

declination of the sun
solar altitude
length of day/hours of daylight

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15
Q

june/december solstice

A

24 hours of sunlight in north hemisphere, 24 hours of darkness in south hemisphere during NH SUMMER.
Reverses in NH WINTER.

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16
Q

march/september equinox

A

12 hours of daylight and darkness everywhere on Earth.

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17
Q

isolines

A

any line that joins points of equal values of something

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18
Q

structure of the atmosphere (bottom to top)

A

troposphere (weather, turbulent)
tropopause (clouds)
stratosphere (gradually chills, stagnant)
mesophere (gradually warms)
thermosphere
exosphere

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19
Q

chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

A

create holes in the arctic’s ozone layer

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20
Q

controls of climate/weather

A

latitude
distribution of land/water
circulation of atmosphere
circulation of oceans
altitude
topographic barriers (ex; mountains)
storms

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21
Q

coriolis effect

A

objects moving in a straight line appear to shift right in the NH and left in the SH, strongest at poles and weakest at the equator

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22
Q

shortwave vs. longwave radiation

A

shortwave: visible (UV, Infrared)
longwave: thermal infrared, emitted by the Earth

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23
Q

Insolations

A

incoming solar radiation

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24
Q

radiation

A

process where electromagnetic energy is emitted from an object

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25
Q

absorbtion (radiation)

A

electromagnetic waves striking an object combine with that object

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26
Q

reflection and albedo

A

ability of object to repel electromagnetic waves that strike it.
albedo: overall reflectivity of object or surface

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27
Q

scattering

A

gas molecules in the air deflect light waves and sent them bouncing

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28
Q

transmission

A

process where electromagnetic waves pass totally through a medium

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29
Q

greenhouse effect

A

energy enters but does not exit, global warming. greenhouse gasses transmit incoming shortwave radiation but not outbound longwave radiation

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30
Q

conduction

A

heat transfer that requires touch (ex; metal in a fire pit)

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31
Q

convection

A

energy transfers from one point to another vertically, causes currents

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32
Q

advection

A

horizontal transfer of heat in a moving fluid like water or wind

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33
Q

adiabatic heating and cooling

A

heating and cooling without the transfer of energy, air expands and compresses to go up or down (balloon example)

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34
Q

specific heat

A

temp needed to raise temp by exactly one degree, waters’ is higher than lands’.

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35
Q

Atmospheric/Oceanic Circulation

A
  • low latitude currents are warm
  • poleward moving carry warm water
  • high latitude N. are warm to the east, S. are cool to the east
  • currents going to the equator are cold
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36
Q

upwelling

A

cool current pulls away, cold water rises from below

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37
Q

Average Lapse Rate (vertical temps)

A

6.5 C per 1000 meters

38
Q

surface inversion

A

cold ground cools the atmosphere

39
Q

upper air inversion

A

air goes to the surface, created a warm layer of air above the cool air close to the surface

40
Q

temperature controls (LAL/WO)

A

latitude, altitude, land/water contrasts, ocean currents

41
Q

annual temperature range

A

avg. temp of the hottest month - avg. temp of the coldest month

42
Q

seasonal patterns

A
  • coldest places are over landmasses at high latitudes
  • warmest place are over landmasses at subtropical latitudes
43
Q

the fours radioactive processes

A
  1. absorbtion: absorbing radiation
  2. reflection: repelling radiation (bad radiator=bad absorber)
  3. scattering: deflecting light waves (why the sky is blue)
  4. transmission: EM waves pass completely through a medium (sunsets)
44
Q

sublimation

A

solid to gas (dry ice)

45
Q

deposition

A

gas to solid (frost)

46
Q

clouds and ice indicate…

A

high albedo! :)

47
Q

atmospheric pressure

A

force exerted by gas molecules on every surface it touches, 14lbs per square inch, influenced by DENSITY and TEMPERATURE, about 1000 at surface

48
Q

atmospheric pressure, air movement (dynamic lows and highs)

A

strongly descending air: dynamic high
strongly ascending air: dynamic low
cold surface conditions: thermal high
hot surface conditions: thermal low
HIGH=air SINKS LOW=air RISES

49
Q

pressure gradient

A

change is air pressure over a distance

50
Q

3 wind controls (pcf)

A
  1. pressure gradient force (blow from high to low)
  2. coriolis force (to the right in the NH)
  3. friction
51
Q

geostrophic balance (isobars parallel)

A

wind is parallel to isobars, balance between gradient force and coriolis

52
Q

frictional balance (coriolis)

A

friction slows wind and increases the coriolis effect

53
Q

Cyclones and Anticyclones

A

clockwise LOW=convergent friction, counterclockwise HIGH=divergent friction

54
Q

wind speed is high… pressure gradients are ___

A

when pressure gradients are steep

55
Q

WIND IN THIS ORDER:

A

polar high
easterly (diagonal down left)
polar cell
subpolar low
westerlies (diagonal up right)
ferrell cell
subtropical high
NE tradewind (diagonal down left)
hadley cell
ITCZ
(reverses for SH)

56
Q

hadley, ferrel, polar cells

A

h: tropics and subtropics
f: westerlies
pc: polar easterlies

57
Q

sea/land breeze

A

cause of MONSOONS, onshore in summer, offshore in winder, due to shift of ITCZ and unequal water/land heat

58
Q

monsoons

A

major: china, india
minor: australia, africa

59
Q

valley vs. mountain breeze

A

up the the day, down in the night

60
Q

el nino

A

no upwelling of cold water, warm water stays at the surface and prevents hurricanes

61
Q

el nina

A

the bounce back

62
Q

electrical polarity of water

A

helps to dissolve things

63
Q

absolute humidity (mv/va)

A

mass of vapor/volume of air

64
Q

specific humidity (v/a)

A

mass of vapor/mass of air

65
Q

humidity

A

amount of water vapor in the air

66
Q

dew point

A

temperature at which air is totally saturated with water vapor

67
Q

relative humidity and temperature are negatively correlated

A

amount of vapor rn/total amount possible

68
Q

condensation nuclei

A

particles that attract water, generally pollutants

69
Q

types of atmospheric lifting (convecorfroconver)

A

convective
orographic (mountain)
frontal
convergent

70
Q

dry adiabatic lapse rate

A

air rising before saturation

71
Q

lifting condensation level

A

level where air is cool enough for saturation

72
Q

stable air

A

lowers, will not rise unless externally forced to

73
Q

unstable air

A

less dense, will rise, warmer than the air around it

74
Q

conditional instability

A

when conditions around an air parcel are wonky and force change, stable air is forced to rise

75
Q

watch vs. warning

A

watch: it may develop
warning: it has developed

76
Q

air mass

A

bodies of air that sit over a geographic area long enough to pock up that area’s conditions (air temp and moisture content)

77
Q

classification (cP, cE, etc.) (moisture content)

A

moisture content
c: continental, dry
m: maritime, humid
temperature
Polar source region
Tropical
Arctic
Equatorial

78
Q

front

A

zone where two air masses cone together and do not mix very well, name comes from battle front

79
Q

front types

A

cold: fast and dense, nose
warm: rises gently over the cold air

80
Q

warm humid air is most likely to rise…

A

…and when rising quickly, it leads to storms and other atmospheric disturbances

81
Q

stationary front

A

neither rises above the other, they sit there, opposite wind directions and variable weather

82
Q

occluded front

A

cold air catches up to warm air, they meet and the warm air between them is displaced aloft

83
Q

dryline front

A

boundary between humid air and denser dry air, texas/mexico

84
Q

i know there is a front because…

A

…shifts in wind direction sharp temperature change, dew point change, bends in isobars, clouds and precipitation

85
Q

weather changes…

A

BEHIND a front

86
Q

air mass thunderstorm

A

short, localized, often in afternoon bc of unequal heating of land

87
Q

conformal map

A

distorts longitude

88
Q

equivalence map

A

hard to see top and bottom

89
Q

plane map

A

only good for one hemisphere

90
Q

conical map

A

only good for small areas

91
Q

pseudo-cylindrical map

A

mix of conformal and equivalence

92
Q

interrupted

A

accurate, can’t easily measure oceans

Geog 121 (Physical Geography) (2 decks)

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