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

Test 1 (Ch. 1-7) Flashcards

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
absorbtion (radiation)
electromagnetic waves striking an object combine with that object
26
reflection and albedo
ability of object to repel electromagnetic waves that strike it. albedo: overall reflectivity of object or surface
27
scattering
gas molecules in the air deflect light waves and sent them bouncing
28
transmission
process where electromagnetic waves pass totally through a medium
29
greenhouse effect
energy enters but does not exit, global warming. greenhouse gasses transmit incoming shortwave radiation but not outbound longwave radiation
30
conduction
heat transfer that requires touch (ex; metal in a fire pit)
31
convection
energy transfers from one point to another vertically, causes currents
32
advection
horizontal transfer of heat in a moving fluid like water or wind
33
adiabatic heating and cooling
heating and cooling without the transfer of energy, air expands and compresses to go up or down (balloon example)
34
specific heat
temp needed to raise temp by exactly one degree, waters' is higher than lands'.
35
Atmospheric/Oceanic Circulation
- 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
36
upwelling
cool current pulls away, cold water rises from below
37
Average Lapse Rate (vertical temps)
6.5 C per 1000 meters
38
surface inversion
cold ground cools the atmosphere
39
upper air inversion
air goes to the surface, created a warm layer of air above the cool air close to the surface
40
temperature controls (LAL/WO)
latitude, altitude, land/water contrasts, ocean currents
41
annual temperature range
avg. temp of the hottest month - avg. temp of the coldest month
42
seasonal patterns
- coldest places are over landmasses at high latitudes - warmest place are over landmasses at subtropical latitudes
43
the fours radioactive processes
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
sublimation
solid to gas (dry ice)
45
deposition
gas to solid (frost)
46
clouds and ice indicate...
high albedo! :)
47
atmospheric pressure
force exerted by gas molecules on every surface it touches, 14lbs per square inch, influenced by DENSITY and TEMPERATURE, about 1000 at surface
48
atmospheric pressure, air movement (dynamic lows and highs)
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
pressure gradient
change is air pressure over a distance
50
3 wind controls (pcf)
1. pressure gradient force (blow from high to low) 2. coriolis force (to the right in the NH) 3. friction
51
geostrophic balance (isobars parallel)
wind is parallel to isobars, balance between gradient force and coriolis
52
frictional balance (coriolis)
friction slows wind and increases the coriolis effect
53
Cyclones and Anticyclones
clockwise LOW=convergent friction, counterclockwise HIGH=divergent friction
54
wind speed is high... pressure gradients are ___
when pressure gradients are steep
55
WIND IN THIS ORDER:
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
hadley, ferrel, polar cells
h: tropics and subtropics f: westerlies pc: polar easterlies
57
sea/land breeze
cause of MONSOONS, onshore in summer, offshore in winder, due to shift of ITCZ and unequal water/land heat
58
monsoons
major: china, india minor: australia, africa
59
valley vs. mountain breeze
up the the day, down in the night
60
el nino
no upwelling of cold water, warm water stays at the surface and prevents hurricanes
61
el nina
the bounce back
62
electrical polarity of water
helps to dissolve things
63
absolute humidity (mv/va)
mass of vapor/volume of air
64
specific humidity (v/a)
mass of vapor/mass of air
65
humidity
amount of water vapor in the air
66
dew point
temperature at which air is totally saturated with water vapor
67
relative humidity and temperature are negatively correlated
amount of vapor rn/total amount possible
68
condensation nuclei
particles that attract water, generally pollutants
69
types of atmospheric lifting (convecorfroconver)
convective orographic (mountain) frontal convergent
70
dry adiabatic lapse rate
air rising before saturation
71
lifting condensation level
level where air is cool enough for saturation
72
stable air
lowers, will not rise unless externally forced to
73
unstable air
less dense, will rise, warmer than the air around it
74
conditional instability
when conditions around an air parcel are wonky and force change, stable air is forced to rise
75
watch vs. warning
watch: it may develop warning: it has developed
76
air mass
bodies of air that sit over a geographic area long enough to pock up that area's conditions (air temp and moisture content)
77
classification (cP, cE, etc.) (moisture content)
moisture content c: continental, dry m: maritime, humid temperature Polar source region Tropical Arctic Equatorial
78
front
zone where two air masses cone together and do not mix very well, name comes from battle front
79
front types
cold: fast and dense, nose warm: rises gently over the cold air
80
warm humid air is most likely to rise...
...and when rising quickly, it leads to storms and other atmospheric disturbances
81
stationary front
neither rises above the other, they sit there, opposite wind directions and variable weather
82
occluded front
cold air catches up to warm air, they meet and the warm air between them is displaced aloft
83
dryline front
boundary between humid air and denser dry air, texas/mexico
84
i know there is a front because...
...shifts in wind direction sharp temperature change, dew point change, bends in isobars, clouds and precipitation
85
weather changes...
BEHIND a front
86
air mass thunderstorm
short, localized, often in afternoon bc of unequal heating of land
87
conformal map
distorts longitude
88
equivalence map
hard to see top and bottom
89
plane map
only good for one hemisphere
90
conical map
only good for small areas
91
pseudo-cylindrical map
mix of conformal and equivalence
92
interrupted
accurate, can't easily measure oceans

Geog 121 (Physical Geography) (2 decks)

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