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Test 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a Hadley Cell?

A

A convection cell in the atmosphere due to differential heating of the surface.

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2
Q

At the equator, air is _____ (rising/falling)

A

rising

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3
Q

Where is the ITCZ?

A

The low-pressure belt near the equator, at the solar declination

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4
Q

What does ITCZ stand for?

A

Inter-tropical convergence zone

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5
Q

The tradewinds converge where?

A

At the equator

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6
Q

The ITCZ has what kind of weather?

A

light winds with heavy precipitation

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7
Q

30* North and South is known as the _____ latitudes

A

horse

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8
Q

In the horse latitudes, air is ____

A

descending

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9
Q

30* N and S are _____ pressure belts

A

high

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10
Q

Which winds diverge at the horse latitudes?

A

Westerlies and trade winds

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11
Q

What is the weather like within the horse latitudes?

A

light winds with low precipitation. Dry.

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12
Q

60* North and South are known as the ______

A

Polar front

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13
Q

The polar fronts are ____ pressure belts

A

low

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14
Q

Air ______ at the polar fronts

A

rises

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15
Q

What winds converge at the polar fronts?

A

Easterlies and westerlies

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16
Q

What is the weather like at the polar fronts?

A

light winds, moderate precipitation

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17
Q

Why don’t the polar fronts have as much precipitation as the ITCZ?

A

It is much colder, and cold air can’t hold as much moisture

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18
Q

At 90* N and S, air is _____

A

sinking

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19
Q

90* N and S are known as the Polar _____

A

high

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20
Q

The polar high is a ____ pressure area

A

high

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21
Q

What winds diverge at the polar highs?

A

easterlies

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22
Q

What is the weather like at the polar highs?

A

dry conditions

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23
Q

What are the jet streams?

A

High velocity currents of air in the upper troposphere

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24
Q

How high are the jet streams in the air?

A

9-15 km in altitude

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25
Q

How fast are the winds in the jet streams?

A

More than 100 kt

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26
Q

What direction do the jet streams flow?

A

West to east

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27
Q

How many jet streams are there?

A

4

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28
Q

What are the two sets of jet streams called?

A

Polar jets and subtropical jets

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29
Q

Where are the polar jets located?

A

60* N and S

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30
Q

Where are the subtropical jets located?

A

30* N and S

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31
Q

The ITCZ moves with what?

A

the seasons

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32
Q

The change of the ITCZ’s location is more distinguished over _____ than _____ because water doesn’t change temperatures as quickly.

A

Land than water

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33
Q

The ITCZ is responsible for _____ in the tropics and subtropics

A

monsoons

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34
Q

The ITCZ creates semi-permanent _________

A

high and low pressure sectors

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35
Q

In a low pressure center, the air is _____

A

rising

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36
Q

Low pressure centers are termed _____

A

cyclones

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37
Q

A cyclone is characterized by what?

A

converging, rotating winds

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38
Q

In the northern hemisphere, cyclones spin ____

A

counterclockwise

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39
Q

In a high pressure center, the air is _____

A

sinking

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40
Q

High pressure centers are termed ____

A

anti-cyclones

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41
Q

anti-cyclones are characterized by what?

A

Diverging, rotating winds

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42
Q

Air masses are what?

A

large, 3-dimensional bodies of air in the atmosphere

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43
Q

Air masses have consistent ____ at all levels?

A

temperature and humidity conditions

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44
Q

Air masses develop where?

A

over “source areas”

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45
Q

What are source areas?

A

Broad areas of the earth’s surface that have rather homogeneous conditions

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46
Q

As an air mass moves over a source area, what happens?

A

they take on the characteristics of the area

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47
Q

What are the 8 air mass classifications?

A

Maritime arctic, maritime polar, maritime tropical, maritime equatorial, continental arctic, continental polar, continental tropical, continental equatorial.

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48
Q

What is a front?

A

A boundary between two air masses with different characteristics and densities.

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49
Q

A front is named for what?

A

The advancing air mass

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50
Q

The less dense air mass in a front is _____

A

pushed upwards

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51
Q

A front creates a ______ at the surface.

A

low pressure area

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52
Q

As a cold front approaches, temperatures are _____

A

stable and warm

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53
Q

As a cold front approaches, cumulus clouds develop into _____

A

cumulonimbus clouds

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54
Q

As a cold front approaches, what is the precipitation like?

A

Heavy precipitation, short duration

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55
Q

As a cold front approaches, what kind of weather is there?

A

lightning, t-storms, tornado, hail

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56
Q

As a cold front approaches, pressure ____

A

drops

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57
Q

As a cold front passes, temperatures ____

A

drop

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58
Q

As a cold front passes, what happens to the clouds?

A

they clear out

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59
Q

As a cold front passes, winds do what?

A

shift directions

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60
Q

As a cold front passes, pressure _____

A

rises

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61
Q

When a warm air mass moves into the area of a colder air mass, what happens to the warm air?

A

It is pushed aloft

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62
Q

A warm front that moves into the area of a colder air mass creates what kind of slope?

A

gentle slope

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63
Q

As a warm front approaches, temperatures are _____

A

stable and cold

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64
Q

As a warm front approaches, air pressure _____

A

drops

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65
Q

As a warm front approaches, _____ clouds form how far in front of the air mass?

A

cirrus, 500 miles in front

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66
Q

Why do the clouds form so far in front of a warm front?

A

because of the gentle slope

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67
Q

Cirrus clouds get ____ as a warm front approaches.

A

thicker

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68
Q

What is the progression of cirrus clouds when a warm front approaches?

A

cirrus, cirrostratus, altostratus, stratus, nimbostratus, and sometimes fog.

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69
Q

Clouds are _____ as warm front approaches

A

lowering

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70
Q

As a warm front approaches, what is the precipitation like?

A

Moderate to ight precipitation, long duration

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71
Q

As the warm front passes, temperatures…

A

warm rapidly

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72
Q

As a warm front passes, clouds and precipitation ____

A

clear

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73
Q

As a warm front passes, winds _____

A

shift direction

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74
Q

As a warm front passes, air pressure _____

A

rises

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75
Q

During a stationary front, a warm air mass is

A

sitting next to a cold air mass with neither advancing

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76
Q

Weather with a stationary front is _____

A

highly variable

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77
Q

In a stationary front, there can be clouds and precipitation if there is _____

A

any convergence of winds

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78
Q

What is an occluded front?

A

When cold air moves faster than warm air mass and catches up to it.

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79
Q

In an occluded front, what happens to a warm air mass?

A

it gets pushed completely aloft and out of the way

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80
Q

What is the weather like in an occluded front?

A

mixture of cold front and warm front weather

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81
Q

What are the clouds like in an occluded front?

A

cumulus and cumulonimbus mixed with stratus and nimbostratus.

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82
Q

What is the precipitation like in an occluded front?

A

heavy precipitation and slowly lightens

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83
Q

What is a dry line also known as?

A

Dew point front

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84
Q

What causes a dry line?

A

When a dry air mass moves into the area of a humid air mass of the same temperature

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85
Q

What happens in a dry line?

A

The dry air mass is pushed upwards

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86
Q

A dryline is pushed _____ during the day

A

eastward

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87
Q

A dryline is pushed _____ during the night.

A

westward

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88
Q

What kind of atmosphere does a dryline create?

A

extremely unstable

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89
Q

What kind of clouds does a dryline create?

A

Very large cumulonimbus

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90
Q

What else does a dryline create?

A

Supercells, very strong thunderstorms and tornadoes.

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91
Q

Behind a dryline, what are common?

A

dust storms.

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92
Q

Where do midlatitude cyclones form?

A

between 30 and 70 degrees latitude

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93
Q

In what zone do midlatitude cyclones form?

A

In westerlies zone

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94
Q

What speed do midlatitude cyclones travel?

A

20-40 mph

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95
Q

What is the wind speed of a midlatitude cyclone?

A

30-40 kt

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96
Q

When are midlatitude cyclones most intense?

A

in winter

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97
Q

What are responsible for the day-to-day weather we experience?

A

midlatitude cyclones

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98
Q

What does a midlatitude cyclone start as?

A

A stationary front

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99
Q

What triggers the bend in a stationary front?

A

Rossby waves in the jet stream

100
Q

As the jet stream comes out of a rossby wave, what happens?

A

it diverges and pulls air up from below, creating a low pressure center, cold front, and warm front

101
Q

Once a cold front and warm front are created, what happens?

A

The cold air mass catches up to the warm air mass and creates an occluded front

102
Q

What happens to an occluded front as it grows in size?

A

it continues growing until the entire warm air mass is pushed aloft, shutting down clouds and precipitation

103
Q

What is the weather associated with a warm front approaching in a mid-latitude cyclone?

A

Temp steady, pressure drops, nimbostratus clouds, steady continuous rain, south-southeast winds

104
Q

What is the weather associated with a warm front passing?

A

Temp rising, pressure increasing then steady, cumulus clouds, no precip, south-southwest winds

105
Q

What is the weather associated with a cold front approaching?

A

Temp rising and steady, pressure drops, cumulonimbus clouds, thunderstorms, south-southwest winds

106
Q

What is the weather associated with a cold front passing?

A

temp drops, pressure rises, clouds clear, no precip, north-northwest winds

107
Q

What alternates with cyclones?

A

mid-latitude anticyclones

108
Q

What kind of weather does an anticyclone have?

A

None! No fronts

109
Q

Anticyclones do what to the air?

A

pushes it away

110
Q

As the jet stream ______ a rossby wave, it _____ and creates a high pressure center

A

enters, converges and pushes air down

111
Q

As air sinks in the high pressure center, what happens?

A

it compresses in volume and warms adiabatically

112
Q

Within the anti-cyclone, relative humidity _____, causing what?

A

decreases, causing clear and dry conditions

113
Q

The problem with anticyclones, is that they _____

A

block cyclones from moving in.

114
Q

What is a tropical cyclone?

A

A low pressure center characterized by converging rotating winds that form between 5* and 20* latitude

115
Q

What direction do tropical cyclones move in?

A

east-west direction

116
Q

tropical cyclones are ______ of a mid-latitude cyclone

A

half the size

117
Q

How many air masses do tropical cyclones span?

A

one

118
Q

What kind of fronts do tropical cyclones have?

A

None

119
Q

A tropical cyclone moves at what speed?

A

20-40 mph

120
Q

What is the first component of hurricane formation?

A

Large area of warm sea surface temperatures over 80*F

121
Q

Warm water acts as a ____ for hurricanes?

A

fuel source

122
Q

What is the second component of hurricane formation?

A

Convergence of surface winds

123
Q

What does the convergence of surface winds do?

A

Concentrates clouds and precipitation in one area, starts rotation, organizes the storm, creates tropical waves

124
Q

What is the line of low pressure known as?

A

trough

125
Q

What is the third component of hurricane formation?

A

Conditions in the atmosphere which promote strong convection.

126
Q

What does strong convection allow?

A

allows the cyclone to grow in size

127
Q

Two things that can promote strong convection are what?

A

a) Strong temperature gradient and b) weak upper-level winds in the atmosphere.

128
Q

Usually, weak upper winds in the atmosphere occur during what?

A

la nina

129
Q

What is the first stage of tropical cyclone development?

A

Tropical disturbance

130
Q

What is a tropical disturbance?

A

A mass of storms with a slight rotation.

131
Q

During a tropical disturbance, winds rotate at what speed?

A

20-34 kt

132
Q

What is the second stage of hurricane development?

A

Tropical depression

133
Q

What is a tropical depression?

A

An increase in wind speeds to 20-34 kt and better organized.

134
Q

What is the third stage of a tropical cyclone?

A

Tropical storm

135
Q

What are the characteristics of a tropical storm?

A

Increase in size, wind speeds between 34-64 kt, no eye, increased organization, given a name

136
Q

Why are the tropical storms named?

A

for tracking purposes

137
Q

What is stage 4 of hurricane formation?

A

Hurricane

138
Q

What are the characteristics of a hurricane?

A

wind speeds exceed 64kt, large well organized storm, eye

139
Q

Why was 2013 a low hurricane year?

A

Unfavorable atmospheric conditions over the gulf of mexico

140
Q

What are the parts of a hurricane?

A

Center, eye wall, spiral rain bands

141
Q

What is the center of a hurricane?

A

The eye

142
Q

What are the characteristics of the eye of a hurricane?

A

low pressure center, very calm, light winds

143
Q

What are the spiral rain bands?

A

bands of clouds and precipitation moving out from the eye wall with increased intensity towards the eye.

144
Q

What is the eye wall?

A

Ring of intense storms that rotate around the eye with the most rain and fastest winds

145
Q

What are the hazards of a tropical cyclone?

A

1) Strong winds covering large areas
2) Hurricane-spawned tornadoes
3) Heavy rainfall
4) Storm surge

146
Q

What part of the hurricane has the strongest winds, and why?

A

The northeast corner, because the wind speed and the speed of the hurricane moving north are added together

147
Q

The average hurricane produces how many gallons of rainfall each day?

A

1 trillion gallons

148
Q

Hurricanes cause extensive floods far inland when what?

A

They get stuck on a topographic barrier

149
Q

What causes a storm surge?

A

Winds pushing a bulge of water that is lifted up by the low pressure center

150
Q

What causes the most fatalities?

A

storm surge

151
Q

What 3 things cause the height of a storm surge?

A

Wind speeds, fetch, and shape of the coast

152
Q

What is fetch?

A

Distance of open water the storm travels over

153
Q

Fetch: The longer the duration of the storm at a specific size, the ______

A

higher the surge it is going to be

154
Q

A _____ shaped sea floor can increase the size of the surge

A

gently sloped

155
Q

Bays and inlets do what?

A

Funnel the storm surge and increase height

156
Q

What is the scale used to measure the magnitude of a hurricane event?

A

The Saffir-Simpson scale

157
Q

What is the Saffir-Simpson scale based on?

A

the maximum sustained wind speed at the time of observation

158
Q

What is the wind speed of a category 1 hurricane?

A

64-82KT

159
Q

What is the wind speed of a category 2 hurricane?

A

83-95 kt

160
Q

What is the wind speed of a category 3 hurricane?

A

96-112 kt

161
Q

What is the wind speed of a category 4 hurricane?

A

113-136 kt

162
Q

What is the wind speed of a category 5 hurricane?

A

> 136 kt

163
Q

What are thunderstorms?

A

small, convective storms that produce thunder and lightning

164
Q

What are thunderstorm cells composed of?

A

1 updraft, 1 downdraft, a single cumulonimbus cloud

165
Q

What is an updraft?

A

warm, moist air rising

166
Q

What is a downdraft?

A

cold, drier air falling

167
Q

What is lightning?

A

The discharge of electricity from a cloud

168
Q

What is the first step of lightning?

A

Two types of ice are present

169
Q

What are the two types of ice that must be present for lightning to form?

A

crystals and hailstones

170
Q

What occurs within the cloud between the two types of ice?

A

They rub against each other and create a static charge, making the hail negatively charged and the crystals positive

171
Q

What is the second step of the formation of lightning?

A

Hail sinks to the bottom and crystals rise to the top, making the cloud like a battery.

172
Q

What is the third step of lightning formation?

A

Ground becomes positively charged

173
Q

What is the fourth step of lightning formation?

A

Charges in the cloud become unbalanced

174
Q

What does the cloud send down to look for positive charges?

A

A “stepped leader”

175
Q

What is a stepped leader?

A

A small tendril of electrons with a negative charge

176
Q

What is stepped 5 of the formation of lightning?

A

Ground sends up a streamer

177
Q

What is a streamer?

A

a positively charged tendril

178
Q

What is step 6 of the formation of lightning?

A

stepped leader and streamer connect, electricity discharged as a “return stroke”

179
Q

What is thunder?

A

The sound produced by lightning

180
Q

What causes thunder?

A

Lightning very quickly heats the atmosphere to very high temperatures, causing the rapid expansion of air.

181
Q

What is step 1 of the thunderstorm life cycle?

A

Cumulus stage

182
Q

What occurs during the cumulus stage?

A

A cumulus cloud grows vertically with an updraft. Expands in volume and warms adiabatically. RH increases. Condensation level lifts above 0*F isotherm, bergeron process

183
Q

What is step 2 of the thunderstorm life cycle?

A

The mature stage

184
Q

What happens during the mature stage?

A

Falling precipitation creates a cool downdraft. Top of the cloud spreads into a anvil. Most intense part of the storm

185
Q

What direction is the anvil pointing on a cumulonimbus cloud?

A

The direction the storm is moving

186
Q

What is step 3 of the thunderstorm life cycle?

A

Dissipating stage

187
Q

What occurs during the dissipating stage?

A

The downdraft strengthens and updraft weakens. Downdraft spreads out and cuts off the updraft, making precipitation end. Cloud evaporates from the bottom-up

188
Q

What are the types of thunderstorms?

A

single-cell thunderstorm, multicell thunderstorm, squall, supercell thunderstorm

189
Q

What must a severe thunderstorm do?

A

At least one of the following: create hail >= 1 in, winds > 50 kt, or create tornado

190
Q

What is a single cell thunderstorm composed of?

A

1 cumulonimbus cloud with one updraft and one downdraft

191
Q

How long does a single cell storm last?

A

20-30 min

192
Q

What kind of weather does a single cell storm produce?

A

small hail, heavy rains, thunder and lightning

193
Q

What is a multicell thunderstorm composed of?

A

Multiple cumulonimbus clouds that move together as a single unit with multiple updrafts and downdrafts

194
Q

In a multicell, the downdraft of one cell does what?

A

creates a new updraft in another

195
Q

What kind of weather comes from a multicell?

A

larger hail, stronger winds, weak tornadoes

196
Q

What is a squall?

A

A line of thunderstorm cells along a cold front

197
Q

What kind of weather might we see in a squall?

A

large hail, heavy rain, weak tornadoes, strong winds

198
Q

What might you see in a squall’s clouds?

A

a shelf cloud

199
Q

What is a shelf cloud?

A

A cloud that slopes down and away from leading edge of the squall

200
Q

What does a shelf cloud mean?

A

shit is about to get real. strongest part of the storm

201
Q

What is a supercell?

A

a massive group of thunderstorm cells rotating and moving as one

202
Q

What does a supercell interact with to begin rotating?

A

upper-level winds

203
Q

What weather might you see in a supercell?

A

very large hail, huge tornadoes, winds >90 kt

204
Q

What is a tornado?

A

A rapidly rotating column of air around an intense low pressure center

205
Q

In the northern hemisphere, most tornadoes spin which direction?

A

counter-clockwise

206
Q

What direction do most tornadoes move?

A

southwest to northeast

207
Q

What is the average length of a tornado’s path?

A

7 km

208
Q

When are tornadoes most common?

A

spring and early summer

209
Q

What is the first step of tornado formation?

A

convergence or crossing of warm low level winds with cooler upper level winds

210
Q

What is step 2 of tornado formation?

A

air between upper and lower winds create wind shear (spinning)

211
Q

What is step 3 of tornado formation?

A

Updraft of thunderstorm lifts spinning tube into a vertical position. Called mesocyclone

212
Q

What is step 4 of tornado formation?

A

Precipitation wraps around mesocyclone

213
Q

What is step 5 of tornado formation?

A

Downdraft wraps around mesocyclone, pulling and stretching it. rotation speed increases. when it touches ground, it’s a tornado.

214
Q

What is climate?

A

long-term statistics of atmospheric conditions that are calculated over decades, centuries, and millenniums

215
Q

What is more predictable, weather or climate?

A

climate

216
Q

Why do we classify climates?

A

to simplify and organize data about a complex system and to compare climates.

217
Q

What is the koppen climate classification based on?

A

annual and monthly temperature and precipitation data

218
Q

What seasons does the koppen climate classification consider?

A

summer and winter

219
Q

What is the A group?

A

tropical humid

220
Q

What is the C group?

A

mild mid-latitude

221
Q

What is the D group?

A

severe mid-latitude

222
Q

What is the E group?

A

polar climates

223
Q

What is the B group?

A

dry climates

224
Q

What is the H group?

A

highland climates

225
Q

What does the second letter in the koppen classification mean?

A

seasonal precipitation patterns

226
Q

What does the third letter in the koppen classification mean?

A

seasonal temperature patterns

227
Q

What is a climate system?

A

A series of interconnected spheres exchanging matter and energy

228
Q

What are the 5 spheres of the climate system?

A

1) atmosphere 2) cryosphere 3) hydrosphere 4) geosphere 5) biosphere

229
Q

What is climate change?

A

change in the statistics of a climate that lasts at least 10 years

230
Q

What is climate change initiated by?

A

A forcing mechanism

231
Q

What is a forcing mechanism?

A

A process that initiates a climate change in the system.

232
Q

What is a feedback mechanism?

A

Processes in the climate system that alter a climate change already underway

233
Q

What is positive feedback?

A

Processes that enhance a change already underway

234
Q

What is negative feedback?

A

processes that suppress a change already underway, decreasing impact

235
Q

What are long-term climate forcers?

A

things that do not operate on human timescales. Take billions of years

236
Q

What are some forcing mechanisms?

A

1) solar cycle 2) ocean oscillations, 3) Volcanic activity 4) anthropogenic climate forcing

237
Q

The solar cycle operates on an _____ cycle

A

11 year

238
Q

What are the symptoms of a solar cycle?

A

sunspots and faculae

239
Q

A high number of solar symptoms means what?

A

more solar activity

240
Q

What are ocean oscillations?

A

fluctuations in sea surface temperature and pressure centers over oceans

241
Q

What do volcanoes release?

A

dust/ash and SO2.

242
Q

Aerosols do what to sunlight?

A

reflect sunlight and have a cooling impact on climate

243
Q

What is anthropogenic climate forcing?

A

the unintended side effects of humans on the climate

244
Q

What are the two was humans effect the climate?

A

a) land degradation b) changing chemical composition of the atmosphere

245
Q

What are the greenhouse gases that humans have increased in the atmosphere?

A

CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, Manmade gases

Earth Science (4 decks)

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