Topic 1 Flashcards
What are the conditions of low pressure
- rain
- CCC (cools, condenses, clouds)
- unstable
- rising
What are the conditions of high pressure
- stable
- sinking
- clear skies
- no rain
What is the movement of high pressure to low pressure
Wind
What are winds apart of
Global atmospheric circulation (loops)
What air pressure is at 0°, 30° north and south, 60° north and south, and then at the poles
0° - low pressure
30° - high pressure
60° - low pressure
Poles - high pressure
Where are the Hadley cells?
Between 0° and 30°
What are surface currents caused by?
By wind transferring heat away from the equator
What are jet streams
- very strong winds found high in the atmosphere
- thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles wide
- can travel up to 200mph
- blow west to east and shift north to south
What is an ITCZ
- Inter tropical convergence zone
- Where trade winds meet and air is heated so it rises
- When air rises it cools down and condenses to form clouds and rain
- ITCZ migrates north in summer and south in winter
- brings the areas north and south of equator a rainy season. When it migrates away it brings a dry season
Where is cancer and Capricorn
Cancer - above equator
Capricorn - below equator
What is the
- glacial period
- interglacial period
- glacial period - cold period (ice age)
* interglacial period - warm period (now)
What has been happening since the last ice age
The earth has been getting warmed due to global warming
What are the 4 causes of past climate change (natural, not caused by humanity)
- orbital theory
- the sunspot theory
- the volcanic theory
- the asteroid theory
What is the evidence to show past climate change
- Tree rings - width of rings, produce one a year, when warmer the rings are thicker
- Ice cores - analysing co2 trapped in layers of ice
- Historic evidence - writing / paintings
What are human activities that are making the greenhouse effect stronger
• Farming - cows producing methane - rice paddy fields , produce methane - deforestation • industry - most industries use a lot of energy - landfill sites release methane - factories etc • energy - burning fossil fuels - releases co2 • transport - releases fossil fuels - cars , co2
What is the
- glacial period
- interglacial period
- glacial period - cold period (ice age)
* interglacial period - warm period (now)
What has been happening since the last ice age
The earth has been getting warmed due to global warming
What are the 4 causes of past climate change (natural, not caused by humanity)
- orbital theory
- the sunspot theory
- the volcanic theory
- the asteroid theory
What is the evidence to show past climate change
- Tree rings - width of rings, produce one a year, when warmer the rings are thicker
- Ice cores - analysing co2 trapped in layers of ice
- Historic evidence - writing / paintings