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Weather and Climate > Unit 1 Notes > Flashcards

Unit 1 Notes Flashcards

1
Q

What is the climate of Birmingham?

A

Temperature ranges from 4 degrees in December and January, peaking at 17 degrees in July. Precipitation ranges from 50mm in February to 70mm in December.

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2
Q

What are the different layers of the atmosphere?

A

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere.

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3
Q

What is the Altitude range of the Troposphere?

A

50 degrees North - 50 degrees South.

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4
Q

What is the Temperature change of the Troposphere?

A

17 degrees to -5 degrees.

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5
Q

What is the upper boundary of the Troposphere called?

A

Tropopause.

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6
Q

What is the Altitude range of the Stratosphere?

A

12-50km above surface.

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7
Q

What is the Temperature change of the Stratosphere?

A

-5 degrees - -15 degrees Celsius.

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8
Q

Why is the Stratosphere an important layer?

A

It’s the highest part planes can reach.

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9
Q

What is the Altitude range of the Mesosphere?

A

50-80km above surface.

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10
Q

What is the Temperature change of the Mesosphere?

A

-85 degrees Celsius - -19 degrees.

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11
Q

What is the Upper boundary of the Mesosphere called?

A

Stratopause.

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12
Q

What is the Altitude range of the Thermosphere?

A

85-600 km above surface.

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13
Q

What is the Temperature change of the Thermosphere?

A

-120 degrees - 2000 degrees.

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14
Q

What is the most important layer of the Atmosphere?

A

Troposphere - Extends to an average distance of 12km, contains 70% of total atmosphere mass.

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15
Q

What are the most important gases in the Atmosphere?

A

Nitrogen - 78.080%. Oxygen - 20.945%. Argon - 0.934%.

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16
Q

What is Insolation?

A

Incoming energy from the sun in the form of light energy.

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17
Q

How much insolation reaching the outer atmosphere reaches Earth’s surface?

A

Half.

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18
Q

What happens to other Insolation?

A

Some is reflected, some is scattered back into space.

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19
Q

What % of the Heat Budget is absorbed by water vapour?

A

19%.

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20
Q

What % of the Heat budget is absorbed by clouds?

A

4%.

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21
Q

What % of the Heat Budget is absorbed by the surface?

A

46%.

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22
Q

What % of the Heat Budget is reflected by the surface?

A

6%.

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23
Q

What % of the Heat Budget is reflected by clouds?

A

17%.

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24
Q

What % of the Heat Budget is backscattered by air?

A

8%.

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25
Q

What are the most important factors when absorbing insolation?

A

Absorption within the troposphere, as well as the ozone layer.

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26
Q

What is Latent Heat?

A

The energy involved when water changed from one state to another.

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27
Q

What is Sensible Heat?

A

The transfer of energy by the process of conduction and convection, occurring due to differences in air temperature.

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28
Q

What are Thermals?

A

Pockets of rising air.

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29
Q

What % of insolation is absorbed in the atmosphere?

A

23%.

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30
Q

What % of insolation is reflected and scattered back into space?

A

31%.

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31
Q

What % of outgoing longwave radiation from clouds is latent heat?

A

28%.

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32
Q

What % of outgoing longwave radiation from carbon dioxide and water vapour is greenhouse gases?

A

32%.

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33
Q

What are the latitudinal differences in the energy budget?

A

The Equator has more intense insolation, due to the angle of incidence, which controls the spread of insolation over the surface, and the amount of atmosphere which insolation passes through.

34
Q

What happens at 60 degrees North and South?

A

Insolation strikes the surface at an acute angle of just 30 degrees - the insolation is spread over a larger surface area.

35
Q

What happens to the amount of atmosphere as you go to higher latiudes?

A

The thickness of atmosphere increases, affecting the intensity of insolation received.

36
Q

What happens when the sun is lower in the sky?

A

Thicker atmospheric matter reduces intensity - more scattering, reflection of solar energy.

37
Q

What are the consequences of variations of the intensity of insolation?

A

Low latitudes between 35 degrees N and S receive more energy from insolation than they lose. Higher latitudes above 35 degrees N and S receive less energy from insolation.

38
Q

What should happen to areas with a positive energy balance?

A

They keep getting hotter.

39
Q

What should happen to areas with a negative energy balance?

A

They keep getting colder.

40
Q

Why do these not always happen?

A

Due to global atmospheric circulation, and ocean currents.

41
Q

How is Global temperature regulated?

A

Global atmospheric circulation, ocean currents.

42
Q

What happens to air around the equator?

A

Intense insolation heats the air, heated by conduction, Less dense heated air expands and rises.

43
Q

What happens to air in the upper troposphere?

A

Air cools here, becoming denser. Denser air sinks to the surface. A convection cell is therefore created, transferring heat from low latitudes to high latitudes.

44
Q

What happens to temperature in low pressure?

A

Occurs where warm air rises up through the atmosphere.

45
Q

What happens to temperature in high pressure?

A

Occurs where cold air descends down through the atmosphere.

46
Q

How are winds created?

A

Between pressure zones.

47
Q

What happens to winds at the surface?

A

Blow from high pressure to low pressure.

48
Q

What happens to winds in the upper troposphere?

A

Blow from low pressure to high pressure.

49
Q

What happens to weather conditions in low pressure?

A

Air rises, air cools, condenses and clouds form.

50
Q

What happens to weather conditions in high pressure?

A

Air descends, air warms, resulting in clear skies.

51
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

The spinning of the earth affecting the direction of wind.

52
Q

What is the effect of the Coriolis effect on surface winds?

A

Northern - Deflects to the right. Equator - No deflection. Southern - Deflection to the left.

53
Q

What happens to winds in the Northern Hemisphere?

A

Winds spiral clockwise out of a high pressure zone. Winds spiral anti clockwise into a low pressure zone.

54
Q

What are the reasons for the pattern of surface received insolation?

A

Atmosphere - Sun’s rays have to travel through more atmosphere to reach northern and southern hemisphere, compared to equator.

55
Q

What happens to the sun’s rays in polar regions?

A

They’re less focused in polar regions, and are more focused in the equator.

56
Q

How does the pattern of the ocean currents play a role in the transfer of energy?

A

Surface currents move warm water from tropics towards poles. Cold water from poles towards equator. Variations in water density mean warm salty water from tropics cools near poles.

57
Q

What is the effect of the North Atlantic drift on the UK climate?

A

The UK is on the same latitude as Hudson and Moscow, which are cold regions, and the UK would experience similar temperatures if it wasn’t for the North Atlantic drift.

58
Q

What is Continentality?

A

The difference in climate resulting from a location being located within the centre of a large land mass.

59
Q

Which areas of the world have a continental climate?

A

Central and Eastern united states - Ohio, Illinois. Southern Canada - Ontario. Poland, Hungary, Ukraine.

60
Q

How is the climate near the centre of a continent different compared to coastal regions?

A

Greater seasonal temperature extremes - hot summers, cold winters. Diurnal variations are larger. Higher humidity in coastal climates. Continental - moderate precipitation. Coastal - consistent precipitation.

61
Q

What is the max. temperature in Vancouver in January, compared to Winnipeg?

A

6 degrees in Vancouver, -14 degrees in Winnipeg.

62
Q

What is the max. temperature in July, in Vancouver, compared to Winnipeg?

A

22 degrees in Vancouver, 28 degrees in Winnipeg?

63
Q

What is the range of temperature in Vancouver, compared to Winnipeg?

A

22 degrees in Vancouver, 48 degrees in Winnipeg.

64
Q

How does continentality affect climate?

A

Specific heat capacity.

65
Q

What is Specific Heat Capacity?

A

The amount of energy required to raise 1g of a substance by 1 degree.

66
Q

How much energy does water need heat by 1 degree?

A

4.184 Joules.

67
Q

How much energy does land need to heat by 1 degree?

A

1 Joule.

68
Q

Which factors control the amount of precipitation in a location?

A

Latitude and atmospheric pressure, altitude, wind direction, continentality.

69
Q

What is the pattern of precipitation in Australia?

A

The centre of the country is dry, with annual precipitation around 100mm. The highest rainfall is along the coast, in particular the North and East Coast.

70
Q

What is required for rainfall to occur?

A

Moisture, which is picked up from the Ocean, as air is transported above them.

71
Q

What is the temperature of air, which is 15 degrees at sea level, at 4000m, and 8000m?

A

4000m - -33 degrees. 8000m - -9 degrees.

72
Q

What is Lapse Rate?

A

The change in temperature with altitude.

73
Q

What is the lapse rate in the Troposphere?

A

A decrease in temperature of between 6.5-9.8 for every 1000m increase in altitude.

74
Q

Why is the lapse rate this frequency?

A

The moist air cools less quickly, as condensation releases latent heat, slowing down the rate of cooling.

75
Q

What is the relationship between topographical and average rainfall?

A

Where there’s higher altitude, there is higher rainfall, meaning there is a positive correlation between altitude and rainfall.

76
Q

What is the climate of south facing slopes?

A

They receive more sunlight, warmer and drier, soil tends to warm up faster, faster evaporation.

77
Q

What is the climate of north facing slopes?

A

Receive less sunlight, cooler, soil is colder, retain mositure.

78
Q

What is Aspect?

A

The direction a slope faces in relation to the sun.

79
Q

How does aspect influence human activity?

A

Agriculture, Housing.

80
Q

How does aspect influence agriculture?

A

South facing are warmer, better for growing crops, which require more heat.

81
Q

How does aspect influence housing?

A

Cooler climate - built on south facing sloped to take advantage of sunlight. Warmer climate - north facing sloped built on to avoid overheating.

Weather and Climate (8 decks)

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