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A2 Geography Unit 3 > Weather And Climate > Flashcards

Weather And Climate Flashcards

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1
Q

Define the term weather

A

Weather is the short term atmospheric conditions of a specific place. Examples include: rain, temperature, wind speed and cloud cover

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2
Q

Define the term climate.

A

Climate is the long term atmospheric conditions of a specific place. Example include the average measurmenabt to of temperature and precipitation over a period of time.

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3
Q

What are the four main layers of the earths atmosphere?

A

Thermosphere

Mesosphere

Stratosphere

Troposphere

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4
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A

A mixture of gases that surrounds the earth

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5
Q

Describe the conditions of the troposphere.

A
  1. Extends 12km up from the earths surface
  2. Temperature decreases with altitude because the earths surface warms the troposphere
  3. Lots of turbulence because warm air rises and cooler air sink
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6
Q

Describe the conditions of the stratosphere.

A
  1. Extends from 12km to 50km up
  2. Temperature increase with altitude because the ozone layer is found in the lower stratosphere which absorbed UV radiation
  3. There isn’t any turbulence and no clouds
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7
Q

Describe the conditions of the mesosphere.

A
  1. The mesosphere extends from 50km to 90km up

2. Temperature decreases with altitude because the mesosphere is warmed by the stratosphere

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8
Q

Describe the conditions of the Thermosphere

A
  1. The thermosphere extends deal
    Around 90km to 1000km up
  2. Temperature increases with altitude because small amounts of oxygen in this later absorb UV radiation.
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9
Q

What happens to solar radiation as it as it reaches the earth?

A

50% of insolation is absorbed by the earths surface

25% is reflected back into space by the air and clouds in the atmosphere

20% is absorbed by the air and clouds in the atmosphere

5% is reflected back into space but the earths surface

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10
Q

What are the four main factors which affect how much solar radiation the atmosphere receives?

A
  1. The solar constant
  2. The distance from the sun through orbit
  3. Height of the sun in the sky
  4. Length of day and night
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11
Q

Why are higher latitudes colder?

A

they received less solar radiation because the sun is lower in the sky and because there are fewer hours of daylight in winter.

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12
Q

Why are higher altitudes colder?

A

The temperature is greatest closer to the source and decrease away from it.

Air pressure decreases and so there are fewer air molecules moving so less heat is formed.

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13
Q

What is wind?

A

Large scale movements of air caused by differences in are pressure

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14
Q

How does wind move?

A

Winds move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

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15
Q

What is the ITCZ?

A

A zone at the equator of low pressure, high rainfall and high cloud formation.

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16
Q

What happens to warm air once it rises at the ITCZ?

A

It cools and moves out to 30º north or south of equator.

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17
Q

What happens to the cooler air once it reaches 30º north or south of equator?

A

It sinks creating high pressure. Sub tropical jet streams are also found here.

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18
Q

What happens once the cool air has sank to the surface at 30º north and south of equator?

A

Winds move it either back to the equator (via trade winds) or towards the poles (westerly winds).

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19
Q

What happens to winds once they reach 60º north or south of equator?

A

Warm winds meet cooler winds from the poles. The warm air is less dense so it rises and the cold air sink beneath creating low pressure.

20
Q

Explain why the UK’s Latitude has an effect on the climate?

A

The UK is at mid latitude (between 50 to 55º N. It doesn’t get very hot because the sun is never very high. It also doesn’t get too cold because there are several hours of daylight in winter.

21
Q

Explain why the UK’s maritime Location has an effect on the climate?

A

The UK is surrounded by water which gains and relates heat more slowly than land which means there is cooler wind in summer and warmer winds in winter.

22
Q

Why does temperature vary within the UK?

A

It is warmer in the south because there is more insolation because the sun is higher in the sky compared to the north where it is lower which mean there are more hours of daylight in the south. Average max temp in south is 13.6˚C and 9.3˚C in the north.

23
Q

Why does precipitation vary within the UK?

A

It is wetter in the west than in the east because south westerly winds bring warm wet air from the atlantic. The air reaches the west coast and is first up over the land.
The west is more mountainous than the eastern side so the air masses lose most their moisture in the west.

24
Q

Why does wind vary within the UK?

A

Winds are more stronger in the west because south westerly winds come over the ocean which is flat and there is nothing blocking them. Winds are also stronger at higher altitudes because there is less obstacles blocking them.

25
Q

What are the 5 main air masses affecting the UK?

A
  • Artic maritime
  • Polar continental
  • Polar maritime
  • Tropical continental
  • Tropical maritime
26
Q

Describe polar maritime air masses.

A

Air masses which form over the north atlantic can. They bring cold, wet air which causes cold weather and rain.

27
Q

Describe tropical maritime air masses.

A

Air masses form over the atlantic ocean. They bring warm wet are which causes warm weather and rain.

28
Q

Describe Artic maritime air masses.

A

air masses for over the artic ocean. They bring cold, wet air which causes cold weather and rainfall.

29
Q

Describe polar continental air masses.

A

Air masses which form over Siberia. They bring cold dry are which causes very cold, dry weather. These air masses can bring snow.

30
Q

Describe tropical continental air masses.

A

Air masses which form over Africa. They bring warm dry air which causes hot, dry weather.

31
Q

Where do depressions form in the UK ?

A

Over the atlantic ocean then they move east towards the UK.

32
Q

What happens when two air masses meet in a depression?

A

The warm air heading toward the poles rises above the cold air heading toward the tropics because warm air is less dense then cold air.

33
Q

What fronts move faster in a depression, cold or warm?

A

Cold front move more quickly than warm fronts so cold fronts always catch up with the warmth.

34
Q

What happens when the cold front catches up with the warmer front in a depression?

A

The warm air behind the warm front is undercut by the cold front and is lifted away front the ground. It now sits above the cold air. This is called an occluded front.

35
Q

Explain why depressions bring bad weather.

A

When the warm air is undercut and pushed up over the cold air it forms low, thick clouds and sustained heavy showers. Rapidly rising air makes it very windy at the surface.

36
Q

What are anticyclones?

A

Areas of high pressure cause by large masses of falling air.

37
Q

How do anticyclones form?

A

Air falls from the upper atmosphere and warms on its way down. This causes humidity to decrease because air masses can hold more moisture as they get warmer which means clouds do not develop.

38
Q

Describe the characteristics of an anticyclone.

A

There is not much difference in air pressure between the centre and the edges. Thereby there is little and weak winds. The winds flow clockwise to the centre.

39
Q

Describe the weather of a summer anticyclone in UK.

A
  • Low temperatures during the day because sun is at low angle.
  • Extremely cold in night because clear skies allow loss of heat through radiation
  • Low level clouds and radiation fog

High levels of atmospheric pollution. Lack of winds means that pollutants aren’t dispersed.

40
Q

Describe the weather of a winter anticyclone in UK.

A
  • No clouds mean there is greater insolation
  • Temperature inversions can cause dew in morning and mist
  • Very high temperatures
  • Coastal areas may get fog and strong breezes.
  • Risk of thunderstorms due to rapidly rising warm air.
41
Q

What are the characteristics of an equatorial climate?

A
  • Hot temperature all year round with colder temperatures at night
  • High rainfall all year round with a fairly even distribution through the year. It rains every day
  • Winds are mostly warm trade winds and vary in strength over the year
42
Q

What causes the characteristics of an equatorial climate?

A
  • The sun is overhead all year round.
  • The ITCZ influences the weather all year round, bringing rain every day.
  • Strong convection currents causes regular rainfall. Rainfall is heated and rises where it cools and condenses back into rainfall.
43
Q

What are the characteristics of a monsoon climate?

A
  • Hot temperatures all year round varying by up to 10ºC between summer and winter.
  • Rainfall is high. Most of the rain falls in the wet season and little falls in the dry season
  • Wind changes direction with the season. In the wet season, winds blow towards the land in in the dry season, winds blow towards the sea.
44
Q

What causes the characteristics of a monsoon climate?

A
  • The sun is overhead all year round
  • Seasonal changes in rainfall, temp, wind are caused by seasonal shifts in the position of the ITCZ and zones of high pressure.
45
Q

What happens to during the cool, dry season of a monsoon climate?

A
  • The ITCZ moves south, northern hemisphere monsoon areas lie under high pressure so get little rain.
  • The ITCZ is over the ocean and a zone of high pressure is over land. This forces winds from the land to the ocean
  • The land is cooler than the ocean so the NE winds are cool and bring lower temperatures.
46
Q

What happens during the warm, wet season of a monsoon climate?

A
  • The ITCZ moves north which brings low pressure and heavy rainfall to the tropical monsoon areas in the northern hemisphere.
  • The ITCZ is over land so this forces winds from the ocean towards the land.
  • The ocean is warmer than the land so the SE winds bring warmer air and higher temperatures to the land.
47
Q

What conditions are needed for tropical revolving storms to form?

A
  • A disturbance such as an area of low pressure near the sea surface that triggers a storm.
  • Sea water that is warm so lots of water will evaporate.
  • Convergence of air in the lower atmosphere either ate the ITCZ or at a front which forces warm air to rise.
  • A location at least 5º from the equator because anything less won’t be affected because the Coriolis effect isn’t strong enough.

A2 Geography Unit 3 (1 decks)

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