Weather and Climate Review Flashcards
Four types of air masses
Maritime tropical, maritime, polar, continental tropical, and continental polar
Maritime tropical characteristics
Wet, warm
Maritime polar characteristics
wet, cold
Continental tropical characteristics
dry, warm
Continental polar characteristics
dry, cold
4 types of fronts
warm front, cold front, occluded front, stationary front
Warm Front
drizzly rain, warm air stronger than cold and pushes it out (slow)
Cold Front
Heavy precipitation, cold air is stronger than warm and pushes it out (fast)
stationary front
Days of drizzly rain/ snow, warm and cold meet, and neither has the strength to push the other (both eventually die out or one overtakes the other)
occluded front
Large amount of rain/ snow, two cold air sandwiches warm air and pushes it up
How do you tell which way a front is moving?
The direction the symbols are pointing (warm fronts move in the direction the circle is facing)
How does the sun’s energy affect ocean convection currents?
Sun heats the earth unevenly -> drives convection (differences in density of air and water) currents
Specific Heat
amount of energy needed to heat something by 1ºc
Specific heat of water (what does that mean)
Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it takes more energy to heat it by 1ºc than air.
How does the specific heat of water affect coastline climates?
It causes the climate around coastlines to remain more constant throughout the year.
Gyres (what are they and what do they do)
Looped systems of surface currents that move in the same direction. They cycle water, which redistributes heat and salinity.
How many gyres are in the world, and in what direction do they move in each hemisphere?
5 in the world, clockwise in the northern and counter-clockwise in the southern hemispheres
High-pressure systems
High pressure center, cool air slowly sinks and spins clockwise towards areas of low pressure.
Low-pressure systems
Low-pressure center, warm air moves counter-clockwise inwards and up
Coriolis effect (how does it affect our earth)
The movement of an object to the right or left due to rotation. Effects the curving of winds and ocean currents. (circular pattern)
Three things that impact wind
pressure differences(unequal heating), coriolis effect(wind is curved), and convection
Three things that impact surface currents
continental deflections, Coriolis effect (deflected right in the north and left in the south), global winds
Two things impact deep currents
differences in density (salinity and water temp)
What is salinity affected by?
freezing and evaporation
El Nino
Weather phenomenon in the Pacific that is caused by weak trade winds. Centers over Asia
How does low pressure cause rain?
Warm air rises and condenses with particles in the air to form clouds.
What does it mean when there is more ultraviolet radiation?
The ozone layer is thinning
Convection Currents
Movement of air due to differences in density
Formation of Wind
sun -> uneven heating -> convection currents -> differences in pressure (high to low) -> wind
What causes uneven heating?
Earth’s rotation and tilt
What is needed to form a tropical cyclone?
pre-existing storm, warm low-pressure air, and warm water (82ºF)
Three types of global winds (which one impacts us most)
Trade winds, westerlies (impact us), easterlies
Sea breeze
Day, the sun heats land faster (low pressure) than water (high pressure). Wind moves from high to low, so the breeze blows from the water to land.
Land breeze
Night, the sun cools land faster. High pressure over land moves towards low pressure over water.
What do ocean currents do?
They redistribute nutrients, heat, and energy. Also, keep ocean systems and the earth’s temperatures balanced.
Convection
Transfer of heat and energy through air or water (driven by the Sun due to unequal heating of Earth)
Radiation
Transfer of thermal energy through EM waves
