Exam 1 Review: Climate
Explain two ways the relative humidity may be changed.
1. Change amount of moisture, 2. Change temperature
According to the Stefan-Boltzman law, if you double the temperature of a blackbody, you increase the energy emitted by a factor of _____?
16
If the temperature of an object doubles, the maximum energy emitted goes up by a factor of:
16
If we double the temperature of an object it emits:
16x as much energy
Which latitude below would experience the fewest hours of daylight on Dec. 22nd:
60 N
What is the maximum angle of the sun on the spring equinox for Ann Arbor, MI (42N)? Is this the highest elevation the sun will reach in the year?
90- 42 + 0 = 48; no this happens in the summer solstice
What is the maximum angle of the sun on the summer solstice for San Antonio, TX, which is at latitude 28.5N?
90-28.5+23.5 = 85
The atmospheric greenhouse effect is produced mainly by the
Absorption and re-emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere
Which is heavier: Dry air at 90°F or muggy air at 90°F?
All other things being equal the muggy air means water vopr has been added to the air and replaces heavier N2 and O2. Hence moist air is lighter per volume of air.
When the relative humidity is given, why is it also important to know the air temperature?
Because the amount of moisture actually present depends on both.
A greenhouse gas used as a refrigerant, a solvent, and during the manufacture of foam:
CFCs (Chlorofluorcarbons)
The temperature scale where 0 degrees represents freezing and 100 degrees represents boiling:
Celsius
The temperature scale where 0°represents freezing and 100°boiling:
Celsius
Earth is the only known planet with oxygen as a dominant constituent. How is it we got the oxygen and other planets did not?
Earth is the only planet where water can exist in the atmosphere as a liquid. In liquid form it systematically removed soluble gases from the atmosphere, including CO2 and SO2 leaving N2 as the dominant gas. Initially oxygen formed in photolysis (CO2 -> CO + O and H2O -> OH + O) at very low concentrations and the oxygen molecules reacted to form ozone. Once an ozone layer formed life could begin deep in the oceans and photosynthesis ultimately produced the large increases in oxygen.
About when is the hottest day in Ann Arbor?
End of July; maximum radiation is at summer solstice (June 21), Michigan continues to receive more combined shortwave and long wave radiation than it emits in long wave radiation until late July
Describe how an "eye" forms in a hurricane:
IAs thunderstorms intensify the updrafts push more air into the upper atmosphere than can diverge away. Some of the air is drawn down in the center of the storm creating an area where cloud growth is suppressed
Describe how volcanic eruptions affect the surface temperature of the Earth from eruption through 20 years (include all effects).
Initial effect cooling due to addition of SO2 to stratosphere creating sulfate haze and blocking sunlight; Eventually particles leave atmosphere leaving extra CO2 that has a longer lifetime and adds warming
When it is January and winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is ___ and ___ in the Southern Hemisphere.
January and summer
At the North Pole the sun will rise above the horizon on ____ and set below the horizon on ____.
March 21, September 23
Roughly, when Is the hottest day of the year? why?
Maximum solar input is at summer solstice but at that point the solar input is greater than the earth's infrared output so there is a surplus of energy and temperature continue to rise until end of July when input roughly equals output and temperature stabilizes before falling the rest of the year.
Give an example of a positive feedback in climate that explains why polar regions may show the largest temperature rise with rising greenhouse gas concentrations.
Melting ice exposes more water/land with lower albedo; In absence of sunlight during Arctic winter the cycling of IR dominates energy balance
The most abundant gas in the troposphere is:
Nitrogen
Describe what the entire temperature profile of the atmosphere would look like if the ozone layer did not exist in the stratosphere.
Temperature would decrease with height until the thermosphere
What does the relative humidity represent?
The amount of moisture in the atmosphere divided by the amount of moisture the atmosphere can hold at that temperature.
. Define the stages of hurricane formation:
Tropical disturbance, initial mass of thunderstorms often associated with an easterly wave; (2) Tropical depression, winds between 23-39 mph; (3) Tropical storm, winds between 40-74 mph; (4) Hurricane , winds greater than 74 mph
How might you estimate the temperature of a lightning bolt?
Use Wein's law and measure which wavelength hold the maximum amount of radiation.
The only substance near the earth's surface that is found naturally in the atmosphere as a solid, liquid, and a gas is:
Water (H2O)
Argue if you would expect an ice age to occur again in North America. Explain why or why not.
Yes; The Earth's orbit will change to being more elliptical, making for a longer period farther from the Sun and short period near the Sun; precission and obliquity
The atmospheric greenhouse effect is produced mainly by the:
absorption and re-emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere
Warming in the stratosphere is mainly caused by:
absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone
In a temperature inversion:
air temp increases w increasing height
The earth's atmosphere is divided into layers based on the vertical profile of:
air temperature
The earth's atmosphere is divided into layers based on the vertical profile of:
aire temperature
The lowest temperature is usually observed:
around sunrise
During the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere:
astronomical winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere, the noon sun is overhead at 23.5o S latitude, and at middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the longest night of the year
Although the polar regions radiate away more heat energy than they receive by insolation in the course of a year, they are prevented from becoming progressively colder each year by the:
circulation of heat by the atmosphere and oceans
In January, the earth is ____ to/from the sun and the ____ hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.
closest, northern
Which of the following weather elements always decreases as we climb upward in the atmosphere? a. Wind b. Temperature c. Pressure d. Cloud Cover e. All of the above
cloud cover
The cold feeling that you experience after leaving a swimming pool on a hot, dry, summer day represents heat transport by:
conduction
A heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon the movement of air is:
convection
The heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon the movement of air is:
convection
If the temperature is 20 degrees Celsius and the dew point is 16 degrees Celsius identify two ways the air could become saturated.
cool the temp, raise the dew point (add water vapor)
Radiation fog is created by:
cooling of the air by radiation
The cloud with the greatest vertical growth is:
cumulonimbus
One way of increasing the relative humidity in the atmosphere is to:
decrease temp, keep vapor pressure constant
Large volcanic eruptions with an ash veil that enters the stratosphere, tend to ____ at the surface.
decrease temps
If the temperature of an object doubles, the maximum wavelength of energy emitted by an object:
decreases by a factor of 1/2
The number or mass of air molecules in a given space or volume is called:
density
Which relates to weather rather than climate? a) The average temperature for the month of January is 28°C b) The lowest temperature ever recorded in Frozenlake, Minnesota is -57°C c) The foggiest month of the year is December d) I like the warm, humid summers e) Outside it is cloudy and snowing
e
Our seasons are caused by: a. The changing distance between the earth and the sun b. The angle at which sunlight reaches the earth c. The length of the daylight hours d. All of the above e. Only the angle at which sunlight reaches the earth, and the length of the daylight hours are correct
e OR d
The maximum wind speed observed in a hurricane in the northern hemisphere, moving from south to north, occur on which side of the storm?
east
What direction do hurricanes usually move from beginning to end?
east to west at the start, as they travel away from the equator the get caught in the westerlies and move back to the east
The ocean's conveyor belt circulation is controlled by:
gradients in temperature, salinity, and density
In the average year more people die from ___ than any other natural disaster:
heat
The most abundant greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere:
heat transport by latent heat
The term latent means:
hidden
The earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. If the amount of tilt were increased to 40° we would expect in middle latitudes:
hotter summers and colder winters
The earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. If the amount of tilt were increased to 40° we would expect in middle latitudes:
hotter summers and colder winters than at present
A tropical storm system whose winds are over 74 mph is a:
hurricane
The earth's first atmosphere was composed primarily of:
hydrogen and helium
Cirrus clouds are composed primarily of:
ice particles
Hurricane winds rotate in a clockwise direction:
in the southern hemisphere
In terms of the Ideal Gas Law, if volume stays the same and temperature increases, the pressure will:
increase
In terms of the Earth's atmosphere, a radiation inversion is defined as this:
increase in temp as you go higher in troposphere
If the earth's average surface temperature were to increase, the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would ____ and the wavelength of peak emission would shift toward ____ wavelengths.
increase, shorter
If the earth's average surface temperature were to increase, the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would ____ and the wavelength of peak emission would shift toward ____ wavelengths:
increase, shorter
over the past 100 years or so, it appears that average global temps have
increased slightly
In the stratosphere, the air temperature normally:
increases with increasing height
in the stratosphere the air temperature normally:
increases with increasing height
The most recent warming trend experienced over the Northern Hemisphere could be the result of:
increasing levels of CO2
The earth's atmospheric window is in the:
infrared region
The earth emits radiation with greatest intensity at:
infrared wavelengths
Which of the following is not a reason why water warms and cools much more slowly than land?
it takes more heat to raise the temperature of a given amount of soil 1°C than it does to raise the temperature of water 1°C.
The rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the:
lapse rate
A high water vapor pressure indicates:
large number of water molecules in the air
This is released as sensible heat during the formation of clouds:
latent heat
The earth's radiation is often referred to as ____ radiation, while the sun's radiation is often referred to as ____ radiation.
longwave, shortwave
The earth's radiation is often referred to as ____ radiation, while the sun's radiation is often referred to as ____ radiation.
longwave, shortwave
Without the atmospheric greenhouse effect, the average surface temperature would be:
lower than at present
Pressure at the center of a hurricane is ____ than the surroundings at the surface and ____ than the surroundings aloft.
lower, higher
A sister planet, Htrae, has been discovered with the same orbit as Earth's on the other side of the sun. Space measurements reveal that Htrae is identical in every way to the Earth with one exception. Its tilt is 66.5° instead of the Earth's 23.5°. Describe how the climate and weather in Ben Babar, our sister city on Htrae at the same latitude and longitude, would be similar or different from our climate and weather
more intense season/variations, warmer summers, colder winters, Spring and Fall do not change
In July, at middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the day is ___ long and is ___ with each passing day.
more than 12 hours, getting shorter
The most abundant gas in the stratosphere is
nitrogen
. The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the ____ side.
northern
The gas that absorbs most of the harmful ultra violet radiation in the stratosphere:
ozone
The gas that absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere is:
ozone
The primary source of oxygen for the Earth's atmosphere during the past half billion years appears to be:
photosynthesis
The primary source of oxygen for the earth's atmosphere during the past half billion years or so appears to be:
photosynthesis
Fog that most often forms as warm rain which falls and evaporates into the surface layer is called:
precipitation fog
The amount of force exerted over an area of surface is called:
pressure
On a clear, calm, night, the ground and air above cool mainly by this process:
radiation
The percentage of water vapor present in the air compared to that required for saturation is the:
relative humidity
The ____ is a measure of hurricane strength based on hurricane winds and central pressure.
safer-simpson scale
If two parcels at sea level have the same size but different temperatures, the colder parcel of air will have:
same pressure but higher density than warm parcel
Condensation onto hygroscopic nuclei is possible at relative humidities less than 100 percent due to the:
solute effect
Which below is not an atmospheric condition conducive to the formation of hurricanes? a. a region of converging surface winds at the surface b. warm water c. strong upper-level winds d. cold air aloft e. moist, humid surface air
strong upper-level winds
Which of the following provides a measure of the average speed of individual air molecules: a. pressure b. density c. humidity d. temperature
temperature
The rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the:
temperature slope
The Milankovitch cycles in association with other natural factors explain how ________ glaciers may advance and retreat over periods of:
ten thousand years to one hundred thousand years
Low clouds retard surface cooling at night better than clear skies because:
the clouds absorb and radiate infrared energy back to earth
At noon on June 22, the sun will be directly overhead at:
the equator
The primary source of energy for the earth is:
the sun
Precession of the equinox refers to:
the wobble of the earth on its axis
The lag in daily temperature refers to the time lag between the:
time of max solar radiation and the time of max temp
The first three stages of a developing hurricane are (from first to third stage):
tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm
Almost all of the earth's weather occurs in the:
troposphere
The order of the layers of the atmosphere from lowest to highest is:
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
Solar radiation reaches the earth's surface as:
ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation
The proper order from shortest to longest wavelength is:
ultraviolet, visible, infrared
If the temperature is 30 degrees Celsius and the dew point in 18 degrees Celsius, what is the vapor pressure AND relative humidity?
vapor pressure (e) = 21mm (20-22mb) RH = (e/es) X 100% = 21/42 X 100% = 50%
The Milankovitch Theory proposes that climatic changes are due to:
variations in the earth's orbit as it travels through space
Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.7 micrometers is called:
visible light
The sun emits a maximum amount of radiation at in the______spectrum, while the earth emits maximum radiation in the _________ spectrum.
visible, infrared
If the present concentration of carbon dioxide doubles in 100 years, climate models predict that for the earth's average temperature to rise 5°C, what gas must also increase in concentration?
water vapor
The most abundant gas emitted from volcanoes is:
water vapor
The most abundant greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere is:
water vapor
Which of the following gases are mainly responsible for the atmospheric greenhouse effect in the earth's atmosphere?
water vapor and carbon dioxide
In the Northern Hemisphere, this day has the fewest hours of daylight:
winter solstice