GEO1112 - Chapt 5 & 6
Official temperature are measured using thermometers placed i shelters that are?
-placed in a shade -placed a few feet above the ground. -white
The heat capacity of a substance is known as
-specific heat
The Celsius scale places freezing at _______ and was called ________.
0˚C; centigrade.
Equatorial low
10° N to 10° N
Subtropical high
20° to 35° N/S
If the temperature of the surface of the Earth is 40˚C, what is the temperature at 2000m if the normal elapse rate is 6.4˚/1000m?
27.2˚C
Sub-polar low
60° N/S
Polar high
90° N/S
As distances from the sub-polar point increase, the average annual insolation ___________, and the average temperature ____________.
Decrease; decrease
__________ is the periodic shift of high and low pressure zones over the western and eastern Pacific, respectively.
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Compared to a land surface exposed to the same solar radiation, an ocean surface should have a higher annual temperature range.
False
If one were able to look down on the Earth from some point above the North Pole, one would see that the Earth rotates in a clockwise direction.
False
The pressure gradient force drives air from areas of lower barometric pressure to areas of higher barometric pressure.
False
The _______________ temperature scale is used in scientific research because temperature readings are proportional to the actual kinetic energy in a material.
Kelvin
___________ is used in a barometer because _____________.
Mercury; weights more than water
Waving undulations within the westerly flow of geostrophic winds are known as __________.
Rossby waves
Considering latitudinal effects alone, which of the following locations would likely have the most consistently warm temperatures year round?
Salvador, Brazil (13° S)
San Francisco, CA, and Wichita, KS, are located at similar latitudes (37.77° and 37.65°, respectively). However, San Francisco rarely has winter minimums that drop below freezing or summer maximums that exceed 32.2° C (90° F). By comparison, Wichita is susceptible to freezing from late fall to early spring and reaches 32.2° C (90° F) at least 65 days of the year. What accounts for these differences?
San Francisco is influenced by the marine effect, whereas Wichita is influenced by the continental effect.
Temperature decrease with increasing altitude in what two atmospheric layers?
Troposphere and Mesosphere
As related to land and sea breezes, inland areas cool faster than offshore areas.
True
In a Northern Hemisphere anticyclone, the dominant surface air circulation pattern can be described as clockwise and outward.
True
The wind chill index and heat index are both measurements of apparent temperature.
True
Within the troposphere, temperatures decrease with increasing altitude above Earth's surface.
True
A monsoon is best described as __________
a seasonal change in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with land-sea heating differences.
Which is true of air flowing into a low pressure center?
air converges and ascends
The principal control and influences of temperature pattern include
altitude, land-water heating differences, cloud cover, ocean currents, and surface conditions.
We measure wind speed using a(n) ____________.
anemometer
Our individual perception of temperature is termed
apparent temperature, or sensible temperature.
Instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is an?
barometer
We measure air pressure using ______________.
barometer
Longwave radiation aiming at the surface
comes primarily from infrared energy emitted by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Holding all other factors constant, air temperature diminishes with increasing altitude because the ________ of the atmosphere decreases.
density
High latitudes receive less energy than the equatorial regions because the orientation of the Earth's surface relative to the sun's rays...
diminishes intensity.
The effects of Corolis force is ____________ in the upper atmosphere because _________________.
enhanced; there is less friction.
Upper atmospheric winds that flow parallel to isobars as a result of the combined effects of the pressure gradient force and Coriolis force are called __________.
geostrophic winds
Which of the following is NOT a control of temperature?
gravity
The ____________ indicates the human body's reaction to temperature and water vapor.
heat index
If the Earth did not rotate, air would flow ________.
in a straight line from areas of higher to areas of lower pressure.
On a global scale, ____________ is the single most important direct influence on temperature.
insolation
The surface flow of a Southern Hemisphere cyclone (low-pressure system) would be ________.
inward and clockwise
A line connecting points of equal temperature is an?
isotherm
Temperature maps commonly use lines of constant (equal) temperature called __________________ to portray the spatial pattern of temperature.
isotherms
The single more important control on temperature is
latitude
What do isobars represent on a map?
lines connect of equal pressue
Land has a lower ____________ specific heat than water and therefore heats more ______________.
lower; quickly
Land has a _______ specific heat than water and therefore heats more __________.
lower; quickly.
Which of the following has the lowest albedo?
moon
The Gulf stream...
moves northward in the West Atlantic, moderating temperature in Iceland.
Air temperature above the oceans is usually more moderate than that above the continents because...
no mixing between layers, lower specific heat, land is opaque, less evaporation from most land surfaces.
A steep pressure gradient..
produce strong winds.
As reported by the National Weather Service, the heat index relates temperature and...
relative humidity
The characteristics of water, cities located near coast should experience a temperature range that is ____________ those cities located in the interior at the same latitude.
smaller than
One of the primary reasons that water changes temperature more slowly than soil or rock is because of its higher ________.
specific heat
The temperature control that includes the heat capacity of a substance is
specific heat
Places with the largest annual temperature ranges on Earth are __________________.
subpolar locations within the continental interiors of North America and Asia
The effect of wind and temperature on the human skin is called
wind chill
High latitudes are cooler than low latitudes because...
there are few air molecules to absorb and radiate sensible heat.
An isoline that connects all points of highest mean temperature on a world map is called
thermal equator
The isotherm connecting all points of highest mean temperature is called the ___________.
thermal equator
The winds converging at the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) are known as the __________.
trade winds
On a sunny summer day, we can attribute the difference in temperature between the hot surface of a sandy beach and the cooler sand a few centimeters below the surface to the low ________________ of the sand.
transperency
The land-water heating difference that specifically relates to opaqueness is
transperency
Clouds are the most variable factor influencing Earth's radiation budget.
true
The temperature on a cloudy night is likely to be ___________ on a clear night - all other factor being equal.
warmer than
In the horse latitudes, surface winds are ___________ because the ____________ are located directly under high pressure zone characterized by descending, rather than horizontally, moving air.
weak; the horse latitude
The best explanation for the cause of atmospheric pressure is
weight of the air.
The dominant winds flowing from the subtropics to the higher latitudes are known as the __________.
westerlies