Unit 10: Earth's Weather and Climate
Does air move from high to low pressure or low to high pressure?
From high to low pressure
_____ occur when two _____ meet.
Fronts, air masses
What can a Doppler radar tell you about the weather?
Wind direction, wind speed, intensity of precipitation, and location of precipitation
Can droughts occur in any climate?
You betcha
If thermohaline circulation were blocked, what would happen?
Global climate would significantly change
The meteorologist says there's a cold front moving in. How will you prepare?
Go inside because a storm is coming
What does a psychrometer measure?
Humidity
Why should you always flee to higher ground?
In case of a flood
What is a cyclone?
a severe storm
Antarctica and Greenland provide examples of _____ climates.
Polar
Liquid water that falls to the ground is _____.
Rain
Predictable, yearly cycles of changing weather are known as _____.
Seasons
If you're in a car during a thunderstorm what should you do?
Stay in your car
What are the following clouds in order from lowest to highest: alto, status, cirrus
Stratus, alto, cirrus
Most of the U.S. has a _____ climate.
Temperate
What scale can you refer to estimate wind speed?
The Beaufort scale
What is eccentricity?
The shape of earths orbit around the sun (can change from circular to elliptical)
What is desertification?
The spread of desert environments
What is maritime?
The type of temperate climate near an ocean or sea
What is continental?
The type of temperate climate over land
What is tropical?
The warm, moist climate zone near the equator
How much of the Suns energy is currently reflected by Earths atmosphere?
30%
What instrument can detect an upcoming tornado?
A Doppler radar
In Hawaii, you can almost always expect 80°F temperatures and daily showers. This is an example of _____.
Climate
Why are tornadoes common in summer?
Continental polar air masses can reach further south
Do climates become cooler or warmer at higher latitude?
Cooler
If you live in an urban town and go to a rural town, would the temperature get warmer or cooler?
Cooler
If you're on a boat at night and go towards the coast, would it get warmer or cooler?
Cooler, because the water would keep the heat it had stored up during the day for a while
What is a source region?
area over which an air mass forms
What is weather?
day-to-day changes in atmospheric conditions, including temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind, cloud coverage, or precipitation
What is adiabatic?
heating or cooling of gas by contraction or expansion
Snow forms when water vapor turns directly into ice crystals, while sleet forms when _____.
water vapor turns to water which then freezes into ice
What is a front?
where two different air masses meet
What is wind shear?
When winds change direction and speed up into the atmosphere
What is the Doppler effect?
A change in the frequency in sound or light waves that can be used to determine the direction of movement of a wave source
What is lake effect snow?
A downpour of snow due to an arctic air mass flowing over a warm lake
What is a jet stream?
A fast moving stream of wind where cold, polar meets warm air from the equator
What are seasons a result of?
Earths tilt on its axis
What should you do if you're in a tornado?
Find a ditch to lay in or find the nearest building and stay on the lowest level
What happens to water vapor as it rises in the atmosphere?
It cools and condenses
What is water vapor, where does it come from, and what two things does it do?
It is moisture in the air that comes from the evaporation of water and it traps hear and condenses to make clouds
What is a hygrometer?
It measures humidity
What is a psychrometer?
It measures relative humidity using a pair of dry bulb and wet bulb thermometers
What is an anemometer?
It measures wind speed
What is a Doppler radar?
It mediates the location and strength of precipitation
What are four main climate zones designated by?
Latitude
If you love near the ocean and then move inland summers and winters be more or less mild?
Less mild
What would the forecast be if there is very high humidity and a cold front moving in?
Lots of rain
A mid-latitude cyclone occurs when two different air masses begin to spin around a _____-pressure center.
Low
The source region of this air mass is over the southern Atlantic Ocean
Maritime tropical
In the U.S., weather in Arizona can move and affect the weather in _____ (and why)
New Mexico, it usually goes west to east
Should you look for shorter under a tree during s thunderstorm?
Ni
Why is the atmosphere and ocean always moving?
The Suns energy
What is polar?
The dry, cold climate zone above 60 degree latitude
What are wind vanes?
They indicate wind direction and point which was the wind is blowing from
How do meteorologists forecast weather?
They track air masses and fronts, input data into a computer, and use personal knowledge of the area
Where is more severe weather generated?
Warm and moist areas
What is an air mass?
A large body of air with uniform temperature and humidity
What is drought?
A long period of unusually dry wearher
What is a radiosonde?
A transmitter sent up in a weather balloon to send of weather measurements
What does a barometer measure?
Air pressure
Clouds form from _____ temperature change, which occurs when an expanding gas cools.
An adiabatic
When a cold front overruns a warm front, trapping it against another cold air mass, it produces _____.
An occluded front
Any winds, like her streams occur because of ____
Differences in temperature
Are seasons more or less extreme by the ocean than inland areas?
Less extreme
Warm fronts and stationary fronts can bring _____.
Light precipitation
Can meteorologists forecast weather accurately for any length of time?
Nope
A temperate climate zone includes maritime climates, near _____, and continental climates, over _____.
Oceans, land
Nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds will most likely bring _____.
Rain
Deserts are very hot during the day and very cold at night. The cloud coverage above these areas is most likely _____.
Rare
What kind of energy powers the water cycle?
Solar power
A continental tropical air mass formed over the Southwest U.S. This area is called its _____.
Source region
_____ clouds indicate possible precipitation.
Stratus
A _____ climate zone, near a high-pressure band, encompasses hot, desert climates.
Subtropical
What is climate?
Th long-term average of weather in an area
What is subtropical?
The hot, often dry, climate zone between 25 and 30 degrees latitude, north or south of the equator
What is temperate?
The seasonably variable climate zone between 40 and 60 degrees latitude, north or south of the equator
Why are tropical and polar climate zones very distinct?
The suns rays are more concentrated near the equator
If a city is urban with flat terrain and near a lake, what two effects might it experience?
Urban heat island effect and lake effect snow
What three things do scientists think may have caused last changes in climate?
Volcanic activity, Milankovitch cycled, and plate tectonics
What kind of air is in a low-pressure belt?
Warm and rising
Why are tornados common in areas of flat plains?
Winds are able to flow without obstruction
Can hair be used to measure humidity?
Yeppers
In tropical regions known for warm, daily showers, the cloud coverage is most likely to be _____.
Cloudy most of the time
The small particles around which water collects to form droplets are called _____.
Condensation nuclei
What things can you do to help during a drought?
Conserve water, like fixing leaky faucet and using a broom to sweep your driveway instead of a hose
Ocean currents that upwell Southern California make the climate what?
Drier cooler
What is obliquity?
Earths tilt
What are thunderstorms and hurricanes powered by?
Heat
What kind of climate is in the leeward side of a mountain?
Hot and dry
Which of the following characteristics must an air mass have?
It must be 1,000 miles or more in size, flow as one unit, and have uniform temperature and humidity
What is rain shadow effect?
It's when wind flows over a mountain that produces moist conditions on the windward side of the mountain and dry on the leeward side
Where would you find rain for an average of 200 days each year?
The intertropical convergence zone
Why would Lake Ontario have a weaker lake effect snow if the lake were as cold as the continental arctic air mass that flowed over it?
The lake effect snow is powered by the arctic air mass being a lot colder than a usually warm lake
What is precession
The movement of earths imaginary, polar axis
What transports and distributes heat on earth and helps to regulate temperatures?
The ocean
What is the urban heat island effect?
The tendency of streets and buildings to absorb and retain the Suns heat
What is the main transporter of heat in the ocean?
The thermohaline circulation belt
What are common feature of thunderstorms?
Thunder, lightning, rain or hail
if you'd like to live in a place that has more moderate summers and winters, it'd be best to pack your suitcase and head where?
To a coastal place
Is the Northern Hemisphere tilted towards or away from the Sun during the summer?
Towards the Sun
During summer, is the northern hemisphere tilted away or towards the sun?
Towards the sun
What are some things that naturally cool and area?
Trees, plants, grass
True or False: Tiny droplets of water and ice all bunched together are clouds.
True
What kind of climates are thunderstorms common in?
Warm, moist climates
What is thermohaline circulation?
Water that moves because of its temperature and salt content
When describing a maritime polar air mass, you might say it formed over _____ and is _____.
Water, cold and moist
It rained yesterday and is supposed to be sunny today. This is an example of _____.
Weather
What is upwelling?
When wind allows cold dense water to rise from the bottom of the ocean to the surface
When does a tropical storm then into a hurricane?
When wind speed goes over 74 mph
Can blocking atmospheric or oceanic circulation drastically change climate?
Yes
Why should you take cover from a hurricane even when you think it might be over?
You may just be in the "eye" of the hurricane
What are condensation nuclei?
tiny particles in the atmosphere upon which water vapor can condense
