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