Test 2

Southern Hemisphere

Because the Coriolis effect works in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere, circulation around lows are clockwise and inward toward the center at the surface and highs exhibit a diverging, counterclockwise rotation. You can see this effect in the cloud pattern created by a cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere.

Temperature - Accurate results

For accurate results, instruments should be shielded from the Sun and away from buildings and other structures that could affect _____________measurements.

Evaporation

Heating

Conduction

In a solid, the molecules may vibrate more rapidly and collide with one another and transfer heat from warmer to colder portions of the mass by ______. it can occur between a solid and a fluid. When air, a fluid, comes in contact with the ground, a solid, heat can be transferred through molecular collisions.

Convection

In fluids like air and water, heat is transferred by the circulation of molecules via the process of ____. It implies a vertical transfer of heat, like that which is occurs in a heated pot of water. As water warms it circulates to the surface. The same is true for air. When air is heated by the earth's surface it too circulates upward.

Isolines

Isarithmic maps use ______to depict the geographic pattern of earth phenomena. An _______is a line that connects points of equal value.

Continental Polar

Originates over high latitude continents (60 deg. north) Cold and dry

Maritime Polar

Originates over mid to high latitude oceans cool and moist

Maritime Tropical

Originates over the tropical oceans Warm and moist

How is Earth Heated?

Radiation is the primary way that air is _______. Convection currents move that ______air around the earth, and the difference between warm and cold air provide the energy needed to create weather.

How do colors relate to albedo?

The amount of reflection basically depends on the color of the surface, darker surfaces reflect less than lighter colored ones. For some surfaces, like water, the sun angle affects albedo. If you have been out on a lake during the day you might have noticed that the sun reflects off the surface more when the sun is lower in the sky than it does when it is more directly overhead.

long wave lengths - transmitting through the atmosphere long wave lengths - what affects them in the atmosphere

The energy absorbed by the surface is radiated from the Earth as terrestrial _______________ (L↑). The amount of energy emitted is primarily dependent on the temperature of the surface. The hotter the surface the more radiant energy it will emit. The gases of the atmosphere are relatively good absorbers of ____________ and thus absorb the energy emitted by the surface. The absorbed radiation is emitted in all directions with the downward directed portion being ___________atmospheric counter-radiation (L↓).

Anticyclones

areas of high pressure that exhibit nearly circular isobars. For high pressure areas, air descends toward the surface due to convergence aloft. As the air nears the surface it is forced outward (divergence) from the center. The Coriolis effect bends the air to the right of its path creating a clockwise rotation around the high.

Cyclones

areas of low pressure. ______usually exhibit nearly circular isobars.

adiabatic heating

air descending through the atmosphere is compressed by the increasing pressure and under-goes

Albedo Expression

can be expressed as a percentage (multiplied by 100) that for some is easier to understand. For instance, grass has an albedo of about .23. This means that of the incoming solar radiation that strikes the grass, 23% of it is reflected away. On the other hand, highly reflective surfaces like snow have an albedo upwards of .87, or 87% of sunlight is reflected away.

adiabatic cooling

clouds usually develop from a cooling process decreas-ing atmospheric pressure with height. This expansion allows the air molecules to spread out, which causes the parcel's temperature to decrease. This is known as ___ and occurs at the constant lapse rate of approximately 10°C per 1000 meters (5.6°F/1000 ft).

Amount of insolation arriving at Earth's Surface

direct and diffuse shortwave radiation accounts for the total incoming solar radiation or _______(K↓). In equation form: K↓ = S+D

Wind patterns of southern california

dry summer subtropical climate The dry summer is due to the presence of the subtropical high that migrates into this region during the summer. The subsidence of the subtropical high keeps air from rising off the surface and dries the air through adiabatic warming. Additionally, as maritime air streams toward land it passes over the cold ________Current. The cold ocean current chills the air near the surface and steepens the environmental lapse rate of temperature in the air mass making it stable (mTs). The combined effect of these factors inhibits precipitation formation and thus creates the dry summer typical of this region. Winter is the wet season as subtropical high pressure slides south and the polar front with its accompanying cyclonic activity migrates into this region.

Jet Streams

fast flowing, relatively narrow air currents found in the atmosphere around 10 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. They form at the boundaries of adjacent air masses with significant differences in temperature, such as the polar region and the warmer air to the south. Mainly found in the tropopause, at the transition between the troposphere (where temperature decreases with height) and the stratosphere (where temperature increases with height).

highest insolation on Earth. How is this heat redistributed? - what mechanisms?

found in the tropical and subtropical deserts of the earth. Here, high sun angles and a lack of cloud cover in desert regions allow much solar radiation to the surface. _______decreases to a minimum at the poles where low sun angles and the fact that the Sun doesn't rise above the horizon nearly half the year reduces annual _________.

Short wave lengths - transmitting through the atmosphere short wave lengths - what affects them in the atmosphere

from the Sun penetrates through space to the outer edge of the atmosphere unimpeded by the vacuum of outer space. Once solar radiation begins to penetrate through the atmosphere this amount begins to decrease due to absorption and reflection. About 30% of the available solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere is reflected or scattered back to space by particulates and clouds before it reaches the ground. The gases of the atmosphere are relatively poor absorbers of solar radiation, absorbing only about 20% of what is available at the outer edge of the atmosphere. The remaining solar radiation makes its way to surface as direct and diffuse solar radiation.

advection

is a term that is applied to the horizontal transfer of that results when a parcel of air on Earth's surface is lifted into the atmosphere. The rising parcel of air will expand as it encounters heat by the wind.

Temperature - Measured

is measured at a height of 4 to 6 feet above the surface. The ___ at any place is determined by (1) radiation and heat transfers between the surface and the air above, (2) the location relative to a large body of water, and (3) the movement of vast pools of air called air masses.

specific heat

is the heat required to raise the temperature of one unit substance (e.g., gram) through a particular temperature interval (1oC, for example). The specific heat of water is 1 calorie/gram °C = 4.186 joule/gram °C which is higher than any other common substance on Earth. This is one reason why large bodies of water play such an important role in the heat budget of the Earth system.

Albedo High & low

values range from 0 for no reflection to 1 for complete reflection of light striking the surface.

Sensible heat

warms the surrounding air, and thus is an important source of energy to ______ the atmosphere.

Solar Radiation Description

About half of the radiation is in the visible short-wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The other half is mostly in the near-infrared part, with some in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The portion of this ultraviolet radiation that is not absorbed by the atmosphere produces a suntan or a sunburn on people who have been in sunlight for extended periods of time.

Direction of air in the Northern Hemisphere

As air enters an area of low pressure from all directions, the Coriolis effect bends the direction of the wind to the right of its path. This creates a counterclockwise rotation around the low and convergence near the center of the system. As the air collides near the center it is forced aloft where divergence takes air away from the center of the system. The upper-level divergence is necessary for the system to be maintained as an area of low pressure. Without the divergence, the system would fill with air and the horizontal pressure differences would be equalized causing the system to dissipate.

Condensation

Cooling

Effects of land and water on the heating process.

The influence that air masses have on the temperature of a place depends the location with respect to the source of the air mass and the trajectory of the air mass as it moves from its source region. For instance, if one is located in the heart of an air mass source region, your climate will be fairly uniform throughout the year. If you lived in north central Canada you are located in the heart of the continental polar air mass (cP). You should expect temperature to be cool to cold, and the humidity relatively low throughout much of the year. However, if you live in central Illinois, you will experience a much greater variation in temperature because you are in the boundary zone between several different air masses. Two air masses in particular influence this region, cP and mT. The cP air brings cool, dry weather while mT air is responsible for humid and warm conditions. When these air masses collide, storms are generated.

Coriolis effect

_______ is the effect of earth rotation on the direction of the wind.

evaporation

is the phase change of a liquid to a gas. 1) available energy, 2) available water, and 3) a vertical moisture gradient. Approximately 600 calories of heat must be added to a gram of water for it to _______into the air. This energy is called "the latent heat of vaporization". Latent heat is used to break the hydrogen bonds that bind water molecules together. In doing so, the energy is "locked up" in the water molecules. The energy remains "latent" in the molecules until they combine during the condensation process to form a liquid. When this happens latent energy is released into the surrounding environment as sensible heat. Even if you have all the energy required for evaporation it will not occur unless there is water present.

condensation

is the phase change of water vapor into a liquid. During the _______process, water molecules lose the 600 cal/gm of latent heat that were added during the _________process. When latent heat is released it is converted into sensible heat which warms the surrounding air. Warming the air increases its buoyancy and fuels the development of storms. _______takes place in the presence of ______nuclei and when the air is nearly saturated. Hence ______nuclei act as a platform for _______to take place, increasing the size of a droplet and decreasing surface tension. Water absorbent clay minerals and sea salt are good ________nuclei. Sulfates and nitrates are water absorbent and are responsible for creating acid rain. The air must be at or near its saturation point for ________to take place. Air can become saturated in two ways, 1) add water to the air by evaporation thus bringing it to saturation given its present temperature, or 2) cool the air to its dew point temperature. Cooling the air is the most common way for condensation to occur and create clouds. Air can be cooled through contact with a cold surface or by uplift.

Ocean Currents - Wind effect

major ocean currents are _____ currents. The subtropical high pressure cells are responsible for many of the Earth's great ocean currents.

scattering

process by which small particles suspended in the air diffuse a portion of the incident radiation in all directions. This is a primary reason for colors, such as blue skies, rainbows, and orange sunsets. When working with radars, this often refers to the more or less random changes in direction of radio energy.

Solar Radiation

radiant energy emitted by the sun, particularly electromagnetic energy.

Albedo

radiation that is bounced back The proportion of light reflected from a surface

latent heat

required to convert a solid into a liquid or vapor, or a liquid into a vapor, without change of temperature.

How wind is created

the movement of air molecules from one place to the next. The direction and speed of the _____ represents the balance between three basic forces acting on it: the pressure gradient, the Coriolis force, and surface friction.

Winds- Named

the name of a _____ is based on the compass direction from which it blows. For instance, a _____ that blows from the north is known as a "north ______."