Aquatic Science unit #5

How do low-pressure areas form?

Warm air rises, causing cool air to rush underneath it.

Why are ocean currents important to global climate?

Warm currents keep winters from being more extreme that what they already are.

hurricane season

When is hurricane season in the United States?

What is Southern Oscillation?

a back-and-forth pattern of reversing air pressure between the eastern and western tropical Pacific

Using the root words a nimbostratus cloud could be described as _____.

a layer of rain clouds

What is the eye of the hurricane?

a low-pressure, and relatively calm, center of the storm

What are the rainbands of the hurricane?

a string of thunderstorms that circulate outward and often intensify the hurricane

What is an El Niño Event?

a weather pattern characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern portion of the tropical Pacific Ocean

tropical storm

are low-pressure areas that produce winds from 39-73 miles per hou

Why is the term for this weather phenomenon El Niño?

because it happens around Christmas because a fisherman in South America wanted it to represent a specific boy of "the Christ child"

The Coriolis Effect causes hurricanes to spin __________ in the Northern Hemisphere and ___________ in the Southern Hemisphere.

counterclockwise clockwise

How does pressure gradient force cause wind?

differences in pressure create winds

Which causes more damage, El Niño or La Niña events?

el Nino

It requires ___________ times as much heat energy to raise the temperature of water than to raise the temperature of air.

four

Clouds can be classified by the root word cumulo, meaning

heap

What is latent heat of condensation?

heat given off when water vapor condenses into clouds

What are jet streams?

high-altitude, fast winds

The atmosphere closest to the earth has ____. Select all that apply.

higher pressure warmer tempetures

What happens when winds encounter obstacles?

it slows down it can change directions

Why did hurricane Sandy cause so much damage?

its size

air mass?

large areas of air that have similar temperature and moisture levels

How do El Niño events typically happen and how long do they typically last? Select all that apply.

last 9-12 months happen 3-7 years

Hot air is ______ than cold air.

less dense

isobars

lines drawn around a global map that connect locations with the same atmospheric pressure

What is a tropical depression?

low-pressure systems that produce winds of 38 miles per hour or less

What is a hurricane?

low-pressure systems that produce winds of 74 miles per hour or more

eye wall of the hurricane?

made up of a ring of thunderstorms: where the most violent winds occur

Clouds can be classified by the root word alto, meaning _____.

mid

What is wind and how is it created

movement of air created through convection the transfer of heat due to unequal heating and cooling

frontal wedging?

occurs when a warm air mass collides with a cold air mass

orographic lifting?

occurs when an air mass and its clouds encounter a mountain

convergence

occurs when two air masses of similar temperature collide

What does the word maritime mean?

pertaining to the sea

What is an upwelling and why is it so important?

provides nutrients to the bottom of the marine ecosystem so that food chains and food webs are not disturbed

How could the conditions of the Pacific be described during normal non-El Niño weather patterns

rade winds blow westward across the tropical Pacific as the winds blow the warm water away from the east, an upwelling occurs. An upwelling occurs providing nutrients to marine ecosystems.

Coriolis effect causes winds to rotate

right and

hot hair _________.

rises

Cold air _______.

sinks

What is the Coriolis effect?

the deflection, or deviation, of the direction of the wind caused by the earth's rotation the spinning of the earth causes winds to steer to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

Which of earth's four systems converge to create weather?

the hydrosphere and atmosphere

What does the term pressure gradient force refer to?

the resulting force of a high- to low- pressure change, measured across a certain distance

What is localized convective lifting?

the rise of warm air over a very specific or local area, such as a city or an airport runway

8) What happens to cause an El Niño?.

the upwelling weakens the thermocline level lowers in the eastern Pacific, while at the same time it rises in the western Pacific the trade winds that pile up the warm water in the western Pacific weaken

barometer

tool used to measure atmospheric pressure.

North America has a monsoon season, but it is weak compared to those that occur in Southeast Asia.

true

If the earth did not rotate on its axis, there would still be _____________ cells moving north and south because the sun would still shine down on the earth, heating the area around the equator the greatest, and heating the area around the North and South Poles the least

two

El Niño can weaken ________________, which help feed the bottom of the marine ecosystem.

upwellings

What is a La Niña event?

weather patterns in which the reverse of an El Niño occurs

. In normal, non-El Niño weather patterns, trade winds blow westward across the tropical Pacific. This piles up the warm, surface water in the __________ Pacific.

western

In normal, non-El Niño weather patterns, trade winds blow westward across the tropical Pacific. This piles up the warm, surface water in the __________ Pacific.

western

Areas with pronounced monsoons usually have different seasons, which are they? Select all that apply.

wet and dry seasons

Convection is responsible for transferring heat, as well as for creating ____________.

wind

What are monsoons?

wind systems that change direction from one season to another season

Maritime winds are ____.

winds that originate during the summer over the ocean

Continental winds are ____.

winds that originate during the winter over land

the temperature that can make hurricanes

80 °F

How many tropical storms form each year? About how many go to be hurricanes?

80-100 tropical storms 40 or 50

What are some consequences of El Niño events?

An increase in certain organism populations may occur, which can lead to plague and disease. Drought and flooding can cause crop failure, which can lead to an increase in the price of food or famine in certain areas. A decline in fisheries may occur due to changes in fish populations as many fish cannot survive the temperature change of the ocean. The price of heating and cooling may increase due to changes in temperatures. The specific change is dependent upon location.

When is the typical monsoon season?

April to October

Which country experiences the most extreme monsoon due to its high elevation?

Asia

The _______________ determines the path of a hurricane.

Coriolis Effect

How did the theory of Southern Oscillation originate?

During this time, Walker also noted in the climate data that the monsoon seasons in Asia were coupled by droughts in Australia, Indonesia, India, and some parts of Africa. It began when Gilbert Walker noticed that as pressure rises in the east, it falls in the west, and as pressure rises in the west, it falls in the east.

What is ENSO? Why do scientists use this term to refer to El Niño events?

ENSO - El Niño Southern Oscillation, because the events usually occur at the same time

was the first person to propose that monsoon winds were caused by differences in heating between the land and ocean.

Edmond Halley

Indonesia experiences the most extreme monsoons because it has high elevations, such as the Tibetan Plateau.

False

proposed that monsoons are part of a larger system called the Southern Oscillation.

Gilbert Walker

proposed that Southern Oscillation is part of a bigger pattern of circulation of wind and rain in the Pacific, termed the Walker Circulation

Jacob Bjerknes

An ice age may occur if the ____________ is disrupted.

North Atlantic Current

El Niño normally happens at the same time as ____.

Southern Oscillation

How does a hurricane form?

Storm clouds form and the storm is moved to the left or right warm air rises and the cooler air sinks and takes its place over low-pressure areas in tropical waters

How do winter monsoon winds form?

The air above the water is warmer and then rises. Colder, drier air from the land blows in towards the ocean to replace the air, thereby resulting in the reversal of wind direction and the onset of a dry season.

How do summer monsoon winds form?

The air over the land becomes warm and then rises. Moist air from the ocean rushes in towards the land to replace it. The water in the air from the maritime winds condenses into clouds, where the water falls as rain

Why do coastal areas have more moderate temperatures than inland areas?

The higher heat capacity of the ocean causes greater humidity, making it easier for the air to retain heat.

How do the winds work at night?

The warm air rises over the ocean instead of the land, and the cooler air from the land blows in towards the ocean