geo2200 exam 1 terms

N

"N" on the globe represents the northern hemisphere; "S" on the globe represents the southern hemisphere; ITC stands for the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Where will the ITC shift in July?

Without greenhouse gases, earth's temperature would be

-18°C.

denser air flows in to replace the rising air

A parcel of air at the surface is heated which expands the air and increases the parcel's volume. If the same number of air molecules occupy the greater volume, density decreases. The increase in volume results in lower pressure. What will happen to the air surrounding this parcel?

clockwise; south and southeast.

A tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere rotates __________ and has a storm track turning ____________

a path over warm water.

A tropical cyclone will be strengthened by

when it makes land fall.

A tropical cyclone will be weakened by

North Pole is over ocean, South Pole is over land.

A true difference between north and south polar areas is.

Assume you are in the Northern hemisphere, and match the dates with the correct solar positions:

A)Winter solstice (B)Vernal (spring) and autumnal (fall) equinoxes (C)Summer

During the northern hemisphere's summer, the sun never completely descends beneath the horizon in areas north of the _________ Circle or ________ °N on at least one full day per year (hence the name "Land of the Midnight Sun").

Arctic, 66.5

air moving from a large body of land to a large body of water.

Convergence resulting in rising atmospheric motion at the surface can occur in all of the following settings EXCEPT

Which location is found at the highest latitude? Base on the following climographs and insolation graphs. Letters represent a location where the climograph and insolation graph were recorded

D (insolation and temp are both low)

B

During a La Niña phase, excess warm water accumulates in

equator in the eastern Pacific

During the warm phase of ENSO, a belt of much warmer than normal water appears along the_____.

equator in the eastern Pacific, west of South America.

During the warm phase of ENSO, warmest waters are found along the

0° of latitude is found at the ______ and the 90° of latitude is found at the _____.

Equator; North Pole

increase; decrease

With height, wind speed in the atmosphere would _______________. With depth, the effect of wind on the water column would ________.

Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between molecular motion, wavelength, and temperature?

as temperature increases, molecular motion increases, wavelength decreases

The "sphere" that intersects with all of the other spheres is the

biosphere.

The significance of any great circle is that it always

connects two points on the surface of a sphere with the shortest distance.

The solar constant is

consistent amount of energy received at the top of the atmosphere.

Which of the following involves the release of latent heat back into the environment?

deposition

One of the main roles of plants in biogeochemical cycles is to

extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

One of the main roles of plants in biogeochemical cycles is to:

extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

All of the following involve the input of energy EXCEPT:

freezing

All of the following is true regarding shortwave radiation that reaches the earth's surface EXCEPT.

heating of the atmosphere by insolation is more effective than heating of the atmosphere by land and water.

As the zenith angle _____ the amount of energy reaching the surface _____.

increases, decreases

As one approaches the equator, the angle of incidence ____ and the atmosphere attenuation ______.

increases; decreases

Electromagnetic Radiation.

is composed of interacting electrical and magnetic fields.

Land heats and cools more rapidly than oceans because of

lack of mixing in soil or rock layers.

What two factors, both resulting from the earth's tilt, are most important in contributing to the seasons? Together, these two factors determine the total amount of solar radiation incident on the top of Earth's atmosphere. Please choose TWO correct answers.

length of day, sun angle

Geographic factors are important when considering environmental issues or when evaluating potential sites for a new agricultural area or business because

location and spatial distributions often affect environmental, social, or economic behavior.

Land heats and cools more rapidly than the ocean because of its

lower specific heat when compared to the ocean.

A dynamic system refers to a system in which

matter, energy, or both, are constantly changing their position, amounts, or form.

Which of the following involves energy storage in the water molecule in the form of latent heat?

melting, evaporation, sublimation

Ozone thinning is.

more pronounced in Antarctica than the Arctic.

The earth's radiation balance involves.

most energy leaving the earth in the form of longwave radiation.

From this graph, one should conclude that

most of the energy input into the system goes toward changing state, not to change temperature.

An object emits a range of electromagnetic energy wave lengths because

not all molecules vibrate at the same speed.

The difference between open and closed systems is that

open systems can acquire matter and energy, but closed systems cannot.

The difference between open and closed systems is that:

open systems can acquire matter and energy, but closed systems cannot.

All of the following is true in regard to the earth's radiation balance EXCEPT.

outgoing longwave radiation increases poleward in regular increments, peaking at the poles.

Which of the following processes is primarily responsible for the sky's blue color?

scattering

The annual cycle of seasons is primarily caused by __________________.

the tilt of Earth's axis relative to its orbit around the Sun

If two places have the same latitude but different longitudes,

the two places are directly east or west of each other.

If two places have the same latitude but different longitudes,:

the two places are directly east or west of each other.

On equinox.

tilt is neither inclined toward or away from the sun

In regard to the shortwave energy entering the earth's atmosphere, most is.

used to heat either the atmosphere or the ground surface.

The only temperature scale that relates changes in internal energy to the absolute amount of heat gained or lost by a system is the

Kelvin scale.

Below, you are given the mean monthly temperatures for Memphis, San Francisco, Irkutsk (Russia) and Santos (Brazil). The annual ranges of temperature in Memphis and San Francisco are quite different (calculate them to see the magnitude). Which of the following BEST explains the difference in these ranges? You can refer to a map if you are unfamiliar where any of cities are located.

Memphis is located in the interior of the continent and therefore more influenced by the seasonal range in solar radiation, while San Francisco is located on the coast of an ocean and more modulated by ocean temperatures.

Which of the following is true of meridians?

Meridians always follow great circles.

Blue lines with blue triangles

On weather maps, cold fronts are depicted by_____.

air pressure is high over oceans at 30° because descending air warms less over the cool oceans.

Regarding pressure, latitude, and water vs land.

at the subtropics because descending air promotes clear skies.

Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) are warmest

high evaporation, low precipitation.

Subtropical waters are typically more saline than equatorial waters because of

the rotation of the earth.

The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection in the path of a moving object due to

low pressure, rising air over the equator; high pressure, sinking air at 30°N and 30°S.

The Hadley cell is characterized by.

On June 21st which location will be receiving 24 hrs of daylight?

Arctic Circle

westward moving winds weaken causing the mound of warm water in the western Pacific to move eastward.

A Kelvin wave develops when:

Ozone consists of _______ molecules of oxygen, is found primarily in the ______ and protects us from ______.

3, stratosphere; ultraviolet rays

polarity

An important property of water is its ability to act as a good solvent. This could best be explained by water's

D; 4°C

At what point on the graph does the density of water begin to decrease? ______ The temperature at this point is _______°C.

B

At what point on this water vapor saturation curve graph will water vapor be deposited on ice crystals while liquid water droplets will evaporate?

Which of the water columns would experience the greatest temperature differences with depth?

B (calm)

Which of the letters represents the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere?

C

Which of the letters represents the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere?

C (when just north america is illuminated)

B

Given the prevailing wind direction indicated by the arrow, where would you expect air to be cooling at the saturated adiabatic lapse rate?

D

Given the prevailing wind direction indicated by the arrow, where would you expect temperatures to be warmest and the humidity lowest?

The most important greenhouse gas for retaining a variety of outgoing longwave radiation is

H2O

The most important greenhouse gas for retaining a variety of outgoing longwave radiation is

H2O.

less; be packed into a smaller volume

If a gas cools under constant pressure, the molecules within it have ______ kinetic energy (motions) and can therefore _______________.

air is more tightly packed in high pressure zones and moves toward low pressure zones.

In accordance with the pressure gradient

ice formation in polar zones increases salinity and density

In regard to ocean salinity, temperature, and density:

A; C

In regard to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is air mainly descending at ____, and rising at ___.

north; north

In the Northern Hemisphere cold currents tend to flow from the ____________. In the Southern Hemisphere warm currents tend to flow from the ________________:

the supply of solar insolation.

The dominant control in global sea surface temperature is

False

The less mass an object has, the stronger the Coriolis effect will be for that object.

cyclone, southern hemisphere.

This diagram features a

the warm air over the land rises, creating low pressure. Cool air over water sinks, creating high pressure. This creates an onshore breeze.

To create a sea breeze

rising, unstable air where much latent heat is released.

Warm oceanic pools form in areas of

What atmospheric layer is the home of weather, has the greatest density of gas molecules, and has a decrease in temperature with height?

Troposphere

low pressure over urban areas with polluted air flowing aloft and then the polluted air sinking over the surrounding countryside.

Urban areas heat up more rapidly than surrounding countryside. This can result in

low pressure, high pressure, low pressure, high pressure

Using the insolation diagram, name the correct sequence of surface pressure zones associated with latitude zones. Start from the equator and move toward the poles.

Coriolis deflection causes warmer surface waters to deflect to the northwest causing deeper, cooler waters to replace the dispersing surface water.

Which gives rise to equatorial upwelling?

Cold dense air sinks at the poles, flows outward away from poles, and rises between 60 and 45 degrees latitude.

Which of the following best describes air circulation at high latitudes?

D

Which of the following locations would be characterized by drier and warmer conditions during a La Niña?

as one moves up in the atmosphere, pressure decreases, as one moves closer to the earth's surface, pressure increases

Which of the following statements is true regarding the relationship between air pressure and altitude?

atmospheric motion

Which phenomena involves the most equations in weather forecasting models?