Geology 1447 Practice Quiz 15

The peak wind gust record of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, set in 1934, was:

231 mph.

Which of the following is true about climatic classification systems?

All of the Above: Some are based on the obvious properties of temperature and precipitation Some use differences in energy budget components Some use the frequency with which air mass types occupy various regions

Climate is:

All of the Above: a historical agglomeration of weather data. a statistical rendering of the earth's atmosphere. dependent on daily observations.

Climate:

All of the Above: delineates extended periods of atmospheric history. is a statistical evaluation of weather for a location. is a summary of weather conditions for a particular area. provides normal conditions, i.e., what is expected.

Care should be taken when interpreting climatological data because:

All of the Above: ease of drawing incorrect conclusions from valid data. extreme conditions do not necessarily manifest themselves all the time. of the smoothing techniques used in the assembling of climatological data. oversimplification of the weather patterns in a particular location.

The only area in the continental United States that comes close to having a monsoonal climate is:

Arizona.

Much of the prime agricultural land in the world would be associated with which climate group?

C

All months that have mean temperatures below 10 degrees C are what classification in the Koeppen system?

E

Which of the following is not one of the three largest tropical wet climates of the Earth?

Island of Madagascar

A climate that has approximately six months of dry weather and a corresponding six months of wet weather would be a(n) ________ climate.

Monsoonal

Which of the following places would have the most "continental" of climates?

Yakutsk, Siberia

Mediterranean climates are characterized by all of the following, except:

an average annual rainfall that rarely exceeds 30 inches.

Mid-latitude deserts:

are most extensive in Asia.

Highland climates:

contain a variety of climates.

This climate group occupies a greater percentage of the earth's surface than any other climate group:

desert.

Thornthwaite's classification system:

did not provide enough description of empirically derived equations.

If the potential evaporation is more than the annual precipitation, the climate is:

dry.

Potential evaporation exceeding precipitation is the defining characteristic for this climate:

dry.

This is the only climate zone in which precipitation is the defining characteristic:

dry.

The Koeppen classification system was developed in the:

early-1900s.

Koeppen had this many primary climates in his classification system:

five.

Tundra climate:

has a low range of daily temperatures in summer.

The marine west coast environment:

has mild summers.

Subtropical steppe:

has very high summer temperatures.

Tropical wet climates:

have a diurnal temperature range that often exceeds the annual temperature range.

Areas with a monsoonal climate typically:

have an annual period of very low rainfall.

Subtropical deserts:

have large diurnal temperature ranges.

In the Koeppen system, the type of climates that are unique because their distribution is not governed by geographic location but by topography, are the:

highland climates.

The text adds this climate to the primary climates of Koeppen:

highland.

The precipitation in mediterranean climates:

is confined to winter in large part because of the nearby presence of subtropical high pressure systems in summer.

The savanna:

is regulated in part by recurrent fires.

The monsoonal climate:

is typical in tropical coastal areas.

Polar climates exist based on:

latitude.

This plays the smallest role in Koeppen's classification system:

latitude.

Regarding dry climates, it is true that:

mid-latitude deserts often exist in the rainshadow of major mountain ranges.

The Great Plains region is best classified as:

mid-latitude steppe.

What is a climate that can be thought of as transition between the tropical wet and tropical dry climates?

monsoonal

Humid subtropical climates:

often have convectional thundershowers in summer.

Tropical wet and dry climates:

owe much of the seasonal changes in precipitation to the shifting of the Hadley cell.

The Koeppen "B" climate zone is the only one that is determined strictly by:

precipitation.

The major Koeppen categories arranged themselves across the globe, with this factor being least important:

proximity to rainforests.

A dry climate is based on the amount of ________ and the amount of ________.

rainfall; potential evapotranspiration

Which of the following primary climates is most likely to be closest to a pole?

severe mid-latitude

Where in the U.S. would we find a Mediterranean climate?

southern California

The primary parameters of a climatological classification system are:

temperature and moisture.

In the Koeppen system of climate classification, generally the first letter stands for ________ and the second letter stands for ________.

temperature; precipitation

According to the Koeppen system, an A climate is one in which:

the average temperature for all months is greater than 18 degrees C.

What is the largest climate modifier in the southern hemisphere?

the fact that a very large portion of the southern hemisphere's surface area is composed of water

Climate patterns at any particular location are a reflection of:

the general circulation.

Climate consists of all of the following, except:

the high temperature for a given day.

Thornthwaite's classification was based on:

the principle of the water balance.

The second letter of the Koeppen letter code gives information about:

the temperature characteristics of the climate subtype.

All of the following are characteristics of severe mid-latitude climates, except:

they can extend up to about 80 degrees latitude.

All of the following is true about tropical climates, except:

they often exist above 30 degrees latitude.

A Koeppen Climate that has an average temperature for all months greater than 18 degrees C (64 degrees F) is a ________ type of climate.

tropical

This subclimate contains savanna:

tropical wet and dry.

Koeppen based the boundaries between climate classes on changes in:

type of vegetation.

Tropical wet climates:

usually have convectional precipitation.

Subarctic climates:

usually have more precipitation in summer than in winter.

The most fundamental classification factor in the Koeppen system is:

vegetation.

The Koeppen classification system:

was revised substantially by Koeppen over a period of nearly 20 years.