Meteorology - Chapter 7 - Circulation of the Atmosphere
25) The term "Hadley cell" applies to:
A) 0 degrees to 30 degrees latitude.
68) Which current is responsible for transporting heat across the north Atlantic and moderating the climate of Western Europe?
A) The North Atlantic Drift
45) Which of the following would be the most prominent feature on the January pressure map?
A) The Siberian high
22) Taken as a whole, the large scale or general circulation patterns of the atmosphere exist:
A) as natures method of balancing heat energy differences.
24) Which of the following factors contributes to the general subsidence in the latitude zone 20 degrees to 35 degrees?
A) both the Coriolis force and radiation cooling
43) Concerning rainfall patterns, areas of persistent high pressure tend to cause:
A) desert regions.
100) The polar jet stream usually slows down in winter.
Answer: FALSE
78) Sea breezes are more likely at night, while land breezes are more likely during the day.
Answer: FALSE
84) The bora and mistral are local names given to chinook winds.
Answer: FALSE
85) George Hadley correctly described the general circulation of the atmosphere.
Answer: FALSE
86) The northeast trades are found between 60 degrees and 30 degrees North.
Answer: FALSE
89) The strong Siberian high becomes well developed in the summer.
Answer: FALSE
92) Continents have no significant influence on global precipitation patterns.
Answer: FALSE
93) For large landmasses, the interiors always receive more precipitation than any of the coasts.
Answer: FALSE
94) There is no true monsoon climate anywhere in North America.
Answer: FALSE
95) The United States is completely unaffected by monsoons.
Answer: FALSE
96) Westerly flow aloft is unrelated to the earth's rotation.
Answer: FALSE
99) Jet stream winds are completely distinct from the midlatitude westerlies.
Answer: FALSE
79) The chinook wind has been known to cause rapid increases in temperature in the Denver, CO area.
Answer: TRUE
80) Katabatic winds have a cooling effect, and chinook winds have a warming effect.
Answer: TRUE
81) Country breezes occur partly because concrete and asphalt are low albedo surfaces.
Answer: TRUE
82) Cities that have less intense urban heat islands should also have weaker country breezes.
Answer: TRUE
83) The "bora" is an example of a katabatic wind that blows toward the Adriatic Sea.
Answer: TRUE
87) The region where the trade winds meet is sometimes called the doldrums.
Answer: TRUE
88) The only true zonal distribution of pressure exists in the region of the subpolar low in the Southern Hemisphere.
Answer: TRUE
90) For much of South and Southeast Asia, winter is a period characterized by relatively dry conditions.
Answer: TRUE
91) The slopes of the Indian Himalayas can be some of the rainiest in the world.
Answer: TRUE
42) Although the idealized version of Earth features continuous pressure belts that continue zonally around the planet, the real Earth has broken-up pressure cells that vary seasonally. What explains this?
B) Large landmasses heat differently than oceans and interrupt the pressure pattern.
67) The Gulf Stream is the name given to:
B) a warm current carrying water from the equator along the East Coast of the United States.
44) Surface high pressure zones are usually associated with:
B) clear or nearly clear weather.
11) Which of the following associations is NOT correct?
B) land breeze — blows from the sea onto the land
2) One type of lake-effect storm that forms over the Great Lakes is characterized by a vortex shape. These vortices can range from 10 km to 100 km across. Based on their size, these storms would be classified as:
B) mesoscale.
62) Jet streams:
B) occur near the tropopause.
74) The Southern Oscillation is an example of a ________, in which weather or sea surface temperatures in one part of the globe impact weather patterns in distant parts of the globe.
B) teleconnection
4) Synoptic scale circulations are of what size, approximately?
C) between 100 and 5000 km
20) Urban heat islands induce:
C) country breezes.
40) What option below best characterizes the rainfall distribution at a station located on an island in the Arctic Ocean at about 80 degrees N latitude?
C) dry all year around
63) When are upper air winds fastest?
C) in winter
51) A monsoon is defined by a:
C) large seasonal changes in wind direction.
61) Jet streams are associated with fronts because of the:
C) large temperature gradient.
15) Summertime wildfires in California are fanned by:
C) the Santa Ana winds.
70) The process that brings cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador is called:
C) upwelling.
27) According to the idealized three-cell model of the atmosphere, most of the United States is situated in which zone of prevailing winds?
C) westerlies
39) What option below best characterizes the rainfall distribution at a station located south of the Sahara desert at about 20 degrees N latitude?
C) winter dry season
8) The cyclones and anticyclones of the midlatitudes are most often classified as ________ circulations.
D) synoptic or macroscale
55) The low rainfall totals associated with the India's winter occur when:
D) the ITCZ shifts south towards the Tropic of Capricorn.
16) A Santa Ana (or Chinook or Foehn) wind is a:
D) very dry, warm wind coming down a mountain slope.
60) What are Rossby waves?
D) wave patterns in the upper level westerlies and polar jet stream
7) Chinook winds, land-sea breezes and Santa Ana winds are examples of ________ circulations.
E) mesoscale
30) The divergence near the ground that is associated with the subtropical high pressure zone can be cited as the origin of:
E) trade winds.
29) The prevailing winds that blow from the horse latitudes toward the doldrums are called:
C) trade winds.
73) The Southern Oscillation:
A) is a cycle of strengthening and weakening pressure patterns in the equatorial Pacific.
12) Which mesoscale circulation affects Chicago?
A) land-sea breeze
23) G. Hadley's ideas about atmospheric circulations were concerned with the
A) macroscale.
38) The Sahara and Australian deserts (among others) are associated with which pressure belt?
A) subtropical high
57) The North American monsoon is generated by the seasonal wind shifts associated with:
A) the development of a summertime thermal low in arizonan.
66) The primary force causing ocean currents is:
A) the major winds.
46) During the summer season, the subtropical high found in the North Atlantic is also called the:
C) Bermuda high.
47) Which of the following pressure features is semi-permanent and is a result of the frequent midlatitude cyclones that traverse the area?
C) The Icelandic low
5) Which of the following is an example of a mesoscale wind?
C) a sea breeze
48) The areas of abundant rainfall on the earth tend to be:
C) near the equator and in midlatitudes.
37) Most of the earth's deserts are located in the:
C) subsidence areas of subtropical highs.
14) Haboobs:
D) are dust storms triggered by intense thunderstorms.
21) According to Hadley, the most important factor causing circulation patterns in the atmosphere was:
D) equator-pole temperature contrast.
9) Dust devils:
D) form from the bottom up.
64) The greater strength of polar jet stream winds during winter is due to:
D) greater horizontal temperature contrasts.
3) Planetary scale flow such as trade-winds are best classified as:
D) macroscale.
35) What option below best characterizes the rainfall distribution at a non-desert station located immediately to the north of the Sahara desert?
D) summer dry season
59) Which of the following statements about airflow in the middle and upper troposphere is true?
A) The flow is west-to-east throughout the midlatitudes.
36) What option below best characterizes the rainfall distribution at a station, such as New York City, located at about 40 degrees N latitude?
A) adequate precipitation all year around
50) The major features of precipitation distribution patterns are determined by:
A) general circulation and pressure patterns.
72) All of the following can result from a strong El Niño event EXCEPT:
A) the suppression of the Southern Oscillation.
18) Chinook and foehn winds are warm because:
A) they are warmed adiabatically as they sink down slope.
33) The C in ITCZ stands for convergence. What does the convergence refer to?
A) trade winds reaching the equator
69) Every year, the clockwise circulation around the subtropical high helps to:
A) transport 40 million tons of dust from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon rain forest.
13) During the day, mountainous regions tend to experience a ________, while at night they experience ________.
A) valley breeze; mountain breeze
31) The prevailing winds that tend to influence cities such as Chicago and New York City are:
A) westerlies.
75) Trade winds are a smaller macroscale wind phenomenon than a cyclone.
Answer: FALSE
76) Dust devils and tornadoes form under similar conditions; tornadoes are just much stronger.
Answer: FALSE
77) A sea breeze is usually best developed early in the morning.
Answer: FALSE
34) What option below best characterizes the rainfall distribution at a station located along the equator?
B) adequate precipitation all year around
53) A primary factor causing monsoon circulations is:
B) greater temperature changes over continents compared to oceans.
10) Winds are usually named for:
B) the direction or place from which they are blowing.
28) The doldrums are associated with what latitude(s)?
B) the equator
65) The wave-like or meandering pattern of the upper level winds in middle latitudes is of major importance for:
B) transporting heat between equator and poles.
56) The intense rain of India's monsoon season is attributed to:
C) the northward migration of the ITCZ.
19) What changes have increased the risk associated with the Santa Ana winds in southern California?
A) Commonly used landscape trees are more flammable than naturally occurring vegetation.
32) The region where the northeast trades meet the southeast trades is known as the:
A) ITCZ.
6) Land-sea breezes and ________ are mesoscale winds.
A) Santa Ana winds
1) Microscale winds generally last for:
A) a few seconds.
41) The subpolar low (polar front) is:
A) a zone where the polar easterlies and the westerlies converge.
26) Another name for the subtropical high is:
A) horse latitudes.
97) The temperature difference between the poles and the equator drive the westerlies.
Answer: TRUE
98) Typically, four to six Rossby waves encompass the earth.
Answer: TRUE
54) City X experiences very dry conditions in the winter, along with a prevailing northerly wind. In the summer, the prevailing winds shift to southerly and the rainfall at City X increases by a factor of 10. What can you say about the general climate regime of City X?
D) It has a monsoon climate.
52) Large scale wind circulation systems that reverse with the seasons are called:
D) monsoons.
71) El Niño events are characterized by:
D) pooling of unusually warm water in the eastern tropical Pacific.
49) The amount of precipitation received at a given location is primarily controlled by:
D) pressure and temperature patterns.
58) Why do westerly winds prevail at upper altitudes?
D) rotation of the earth and equator to pole temperature contrast
17) The chinook wind is also sometimes known as:
D) snow eater.