ch 6 ocean online hw
Select all the sources of heat losses listed below in Earth's heat budget.
1.) Net surface emission of long-wave radiation2.) Reflection by clouds3.) Backscatter in the air
Identify the two key components of the greenhouse effect
--- greenhouse gases allow incoming short-wave radiation to pass downward --- greenhouse gases absorb some of the outgoing longer-wave radiation from the Earth
The long-term heat budget of Earth shows that the amount of heat gained is ______ the amount of heat lost to space.
equal to
The atmosphere is primarily heated
from below as Earth radiates heat upward
The long-term gains and losses in heat must be balanced for Earth to have a relatively stable long-term mean surface temperature. These gains and losses are tallied in a(n) ______ budget.
heat
Areas of descending air result in. pressure zones, and areas of ascending (rising) air result in
high ; low
Over the course of a year, more heat is lost than is gained at
higher latitudes
The rise in greenhouse gas levels has
increased Earth's average temperature as less heat radiation can escape Earth's atmosphere
The rise in carbon dioxide levels has been attributed to humans and really picked up its pace with the start of the
industrial rev
The surface temperatures on land vary more over the course of a year than the surface temperatures on the ocean because land has a ______ than the ocean does.
lower heat capacity
Measurements made at Earth's surface near the equator show that over the course of a year
more heat is gained than is lost
The most common gas element in the atmosphere by volume is _____ , and the second most common is _____
nitrogen ; oxygen
Sheets of new sea ice that are broken into small roundish pieces are called
pancake ice
There is a natural annual increase and decrease in carbon dioxide levels in the Northern Hemisphere because
plants absorb carbon dioxide in the spring and summer as they grow and release it in fall and winter as plant material decays
a heat budget ____
represents the gains and losses of heat from Earth and the atmosphere to space
The _______ is the initial source of energy that heats the atmosphere and the oceans
sun
The natural destruction of ozone over Antarctica occurs when
temperatures drop low enough for clouds to form between 10 and 30 km up in the atmosphere
We understand the movement of Earth's wind patterns by studying a model of Earth completely covered in water. The real Earth has an ______ which displaces the wind bands in the previous model.
uneven distribution of land and water
Atmospheric pressure is the force
with which a column of overlying air presses on an area of Earth's surface
Greater speed or velocity of motion and a higher both result in an increase in the magnitude of the Coriolis effect
latitude
The speed of Earth's rotation changes with
latitude and is greatest at the equator
La Niña events occur when _
ocean surface temperatures drop below normal off the coast of Peru
A decrease in the amount of ______ in the atmosphere means a greater amount of ultraviolet radiation reaches the ground
ozone
A highly reactive molecule of oxygen composed of three oxygen atoms is called
ozone
Human-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are released into the atmosphere and break apart when struck by ultraviolet light. The chlorine that is released tends to attack and break down ______.
ozone
The destruction of ozone in the stratosphere is a concern because
ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation
The Southern Oscillation is the _____
periodic reversal of high- and low-pressure systems on either side of the tropical Pacific Ocean
The formation of high- and low-pressure zones directly results from air masses
rising and falling
rue or false: The processes that lead to the absorption and loss of heat from Earth vary with time.
true
Warm ocean waters (greater than 27.8°C) and the condensing of water vapor are the major conditions necessary for the formation of
typhoon
The net motion of heat in the winter is ______ in the oceans.
upward
The upwelling of cold water off the coast of Peru is blocked during the Southern Oscillation by a pool of _____water that moves eastward from the western equatorial Pacific.
warm
Clouds can ______ Earth by absorbing long-wave radiation from Earth's surface and help ______ Earth by reflecting short-wave radiation from the Sun
warm ; cool
The upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water off the coast of Peru (South America) is weakened or shut down during the Southern Oscillation because______
warm surface waters are pushed across the Pacific and are pushed up against the coast
A convection cell is one in which air is
warmed at one location and cooled at another
Rank the layers of the atmosphere according to their height above Earth's surface, placing the layer closest to Earth at the bottom.
(bottom) troposphere stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere (top)
The three short-term, active reservoirs for carbon dioxide are
.) The atmosphere2.) The oceans3.) Terrestrial systems
Select all the possible components of clouds listed below. (They would not all occur in the same clouds at the same time.)
1.) Liquid water droplets with temperatures above freezing2.) Ice crystals3.) Dust particles4.) Supercooled water droplets with temperatures below freezing
Each hemisphere of Earth has ______ convection cells. These cells each cover about 30 degrees of latitude with air rising at the equator and at ______ degrees latitude and sinking at the poles and at 30 degrees of latitude
3;60
Rank the latitudes below in terms of their speed of rotation. Place the latitude with the slowest rotation at the top
85, 60, 25, 5
identify some of the factors that led to Hurricane Katrina (2005) being so destructive to New Orleans. (Select all that apply
A large storm surge occurred. Flood barriers failed. An increase in strength happened as the storm moved over the warm Gulf waters and gained energy from below.
Select all the sources of heat gains in Earth's heat budget
Absorption by dust in the atmosphere Absorption by clouds Absorption by water and land
Moving air and water masses appear to be deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere. This apparent deflection is called the
Coriolis effect
Winds are named based on the
Direction the wind is coming from
The related events of El Niño and the Southern Oscillation are known as
ENSO
A plane flying directly north in the sky will appear to be following a curved path with respect to the ground because
Earth (the reference frame) beneath the plane is rotating
The anomalous climatic conditions that occur on average every three to seven years and last for about a year in the tropical Pacific are called ______
El Niño events
T OR F The weather-related effects of ENSO events are limited to the Southern Hemisphere, where the pressure systems reverse
False
Match the ice term to its description.
Fast ice: Sea ice that is anchored to a landmass or shallow part of the continental shelf. Drift ice: Freely floating sea ice Pack ice: Continuous, or nearly continuous, sea ice
Solar radiation intensity available at Earth's surface varies most directly with ______.
Latitude and weakens from the equator to the poles
A hurricane is a _______, intense, atmospheric storm that is born over ______.
large; tropical oceans
Select all the sources of heat losses listed below in Earth's heat budget
Reflection by clouds Net surface emission of long-wave radiation Backscatter in the air
In regard to wind band modification, what factors require consideration when moving from the rotating, water-covered model of Earth to the real Earth? (Select all that apply.)
Seasonal changes in Earth's surface temperature The difference in heat capacity of land and water The addition of large continental land blocks
The acronym ENSO represents the combined events of El Niño and the ______
Southern Oscillation
The periodic reversals of the high- and low-pressure systems in the tropical Pacific are called the _____
Southern Oscillation
In order to predict an El Niño event, what variables are entered in to the Multivariate ENSO Index (select all that apply)
Surface-air temperature Total amount of cloudiness Sea-level pressure Sea surface temperature East-west and north-south velocity components of the trade winds
Identify the factors below that are important in the formation of hurricanes
The heat liberated as water vapor condenses Ocean surface temperatures greater than 27.8°C (82°F) The Coriolis effect
Identify the factors below that influence the magnitude of the Coriolis effect. (Select all that apply.)
The speed of the mass (air, water, plane, etc.) in motion The latitude
If we assume that the incoming short-wave solar radiation is the only source of energy available to heat Earth's surface and that there are 100 units of energy entering the atmosphere, then Earth's heat budget most closely matches which of the following choices?
Thirty units are backscattered, 70 units are gained, and later 70 units are lost back to space.
What do we use the Saffir-Simpson Scale for?
To categorize hurricanes
Select all the atmospheric layers below in which air temperature drops with increasing altitude
Troposphere Mesosphere
Match the layer of Earth's atmosphere to its description.
Troposphere: The lowest layer; air temperatures drop with increasing altitude Stratosphere: Contains most of the ozone; air temperatures increase with increasing altitude Mesosphere: Located above the stratopause; air temperatures drop with increasing altitude Thermosphere: The highest layer; air temperatures increase with increasing altitude
Rank the following variable gases in terms of their relative volume amounts in the atmosphere. Place the most common gas at the top.
Water vapor Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrous oxide
Identify the general weather patterns that result from ENSO events.
Wetter-than-normal rainfall in the eastern United States and in normally dry regions of Peru Warmer-than-normal winters in the northern United States and Canada
Chemical reactions leading to the yearly destruction of ozone occur when clouds form over Antarctica due to
a drop in air temperatures
A storm tide results when _____
a high tide occurs at the same time and location as a storm surge
A rain shadow can form on the leeward (sheltered) side of mountains because the
air drops its moisture on the windward side as the air moves up over the mountains and cools and loses precipitation in the process
The Coriolis effect describes the
apparent deflection from straight-line movement of air and water masses
Sea ice forms
as seawater begins to freeze at the ocean's surface
Heating of the air over the land in India's summers causes the formation of a low-pressure system. This low-pressure system pulls in moist warm air off the ocean. This results in monsoons _
as the warm moist air cools as it rises and releases the moisture as heavy rains
In addition to terrestrial ecosystems, the two active reservoirs of carbon dioxide are the
atmosphere; oceans.
The force a column of overlying air exerts on an area of Earth's surface is called
atmospheric pressure
An air mass warmed near the equator ______ and travels aloft until it reaches about 30 degrees latitude, when it sinks because it has cooled enough. The air mass then moves either north or south where it rises again at the equator or at ______ degrees of latitude.
contracts 60
When air warms in one area, rises and moves horizontally as wind to another location, and then cools and descends, moving horizontally as wind back toward the original area, the pattern of circulation is called a ______ cell.
convection
In the Southern Hemisphere, the horizontal movement of air around high-pressure systems is in a _______ direction and in a ______ direction around low-pressure systems.
counterclockwise : clockwise
Puffy clouds are labeled_______cumulus layered clouds are stratus, wispy clouds are _________Cirrus, and clouds that release precipitation to the ground are nimbus.
cumulus ; Cirrus
The doldrums are located near the equator, and the horse latitudes are located at 30 degrees north and south latitude. The main difference in the atmospheric conditions is the horse latitudes are areas of ______ pressure.
descending air, resulting in high pressure, and the doldrums result from rising air leading to low
Monsoons form over the west coast of India
during the summer when a low-pressure system forms over the land, pulling in warm moist air from the ocean
Solar radiation is greatest at the ______ and weakens toward the ______, where it is the least intense
equator; poles
Since the land has a lower relative heat capacity as compared to the ocean, the land tends to
experience a greater daily range of temperatures
True or false: The atmosphere primarily heats from above because it is closer to the Sun.
false
An ice floe is a
floating chunk of ice with a diameter of less than 10 kilometers
Massive ________ caused the majority of damage during Hurricane Katrina. This was caused by torrential rain, a large storm surge, and the failure of protective barriers.
flooding
The heat released when sea ice freezes goes into the atmosphere instead of into the water, so the surrounding water remains at the ______point.
freezing
During an El Niño, the surface pressure in Indonesia is unusually _____and reciprocally, is unusually_____ in the central Pacific.
high low
The areas of descending air leading to high pressure at 30 degrees north and south latitude are known as the______ latitudes, whereas the area of _____ pressure at the equator is known as the doldrums.
horse ; low
Large and intense atmospheric storms born over tropical ocean waters in the Atlantic are known as
hurricanes
The Saffir-Simpson scale categorizes___ according to wind speed.
hurricanes
Pancake ice that comes together to form floating chunks of ice less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter are called ice
ice floes
Massive, irregularly shaped sea ice masses that are formed by glaciers breaking apart are called
icebergs
The amount of long-wave heat radiation retained by the atmosphere will ______ as the levels of greenhouse gases increase.
increase
Periods of colder-than-normal ocean surface water temperatures off the coast of Peru are called ______ events.
la nina
In the middle latitudes, low-pressure systems are located over the ____ during the summer as the surface heats quickly. However, in the winter, the high-pressure systems tend to form there as the air is cooler and sinks.
land
The amount of daylight and the angle the Sun's rays strike Earth vary with ______ because the ______ of Earth's tilt with respect to the solar plane changes during the course of a year.
latitude; direction
Clouds can affect Earth's surface temperatures by absorbing some ______ radiation from Earth's surface, thus keeping it warmer, and by reflecting some ______ radiation from the Sun, thus keeping Earth cooler.
long wave short wave
Global atmospheric circulation results in stable low- and high-pressure systems at certain latitudes. The high precipitation rates in ______-pressure systems result in ______-than-average salinity in the ocean surface waters below.
low lower
A storm surge results when a ______ -pressure system causes a rise in the sea's surface and from the storm winds driving ______ toward the center of the storm.
low water
An El Niño is a period of _____
nomalous climatic conditions centered in the tropical Pacific
Gases that are always present in the same relative amounts are called ______ gases, and gases that can change in relative amounts based on time and location are called ______ gases.
permanent; variable
Air moving up one side of a large mountain (the windward side) will cool and drop precipitation because colder air can hold less moisture than warmer air. This can result in the formation of a ______.
rain shadow on the leeward (downwind) side as the air mass has lost most of its moisture on the windward side
As sea ice is forming, the surrounding water temperature
remains at the freezing point
During El Niño events, the pressure systems in the Pacific
reverse the normal surface pressure gradient
The low-pressure system at the equator leads to the ocean's surface waters there having a lower-than-average _____ due to the increased precipitation.
salinity
The low-pressure system at the equator leads to the ocean's surface waters there having a lower-than-average due to the increased precipitation.
salinity
The 1997-98 El Niño event was predicted six months in advance. As a result, we
saved $1billion to 2 billion in property damage in the United States
One of the most apparent benefits of accurately predicting El Niño events is ______
saving money from property damage
______forms as seawater begins to freeze at the ocean's surface
sea ice
pancake ice results when
sheets of new sea ice are broken into small rounded pieces
The maximum sea-surface elevation occurs in the middle of low-pressure systems such as hurricanes. This hill or mound of water is called a(n) ______surge.
storm
Scientists use the Multivariate ENSO Index to predict an El Niño event. The data they need to input include variables regarding cloudiness, trade wind velocity, air pressure, and the _____ of both the sea surface and the air right above the sea surface
temperature
The vast majority of energy used to heat the oceans and atmosphere initially comes from ______.
the sun
When a storm surge coincides with a high tide, the result is called a storm
tide
The processes involved in the heat budget vary with
time
The processes involved in the heat budget vary with ______.
time
Match the wind type to its description
trade winds : the surface between the equator abd 30 lat westerlies: 30 and 60 polar : 60 and 90
Since we observe objects in the sky from a rotating reference point, objects moving in a straight line in the sky appear to
travel along a curved path
Winds are named for the direction from which they blow
true
The polar easterlies are the surface winds between the poles and 60 degrees of latitude. The_____ are the surface winds between 60 and 30 degrees of latitude, and the______winds are the surface winds between the equator and 30 degrees of latitude.
westerlies trade
The unequal distribution of heat between the equator and the poles results in ocean currents and ________ that work to remove the imbalance.
winds
The difference between permanent and variable atmospheric gases is that permanent gases are present in a constant relative percentage of the atmosphere's total volume, and the variable atmospheric gases ______.
change their concentrations with time and location
The human-induced destruction of ozone occurs when chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) break down in the atmosphere as they are stuck by ultraviolet radiation. The released ______ leads to the breakdown of ozone.
chlorine
In the Northern Hemisphere, the horizontal movement of winds around a high-pressure system is in a ______ direction because the Coriolis effect deflects winds to the right as they move outward from the cente
clockwise
The annual variation in the amount of solar radiation received varies with latitude because the
direction of Earth's tilt changes with respect to the Sun during the year
Free floating sea ice is called______ ice; continuous sea ice is called _______ice; and sea ice anchored to a landmass is called_______ ice.
drift ; pack ; ice
The visible part of clouds in the lower atmosphere is composed of water
droplets
Carbon dioxide allows incoming long-wave solar radiation to pass downward but traps some of the longer-wave infrared radiation given off by Earth. This allows Earth to be warmer than it otherwise would be and is called the_____ effect
greenhouse
Ocean currents and winds move excess _______from the equator toward the poles.
heat or energy
The rise in greenhouse gas levels has _____
increased Earth's average temperature as less heat radiation can escape Earth's atmosphere
As you move up in the stratosphere and the thermosphere, the air temperature____
increases
The solar constant of 2 calories per square centimeter per minute is the value of the
intensity of the solar radiation received on a surface at right angles to the Sun, assuming Earth has no atmosphere
Match the cloud type to its description
stratus: layered cumulus: puffy Cirrus: wispy nimbus; coulds releasing precipation that travels to the ground
The heat absorbed at the surface of the ocean is moved downward in ______, and heat is transferred upward toward the surface in______
summer ; winter
The difference in heat capacity between the land and oceans leads to low-pressure systems forming over the land in the and over the in winter.
summer and seas
The annual growth and decay of plant material accounts for a large portion of the annual variation in ______ levels in the atmosphere.
carbon dioxide
Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been an increase in the levels of ______ in the atmosphere.
carbon dioxide
The annual growth and decay of plant material accounts for a large portion of the annual variation in ______ levels in the atmosphere
carbon dioxide
Ozone is a highly reactive ______
molecule of oxygen comprised of three atoms that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun
If you assume Earth has no atmosphere, the intensity of the solar radiation available on a surface at right angles to the Sun's rays is 2 calories per square centimeter per minute. This value is known as the
solar constant
