Natural Disasters Ch 9

The energy that water absorbs, stores, and releases as it circulates in Earth's atmosphere is called ___________ _____________

latent heat

If high pressure exists on land and low pressure exists over a neighboring ocean, which way will the wind most likely blow?

out toward the ocean

The dry adiabatic lapse rate is ______°C per km of rise.

10

Which of the following accurately describe anticyclones? -Air descends and warms in the middle. -Dry conditions are common in them. -The air flow is counterclockwise around them in the Northern Hemisphere. -Surface winds blow in toward the center of an anticyclone.

-Air descends and warms in the middle. -Dry conditions are common in them.

Which of the following statements is true with respect to atmospheric circulation on Earth? -Air tends to fall at the pole in each hemisphere. -The rotation of Earth and unequal heating set up three convection cells in the each hemisphere. -Air tends to rise in both hemispheres near the equator. -There are four convection cells in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect and large stretches of open ocean.

-Air tends to fall at the pole in each hemisphere. -The rotation of Earth and unequal heating set up three convection cells in the each hemisphere. -Air tends to rise in both hemispheres near the equator.

Which of the following are zones of relatively stable low pressure around 60° North latitude? -Aleutian low -Bermuda low -Icelandic low -Siberian low

-Aleutian low -Icelandic low

Which of the following are zones of relatively stable high pressure at around 30° North latitude? -Icelandic high -Siberian high -Bermuda high -Pacific high

-Bermuda high -Pacific high

Which of the following accurately describe the air masses that move over North America? -The air masses that develop over the Gulf of Mexico and move north tend to be cold and dry. -Air masses that develop over the North Atlantic are much more likely to move over North America than those that develop in the Pacific Ocean. -Cold air masses generally move east and/or south. -The air masses that develop over North America tend to be dry. -Air masses coming from the polar region tend to be cool to cold.

-Cold air masses generally move east and/or south. -The air masses that develop over North America tend to be dry. -Air masses coming from the polar region tend to be cool to cold.

Which of the following are true in regard to large-scale surface water circulation in the world's oceans? -Currents moving from high to low latitude are warm water currents. -Large counterclockwise circulation patterns exist in the southern Pacific and southern Atlantic. -Large clockwise circulation patterns exist in the North Hemisphere in both the Atlantic and Pacific. -A surface ocean current flows around Antarctica in the Southern Ocean.

-Large counterclockwise circulation patterns exist in the southern Pacific and southern Atlantic. -Large clockwise circulation patterns exist in the North Hemisphere in both the Atlantic and Pacific. -A surface ocean current flows around Antarctica in the Southern Ocean.

Which of the following accurately describe surface circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean? -North America blocks the western flow of warm water, causing it to move poleward along its southeast coast in the Gulf Stream -Surface waters are blown westward from Africa toward the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. - Warm waters are moved up the east side of the Atlantic ocean from Africa towards western Europe. -The large-scale rotation of surface water in the Atlantic is counterclockwise.

-North America blocks the western flow of warm water, causing it to move poleward along its southeast coast in the Gulf Stream. -Surface waters are blown westward from Africa toward the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

What two factors are used to calculate the heat index, or the perceived temperature? -Wind speed -Dew point -Relative humidity -Temperature

-Relative humidity -Temperature

Only about 50% of the Sun's radiation that reaches Earth is absorbed by Earth's surface. What happens to the other 50%? -Some is absorbed by the oceans. -Some is lost in space before reaching Earth. -Some is reflected back into space. -Some is absorbed by the atmosphere.

-Some is reflected back into space. -Some is absorbed by the atmosphere.

Stratosphere

-Temperature increases with height; contains the ozone layer

How is heat from the tropics redistributed in the ocean? -The heat is moved poleward by ocean circulation. -Ocean water molecules absorb more latent heat that they can release later when they evaporate. -The heat is mixed downward by tides and winds. -Water molecules use the heat in decay processes to form free oxygen.

-The heat is moved poleward by ocean circulation. -The heat is mixed downward by tides and winds.

Which of the following accurately describe the Hadley cells? -They are the least energetic of the three convection cells. -The rising limb of each Hadley cell is located near the equator. -Descending air near 30ο latitude in each latitude brings heavy rain to those regions. -They are located between the equator and around 30ο latitude in each hemisphere.

-The rising limb of each Hadley cell is located near the equator. -They are located between the equator and around 30ο latitude in each hemisphere.

Which of the following accurately describe cyclones? -They have a core of low pressure with rising air -Surface air flows outward from their centers -They have a surface-level clockwise flow around them in the Southern Hemisphere -They are associated with dry conditions in their centers

-They have a core of low pressure with rising air -They have a surface-level clockwise flow around them in the Southern Hemisphere

Which of the following accurately describe cyclones? -They have a core of low pressure with rising air. -Surface air flows outward from their centers. -They are associated with dry conditions in their centers. -They have a surface-level clockwise flow around them in the Southern Hemisphere.

-They have a core of low pressure with rising air. -They have a surface-level clockwise flow around them in the Southern Hemisphere.

Which of these gases directly contribute to the greenhouse effect? Carbon dioxide Oxygen Nitrogen Water vapor Methane

Carbon dioxide Water vapor Methane

Which statement below accurately reflects the role of convection in heat transfer in the atmosphere and oceans?

Convection plays an important role in the transfer of heat.

The apparent deflection of the path of moving bodies to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, caused by Earth's rotation, is known as the?

Coriolis effect

True or false: A particularly cold winter in a region represents a change in climate.

False

Why does the majority (75%) of the atmosphere lie within the bottom 10 km of it?

Gravity pulls the atmosphere down, and the overlying weight of the atmosphere compresses air, making it progressively denser.

In the _______________ cells, air flows toward the equator along the surface o Earth before it is heated and rises near the equator. The rising air produces rains as it cools before it flows poleward at high altitude. The air descends near ________________ο latitude before flowing north or south.

Hadley 30

What is atmospheric circulation like in the Polar cells?

High-altitude air descends at the poles, flows toward equator, and rises around 60°, where polar surface winds meet the westerlies and rise. (if select all that may apply) -The Polar cell is driven by rising air near 60° latitude as low-level winds from the Polar and Ferrel cells meet. -Cold, dense air flows from the polar regions toward lower latitudes.

What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?

Humidity is the absolute of amount of water vapor in the air, and the relative humidity is the ratio of the absolute humidity to saturation humidity.

Which of the following correctly describes the Coriolis effect?

It is an apparent force resulting from Earth's rotation that deflects objects from what would otherwise be their path.

What are air masses?

Large bodies of air that have little horizontal variation in moisture content or temperature

Which of these statements accurately describes how solar energy varies on Earth?

Lower latitude regions receive more solar energy over the course of a year than do higher latitude regions.

How does air rise in the atmosphere since gravity is a downward force?

Pressure differences allow air to flow upward toward lower pressure, even against the pull of gravity.

Insolation is the heat received from the

Sun

Mesosphere

Temperature decreases wit height; uppermost of layers listed

Troposphere

Temperature decreases with height; location of weather

What is the balance between the amount of solar radiation received by Earth and the amount of radiation Earth returns to space?

The amount of energy Earth receives and gives off are effectively equal.

What is an atmospheric front?

The boundary between different air masses

Earth receives energy from the Sun and radiates back to space an equal amount. What statement below accurately describes how this occurs?

The energy that is not reflected directly back to space is radiated back at longer wavelengths in the infrared portion of electromagnetic spectrum.

Which of the following statements accurately compares the amounts of energy the surface of Earth receives from the Sun and Earth's interior?

The energy that reaches the surface of Earth from the Sun is about 4,000 times the heat that flows from Earth's interior.

Heat energy radiated from Earth back into space does not interact with the atmosphere in the same way that incoming solar radiation does. Why?

The heat energy from Earth has a different wavelength

What is wind?

The horizontal flow of air

What is saturation humidity?

The maximum amount of water vapor that can exist in an air mass at a given temperature.

Which statement below best summarizes the large-scale pattern of surface circulation in the ocean?

There are large-scale rotating loops of surface water currents in oceans of each hemisphere with smaller counter-currents near the equator.

If Earth did not rotate, what would be the most likely form of global atmospheric circulation?

There would be one large convection cell in each hemisphere with rising air near the equator and sinking air at the pole.

What is the characteristic of the atmospheric gases that allows them to contribute to the greenhouse effect?

They allow shorter wavelengths to pass downward toward Earth but absorb the longer wavelengths that come back up.

Which substance listed below has the highest heat capacity?

Water

_____ is formed as air masses move horizontally in response to differences in air pressure.

Wind

The dry adiabatic lapse rate is the rate at which ______

a rising and expanding air mass will cool if it is unsaturated with water

If a mass undergoes a temperature change without the input or removal of heat from the surrounding environment, the process is known as

adiabatic

Snow reflects more solar radiation than seawater does, so it has a higher

albedo

The percentage of solar radiation absorbed versus the relative amount reflected by a surface is known as the surface's ______

albedo

As an air mass rises and expands due to lower pressure, it experiences adiabatic _______________. Similarly if an air mass descends and is compressed due to the higher pressure, it will undergo adiabatic ________________.

cooling warming

Heat absorbed in the ocean in the tropics is mixed downward by tides and winds, and the remaining surface heat and deep-water water heat is redistributed by ocean

currents

The salinity (i.e., amount of dissolved salts per volume) and the temperature of the water are the two major controls on the ______ of seawater.

density

Visible light, ultraviolet radiation, and infrared radiation are part of the _____________ spectrum.

electromagnetic

The Sun transmits its energy to Earth in the form of

electromagnetic radiation

The _________________ index combines relative humidity and air temperature to more accurately reflect how humans perceive temperature. It shows that high humidity makes it feel hotter than it really is.

heat

Temperature is an important factor in determining how much water vapor is present in the atmosphere. _________________ air can hold more water vapor than _________________air.

hot cold

Changes that decrease Earth's overall albedo, such as melting of sea ice, can lead to a(n) ________________ in global average temperature.

increase

The amount of solar radiation received in a given area is measured as ________

insolation

The high-energy, elongated flows common in Earth's oceans and atmosphere are called ______________ ____________

jet streams

Large bodies of air that have little horizontal variation in moisture content or temperature are called air

masses

Cold and dry polar air mass forms over

northern Canada in winter

Dry, hot air mass forms over

northern Mexico in summer

The 1,000 km wide stream of powerful winds that flow at high altitudes between 30 to 60°N latitude in a never-ending, meandering path is known at the ________________ jet.

polar or polar-front

High-altitude winds blowing toward higher latitudes in the Hadley cells are progressively bent by the Coriolis effect until they are essentially flowing east to west and form the

subtropical jets

The primary source of energy for Earth's surface is _________

the Sun

The dew point temperature is the temperature at which

the air is 100% saturated with water vapor and condensation will occur with further cooling

Cool, moist air mass forms over

the northern Pacific in summer

Warm, moist air mass forms over

the south Atlantic in summer

Variability in atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind, and precipitation over short timescales is referred to as _______________, but the average conditions over long timescales are referred to as ______________________.

weather climate