GEO Test #2
How does air pressure change with altitude and elevation?
Air pressure decreases as altitude increases and as elevation increases.
Why does air pressure change horizontally (from one place to another)?
Air temperatures vary from place to place.
What causes the Coriolis effect?
Earth's rotation
During the Autumnal Equinox for the Southern Hemisphere the ITCZ will shift:
Farther to the north, especially drawn in by the Thermal Low in Siberia.
Which precipitation (lifting) mechanism takes place when a warmer air mass rises after encountering a colder, denser air mass?
Frontal Precipitation
Why are hurricanes more likely to form in late summer and early fall?
Ocean temperatures and humidity are high.
What is true about pressure in an anticyclone?
Pressure increases towards the center.
Under conditions of ____, the normal lapse rate is less than the dry adiabatic rate in operation.
Stability
What does El Niño refer to?
The warming of Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of South America.
Why do atmospheric pressure belts move according to season?
Thermal changes associated with shifts in the sun's angle and the number of daylight hours.
What must happen in order for precipitation to form?
Warm, moist air must rise.
The change in the temperature of an air mass that does not involve the addition or removal of heat is called _____.
adiabatic heating and cooling
Generally speaking, what happens to air at the Equator?
air at the Equator is warm, is less dense, and has a tendency to rise.
Where does the Coriolis effect have the greatest impact?
at the poles
Which type of air mass originates over western Canada and Alaska, then moves south and east over the central United States?
cP
Which air mass brings hot, dry, and clear skies to the southwestern United States?
cT
Which local wind occurs when warm, dry air flows down a mountain range?
chinook
Which type of front is associated with squall lines and sharp changes in temperature, air pressure, and wind?
cold front
Precipitation develops via the ____ process in warm clouds and by the ____ process in cold clouds.
collision-coalescence; Bergeron
Which process is most likely to occur below the dew point temperature?
condensation
The transfer of energy between two objects in contact with each other is called _____.
conduction
What vertical transfer of heat through the atmosphere is called _____, and is much the same process that circulates boiling water in a pot?
convection
In a low pressure system, air _____, while in a high pressure system, air _____.
converges and rises; diverges and descends
Which type of weather system would cause cloudy and windy weather conditions with higher precipitation chances?
cyclones
In general, which area of Earth's surface receives the greatest yearly rainfall?
equatorial regions
Vertical temperature changes in Earth's atmosphere are the basis for how many subdivisions?
four
Which process is the primary reason for the moderate temperatures observed on Earth?
greenhouse effect
What is the name for a fast moving air current embedded in upper air winds?
jet stream
A positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation is characterized by _____.
mild and wet winters in the eastern United States
In the abbreviation for an air mass, the first letter indicates the _____, and the second level indicates the _____ of the source region.
moisture level; latitudinal zone
The Earth's energy budget is best understood in the context of what type of system?
open energy
Winds form in response to differences in _____.
pressure
At a relative humidity of 100%, air is ____.
saturated
What causes a storm surge?
strong winds
The westerlies and the trade winds both have their origins in the _____.
subtropical highs
The ice crystal process of precipitation formation operates in the mixed ice and water region of a cold cloud where there are ice crystals and ____.
supercooled water
What can have large or small scale, short-term effects on air temperatures?
temperature
Which is a measure of the average kinetic energy of individual molecules in a substance?
temperature
In what primary ways do air masses differ from each other?
temperature and moisture content
What does precipitation variability refer to?
uncertainty about precipitation amounts from one year to the next
Which type of front forms when warm air moves in on a cooler air mass?
warm front
The most latent heat would be released in a ____ parcel of ____ saturated air.
warm parcel of saturated
Under which conditions would evaporation be highest?
warm water, warm air, windy, and low relative humidity
About 19% of incoming solar energy is absorbed by the ozone layer and by _____ in the clouds.
water vapor
What can have large or small scale, short-term effects on air temperatures?
winds
Which weather conditions are characteristic of a monsoonal summer?
winds blowing onshore and heavy precipitation
El Niño is a time of ____.
warmer than normal ocean water in the Pacific Ocean west of South America
What is the largest contributer to the dust storms in the Sistan region in southeastern Iran?
A strenghting anticyclone over the Caspian Sea