GEO2200 Exam 1 (Quizzes 1-5)

In regard to the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is air mainly descending at ____, and rising at ___.

A; C (A is east of Africa, C is by Malaysia)

Which of the following best describes air circulation at high latitudes?

Cold dense air sinks at the poles, flows outward away from poles, and rises between 60 and 45 degrees latitude.

The less mass an object has, the stronger the Coriolis effect will be for that object.

False

Which of the following BEST explains the descending air at 30 °N (the descending branch of the Hadley cell in the Northern Hemisphere)?

Warm, rising air from the equator in the Hadley cell circulation is constrained by energetics in the upper atmosphere as it rises and then spreads poleward. Because of Earth's rotation, the air is also moving sideways (East) and travels a much farther distance than it would if the Earth did not rotate. Thus, the air becomes colder and denser than its environment and sinks around 30°N.

Regarding pressure, latitude, and water vs land.

air pressure is high over oceans at 30°because descending air warms less over the cool oceans.

What types of remote sensing are used by geographers?

all of above (thermal infrared, microwave, lidar)

Coriolis effect is the _____ deflection of objects moving across the surface of the Earth from their ______ path.

apparent, intended

Which of the following statements is true regarding the relationship between air pressure and altitude?

as one moves up in the atmosphere, pressure decreases, as one moves closer to the earth's surface, pressure increases

Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between molecular motion, wavelength, and temperature?

as temperature increases, molecular motion increases, wavelength decreases

Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) are warmest

at the subtropics because descending air promotes clear skies.

Which phenomena involves the most equations in weather forecasting models?

atmospheric motion

Atmospheric pressure can be measured in all of the following units EXCEPT.

barometer units

Land heats and cools more rapidly than oceans because of

lack of mixing in soil or rock layers.

If a gas cools under constant pressure, the molecules within it have ______ kinetic energy (motions) and can therefore _______________.

less; be packed into a smaller volume

Geographic factors are important when considering environmental issues or when evaluating potential sites for a new agricultural area or business because

location and spatial distributions often affect environmental, social, or economic behavior.

Using the insolation diagram, name the correct sequence of surface pressure zones associated with latitude zones. Start from the equator and move toward the poles.

low pressure, high pressure, low pressure, high pressure

A dynamic system refers to a system in which

matter, energy, or both, are constantly changing their position, amounts, or form.

The east coasts of mid-latitude continents are generally

moderately wet, as cold and warm air meet frequently, producing frontal precipitation.

If a researcher wanted to identify and map healthy vegetation using remote sensing, she would be most likely to use data that detects what type of energy?

near-infrared

In the Northern Hemisphere cold currents tend to flow from the ____________. In the Southern Hemisphere warm currents tend to flow from the ________________:

north; north

In the Northern hemisphere, winds are deflected to the right due to the Coriolis force. As a result, winds blow counterclockwise around low pressure systems and clockwise around high pressure systems. Due to the combination of pressure gradient and Corolis forces, from what direction would you expect the winds to be blowing at A, in the Gulf of Mexico to the west of the low pressure system? (Remember that wind direction is named for the direction from which it is blowing!)

northerly

Most Atlantic tropical cyclones have their origin in

northwest Africa.

When you shake fish food into in an aquarium, you are contributing to a(n)

open system.

The difference between open and closed systems is that

open systems can acquire matter and energy, but closed systems cannot.

All of the following is true in regard to the earth's radiation balance EXCEPT.

outgoing longwave radiation increases poleward in regular increments, peaking at the poles.

When the lithosphere and biosphere interact,

plants remove nutrients from the soil and return nutrients to the soil.

An important property of water is its ability to act as a good solvent. This could best be explained by water's

polarity.

A snowball that rolls down a hill, gradually gaining more and more mass and rolling faster and faster as it continues, would be an example of a(n)

positive feedback system.

In the northern hemisphere objects are deflected to the

right, irrespective of which way it is moving.

Warm oceanic pools form in areas of

rising, unstable air where much latent heat is released.

Which of the following processes is primarily responsible for the sky's blue color?

scattering

When contrasting a weather warning, with a weather watch, the warning is usually designated for a _____________ area and means you should ________________

smaller area; seek shelter immediately.

The lithosphere refers to the

solid upper part of the Earth, including the crust and uppermost mantle.

A strong positive index for the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) usually means that there is a ________ Bermuda (subtropical) high that results in _____________ than average temperatures over the northern U.S. and northwest Europe

strong; warmer.

What two factors, both resulting from the earth's tilt, are most important in contributing to the seasons? Together, these two factors determine the total amount of solar radiation incident on the top of Earth's atmosphere. Please choose TWO correct answers.

sun angle, length of day

If a storm can survive the west side of an easterly wave, there is a chance it can intensify into a hurricane. Which of the following is correct regarding an easterly wave?

the east side of the wave has rising, unstable air

The molecular structure of water has an asymmetrical arrangement of hydrogen atoms causing

the hydrogen side of the water molecule to have a positive charge.

If two places have the same latitude but different longitudes,

the two places are directly east or west of each other.

A Kelvin wave develops when:

westward moving winds weaken causing the mound of warm water in the western Pacific to move eastward.

A tropical cyclone will be weakened by

when it makes land fall.

Which properly describes surface winds within the Tropics?

winds blowing from northeast to southwest in the northern hemisphere, winds blowing southeast to northwest in the southern hemisphere

In accordance with the pressure gradient

air is more tightly packed in high pressure zones and moves toward low pressure zones.

Convergence resulting in rising atmospheric motion at the surface can occur in all of the following settings EXCEPT

air moving from a large body of land to a large body of water.

Which of the following letters represents when the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn?

A

On June 21st which location will be receiving 24 hrs of daylight?

Arctic Circle

At what point on this water vapor saturation curve graph will water vapor be deposited on ice crystals while liquid water droplets will evaporate?

B

Given the prevailing wind direction indicated by the arrow, where would you expect air to be cooling at the saturated adiabatic lapse rate?

B

Which of the water columns would experience the greatest temperature differences with depth?

B (calm)

During a La Niña phase, excess warm water accumulates in

B. (By Japan, the Northwest Pacific i think)

On weather maps, cold fronts are depicted by_____.

Blue lines with blue triangles

Which of the letters represents the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere?

C

Which gives rise to equatorial upwelling?

Coriolis deflection causes warmer surface waters to deflect to the northwest causing deeper, cooler waters to replace the dispersing surface water.

Given the prevailing wind direction indicated by the arrow, where would you expect temperatures to be warmest and the humidity lowest?

D

Which of the following locations would be characterized by drier and warmer conditions during a La Niña?

D (southeast US)

At what point on the graph does the density of water begin to decrease? ______ The temperature at this point is _______°C.

D; 4C

0° of latitude is found at the ______ and the 90° of latitude is found at the _____.

Equator; North Pole

Which of the following is true concerning the Saffir-Simpson scale EXCEPT:

Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane

The only temperature scale that relates changes in internal energy to the absolute amount of heat gained or lost by a system is the

Kelvin scale.

Which of the following is true of meridians?

Meridians always follow great circles.

In regard to ocean salinity, temperature, and density:

ice formation in polar zones increases salinity and density

Water's salinity can be increased by

ice freezing.

A tropical cyclone will be strengthened by

a path over warm water.

The most direct example of an atmosphere-lithosphere exchange is

a volcanic eruption.

A mountain or katabatic breeze is created when

air from higher elevations is cooled more efficiently and sinks, creating a downslope breeze.

Jet streams.

blow west to east in both hemispheres.

For precipitation to occur

buoyant forces keeping water droplets and ice crystals suspended must be less than the force of gravity.

A tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere rotates __________ and has a storm track turning ____________

clockwise; south and southeast.

The significance of any great circle is that it always

connects two points on the surface of a sphere with the shortest distance.

Which of the following best describes the low pressure cell centered for most of the year over the equator?

consistent insolation, warm temperatures, abundant rainfall

Cold fronts are associated with

cumuliform clouds tend to form with precipitation being relatively short-lived.

All of the following impact sea surface temperature (SST) EXCEPT:

currents moving cold water away from poles on the western sides of oceans.

This diagram features a

cyclone, southern hemisphere (rotating clockwise, has green arrows on the outside)

A parcel of air at the surface is heated which expands the air and increases the parcel's volume. If the same number of air molecules occupy the greater volume, density decreases. The increase in volume results in lower pressure. What will happen to the air surrounding this parcel?

denser air flows in to replace the rising air

During the warm phase of the El Nino, the ITCZ is drawn south and west of its normal position. This has the effect of

enhancing the rain-shadow effect on the Pacific side of the Isthmus.

During the warm phase of ENSO, a belt of much warmer than normal water appears along the_____.

equator in the eastern Pacific

During the warm phase of ENSO, warmest waters are found along the

equator in the eastern Pacific, west of South America.

One of the main roles of plants in biogeochemical cycles is to

extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

All of the following involve the input of energy EXCEPT:

freezing

More and more wind deflection occurs with height because.

friction decreases with height and deflection by the Coriolis Effect increases with wind speed.

Subtropical waters are typically more saline than equatorial waters because of

high evaporation, low precipitation.

The concept of overlay in geographic information systems (GIS) refers to the

incorporation of multiple types of digital spatial data (maps) in answering research questions.

With height, wind speed in the atmosphere would _______________. With depth, the effect of wind on the water column would _________________.

increase; decrease

All of the following are likely effects of deforestation except

increased rate at which carbon dioxide is extracted out of the atmosphere.

As the zenith angle _____ the amount of energy reaching the surface _____.

increases, decreases

Land heats and cools more rapidly than the ocean because of its

lower specific heat when compared to the ocean.

The specific humidity of air changes when there is a change in

the addition or removal of water vapor.

The dominant control in global sea surface temperature is

the supply of solar insolation.

In regard to the shortwave energy entering the earth's atmosphere, most is.

used to heat either the atmosphere or the ground surface.

Which of the following is true about the important Bergeron precipitation process?

Less water vapor can exist in air that is in contact with ice than in air that is in contact with liquid water, even if both are at the same temperature.

Below, you are given the mean monthly temperatures for Memphis, San Francisco, Irkutsk (Russia) and Santos (Brazil). The annual ranges of temperature in Memphis and San Francisco are quite different (calculate them to see the magnitude). Which of the following BEST explains the difference in these ranges? You can refer to a map if you are unfamiliar where any of cities are located.

Memphis is located in the interior of the continent and therefore more influenced by the seasonal range in solar radiation, while San Francisco is located on the coast of an ocean and more modulated by ocean temperatures.

"N" on the globe represents the northern hemisphere; "S" on the globe represents the southern hemisphere; ITC stands for the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Where will the ITC shift in July?

N

The air above this current is characterized by extremely strong pressure gradients and relative lack of land interruptions which induce extremely strong westerly winds.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

The Earth receives energy in the form of electro-magnetic radiation from the Sun. Select all of the following statements that are TRUE. 1. The Earth receives energy in mostly short wave radiation around 0.5 microns, and also the Earth itself emits energy in mostly long wave radiation (10 microns). 2. The Earth receives energy from Sun, which is then trapped forever within the Earth's atmosphere. 3. The Earth receives energy in mostly long wave radiation around 10 microns, and then the Earth itself emits energy in mostly short wave radiation (0.5 microns). 4. Most of the energy received from the Sun is in the visible light spectrum. 5. Earth's atmosphere blocks the shortest wave radiation such as gamma rays, x-rays, and some ultraviolet radiation from reaching the surface of the Earth.

1, 4 & 5

Which of the following statements are TRUE? Select all of the correct statements. 1. The Earth is closest to the sun during the perihelion. 2. The Earth is closest to the sun during the aphelion. 3. Both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience summer at the same time. 4. The Earth is closest to the sun during Northern Hemisphere winter. 5. The tilt in the Earth's axis is what causes Earth's seasons. 6. Earth's proximity to the sun is what causes Earth's seasons.

1, 4 and 5

At the equator (0°), which of the following is TRUE? Select the best answer.

All of the above. (Places receive 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness no matter the time of year. Noontime zenith angles are small (never more than 23.5 degrees). The supply of energy is going to be very constant, with little seasonality.)

The Earth is "constantly" bathed in solar radiation. On average, the Earth receives 345 W/m2 of solar radiation at the outer edge of the atmosphere. This quantity is called the "solar constant". However, the actual quantity that reaches the Earth's surface varies from place to place and day to day because of the orientation of the Earth with respect to the Sun and the spherical geometry of the Earth and its atmosphere. Insolation at the Earth's surface is the amount of radiant energy from the Sun that makes it through the Earth's atmosphere and impacts upon a unit surface area of the Earth over a given period of time. The amount of insolation received at the surface depends on a few variables, including 1) the zenith angle, 2) length of day, 3) path length through the atmosphere, and 4) atmospheric conditions (clear, foggy, hazy, cloudy, etc). Seasonal and daily temperature changes are largely controlled by changes in insolation. We learned about zenith angle, which determines intensity of solar radiation reaching the top of Earth's atmosphere. Something to think about: Why is zenith angle so important, and why are we studying zenith angle in physical geography? Please study the following figure and choose the BEST answer.

Because of variations in the incident angle of solar radiation and the length of day, due to the tilt of Earth's axis, the northern hemisphere receives more direct solar radiation and has longer daylight hours in June while the southern hemisphere receives less direct solar radiation and shorter daylight hours. The reverse is true in December.

The most important greenhouse gas for retaining a variety of outgoing longwave radiation is

H2O

A small zenith angle means what?

The sun is close to directly overhead.

Which of the following is an example of a small circle?

Tropic of Cancer

What atmospheric layer is the home of weather, has the greatest density of gas molecules, and has a decrease in temperature with height?

Troposphere

Latent heat is the energy which is required to change the state of matter. For water, it is the energy required to change its phase, such as melting ice or boiling water.

True