Geography 203 Planet Earth Exam 2 Review Chapter 6 10 Weather Chapters 6 8 of text and Lecture 4 notes 1 Radiation balance and global winds poles to the equator 2 Coriolis effect a Due to the rotation of the Earth b Winds turn in right in north and left in south 3 Three circulation cells poles mid latitudes and tropics and their wind directions a Poles easterlies air flows to the RIGHT i Cold descending air b Mid latitude c Tropics westerlies air flows to the LEFT at equator easterlies air flows to the RIGHT i Hot rising air ii Clouds rain and rainforest 4 Average pressure regions a Low where air rising high where air falls 5 Monsoon 6 Jet streams and the boundary between cells Rossby waves a Jet streams b Boundaries between cells c Rossby waves and spin 7 Wave ridge of high and bulge of low when two winds blowing in opposite directions will collide i Lifting off shoulders because there is more direct heat at equator 8 Air flow from high to low pressure poles to equator H to L a Low pressure at the equator heat rises b High pressure at the poles 9 Direction of winds pressure Coriolis and friction a Reason for the weird shape of isobars 10 Winds around high and low pressure systems 11 Land sea breeze 12 Humidity relative humidity and saturation b Saturation a Relative humidity a ratio of the amount of water vapor that is actually in the air compared to the maximum water vapor possible at the given temp decrease in temperature that reduces the evaporation rate results in active condensation clouds fog or precipitation indicates that any further addition of water vapor or any 13 Saturation of air 14 Dew point temperature a Occurs when the relative humidity reaches 100 a Temperature at which air reaches saturation no more holding capacity b The air at the bottom of a cloud is at the dew point temperature 15 Condensation 16 Environmental lapse rate a Actual decrease in temperature with altitude 17 Dry adiabatic lapse rate DAR a Rate at which dry air cools by expansion or warms by compression b 10 C 18 Moist adiabatic lapse rate MAR a Rate at which moist air cools by expansion or warms by compression b 6 C 19 Phase changes for water release or gain of latent heat 20 Stable conditions no clouds air cannot rise a ELR is smaller than DAR and MAR b Dry and moist air both MORE dense than surrounding air so it will not move c ELR on right smaller d Can t have clouds 21 Unstable conditions clouds air has ability to rise a ELR is greater than DAR and MAR b Dry and moist air both LESS dense than surrounding air so it will rise c ELR greater than both d Everything is rising clouds smoke etc 22 Conditional stability a ELR is greater than MAR and less than DAR b MAR ELR DAR c unstable stable 23 Cloud formation DALR and MALR a Clouds stop because they i Run out of moisture ii Conditions above them have become stable 24 Cloud condensation nuclei 25 Cloud forming processes page 210 a Convection surface warming i Stimulated by local surface heating b Orographic mountain forcing i Occurs when air is forcibly lifted upslope as it is pushed against a mountain c Convergence low pressure systems i Air flows toward an area of low pressure d Frontal cold and warm fronts i Along the leading edges of contrasting air masses 26 Warm front type of weather location relative to a low pressure a Slower over cold air low line clouds 27 Cold front type of weather location relative to a low pressure a Come in fast push up warm air quickly 28 Cyclogenesis a The atmospheric process in which low pressure wave cyclones develop and strengthen b How does a low pressure system form i Any slight disturbance along the polar front perhaps a small change in the path of a jet stream can initiate the converging ascending flow of air 29 Occluded front a Combination of warm cold front 30 Storm tracking across the United States 31 Summer patterns of storms vs winter pattern of storms 32 Precipitation in Pensacola summer v winter v hurricanes 33 Pattern of airflow around low and high pressure systems 34 Stages of thunderstorm development 35 Updraft v downdraft 36 Clues to a developing tornado a Air summersaults as the air at the ground is slower than the moving clouds b Updraft c Clouds overshoot top of the thunderstorm tornado Weather Interpretation Chapters 6 8 of text and Lecture 4 notes 1 Understand general weather conditions with respect to low and high pressure systems and cold and warm fronts 2 Understand general wind direction around pressure systems and fronts Global Processes Chapters 9 10 of text and Lecture 5 notes 1 Semi permanent highs and lows 2 Ocean currents 3 Drifters and ocean currents 4 Thermohaline circulation a The current is driven by mix of salt and freshwater b Primary regulator of climate c Global 5 Tropical depressions tropical storms hurricanes a Tropical depressions b Tropical storms c Hurricanes 6 Categories of hurricanes wind speeds less than 38 mph wind speeds of 39 73 mph wind speeds greater than 74 mph a Category 1 74 95 mph b Category 2 96 110 mph c Category 3 111 130 mph d Category 4 131 154 mph e Category 5 greater than 155 mph 7 Where hurricanes form and why a Ocean temperature must exceed 27 i Deep warm water provides the energy source to sustain the hurricane b Warm water i Air above it is warm AND moist 8 Global regions of hurricane typhoon development a Hurricanes can form within the Caribbean b Pacific hurricanes typhoons can reach higher strengths and live longer than Atlantic hurricanes 9 Hurricanes as a heat engine a Hurricanes serve as a heat engine transferring heat from the ocean to the atmosphere 10 Eye of a hurricane b Heat from warm water is exhausted out of the top of the storm a Calm spot of tornado b High pressure in the middle of the eye c Chimney of a house i Advection 11 Surface convergence and upper level divergence of air 12 Variation in wind speed and direction around a hurricane a Storms have entire range of wind speeds b Higher in center 13 Causes of storm surge wind pressure waves a Wind push b Low pressure atmospheric lift i Lift of water c What the tide in on that particular day d Waves that break on the coast throws its water at the beach wave setup 14 Hurricane tracking east to west Coriolis cold front a Continental weather patterns affect the hurricane track 15 General path of hurricanes a Hurricane movements are unpredictable they depend on the timing and strength of frontal systems b Storms will stop i Cold water land knock chimney down 16 Trend v cycles within