AOSC 200 Spring 2012 Key Topics to Study for the Final Exam What is the carbon dioxide and hydrologic cycles What are the sources and sinks of each NOT ON FINAL AS ESSAY What are the different ways energy is transferred in the atmosphere NOT ON FINAL AS ESSAY Why does the earth have seasons Why are the poles cold and the equator is hot Why is daylight longer in summer than winter NOT ON FINAL AS ESSAY What is the greenhouse effect Greenhouse gasses absorb and re emit longwave outgoing radiation water vapor is a main gas CO2 Methane What factors control a region s annual daily temperature range How does temperature and relative humidity change throughout the day How are these two variables related What happens to RH as temps increase decrease Why Relative Humidity ratio of water vapor in atmosphere to saturation pressure function of air temperature as temperature goes up relative humidity goes down because the temperature is in the denominator What happens when air rises and sinks adiabatically in the atmosphere At what rate does temperature change with or without the presence of moisture What constitutes a stable and unstable atmosphere Air parcel rising without exchanging energy with environment Cools as it expands and rises at 10 degrees km Heats as it compresses and falls Moist adiabatic lapse rate is 6 degrees km b c water s latent heat is more it takes more energy to cool it Thus it heats cools at a slower pace How do clouds form How does precipitation from in the tropics versus the mid latitudes Orographic frontal convergence convective lifting of air Precipitation Collision Coalescence Tropics droplets collide and grow fall against the updraft Bergeron Water droplets deposit onto ice crystals which grow into snow Accretion ice crystals colliding with water droplets that stick to them and then freeze What are the vertical temperature profiles for rain snow sleet and freezing rain NOT AS ESSAY What instruments do we use to observe the atmosphere What do these instruments measure and how do they work NOT AS ESSAY How does an aneroid barometer work What does it measure What do the measurements indicate about the atmosphere NOT AS ESSAY Measure pressure low pressure bad weather high pressure good weather What forces act on air parcels How do these forces balance at the surface and aloft in giving us winds Pressure Gradient Gravity Friction Apparent forces Coriolis Centrifugal Geostrophic balance Between PG and Coriolis occurs in upper atmosphere where there s no friction At surface friction force counteracts with this balance What is geostrophic flow and gradient flow How does gradient flow affect winds and weather conditions for low and high pressure systems Gradient Flow Say isobars are curved not straight centrifugal force is present too What are land sea breezes NOT AS ESSAY What is the conservation of angular momentum In what ways is it important in studying weather and climate If anything is rotating radius will get smaller in order to speed up larger to slow down Coriolis force is an expression of this angular momentum Jet streams form too b c of this What is the three cell model How does this lead to the formation of the trade winds What are the climate zones associated with each cell A B C D E Hadley cell closer to equator parcel flowing away from equator conserves its angular momentum via a westerly wind which balances out at about 30 degrees North which is where the tropical jet stream is Tropics have easterly trade winds Ferrel Cell wetserlies circulation towards pole Polar Cell easterlies circulation away from pole Know climate zones A Moist Tropical B Dry C Moist mild winters D Moist severe winters E Polar F Highland What are jet streams and atmospheric waves What role do they play in atmospheric circulation and energy exchange Jet streams are reflection of mean temperature gradient where the winds are strongest aloft Atmospheric Rossby waves grow in size and amplitude based on gradients Transport energy from tropics to the poles Explain the three different types of fronts What types of weather conditions exist ahead of and behind them What are distinct features associated with each type of front speed type of precip etc Warm Front from SW to NE stratiform rain ahead of front dew point temperature increase behind front Cold Front wind goes from SW to NW temperature dew point fall heavy rain ahead of front moves faster than warm front because it s denser Stationary Front front that isn t moving winds in opposite directions cold warm on either side dry moist on either side What role do oceans play in climate Transport heat out of tropics warm currents Serve as main source of precipitation What is the Ekman spiral On Google doc What is El Nino La Nina How do they impact global climate They re not storms just warming cooling of equatorial Pacific ocean El Nino warmer conditions equatorial pacific trade winds weaken and leave lower pressure in the eastern Pacific impact mid latitude weather and climate La Nina colder conditions in equatorial pacific opposite colder KNOW DIAGRAMS How does lake effect snow form When and where is it most prevalent Cold air blows over warm lakes causes instability lapse rate Snow occurs downwind of lakes Early in winter when lake is still warm Explain the different types of small scale winds and how they form How do cyclones low pressure systems form Warm water 26 5 Celsius Little vertical wind shear Coriolis Force between 5 and 20 North EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONES Temperature gradients Heavy vertical wind shear Sends warm air North and cold air South What are distinct features associated with tropical cyclones ie Hurricanes Eye eyewall Explain the life cycles of a thunderstorms and tornados What kind of conditions do each require to form Single cell storms cumulus stage updrafts up down mature stage downdrafts dissipating stage Entrainment as downdraft begins air from around clouds comes in and causes droplets to evaporate this lowers temperature in cloud making it denser and increasing the downdraft Multi cell storms multiple updrafts downdrafts Super cell storms one cell with rotating updrafts NEED Instability warm air aloft cold air at surface lots of moisture warm moist air found in Central Southern plains TORNADOS Same conditions needed to form Must be a Supercell need VERTICAL WIND SHEAR as opposed to Hurricane Creates a spinning rotation Explain the different methods of weather forecasting Persistence yesterday s weather today Trend a