AOSC 200 Spring 2012 Key Topics to Study for the Final ExamWhat 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 ESSAYWhy 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 ESSAYWhat 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 updraftBergeron: Water droplets deposit onto ice crystals which grow (into snow)-Accretion: ice crystals colliding with water droplets that stick to themand then freezeWhat are the vertical temperature profiles for rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain?NOT AS ESSAYWhat instruments do we use to observe the atmosphere? What do these instruments measure and how do they work?NOT AS ESSAYHow does an aneroid barometer work? What does it measure? What do the measurements indicate about the atmosphere?NOT AS ESSAYMeasure 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 balanceWhat 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 tooWhat are land/sea breezes?NOT AS ESSAYWhat 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 thisWhat 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 windsFerrel Cell: wetserlies, circulation towards pole, Polar Cell: easterlies, circulation away from poleKnow climate zonesA- Moist TropicalB- DryC- Moist mild wintersD- Moist severe wintersE- PolarF- HighlandWhat 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 polesExplain 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/temperatureincrease 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 sideWhat role do oceans play in climate?-Transport heat out of tropics (warm currents)-Serve as main source of precipitationWhat is the Ekman spiral?On Google docWhat 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 lowerpressure in the eastern Pacific, impact mid-latitude weather and climate-La Nina: colder conditions in equatorial pacific; opposite (colder)KNOW DIAGRAMSHow 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 SouthWhat are distinct features associated with tropical cyclones (ie. Hurricanes)?-Eye, eyewall…Explain the life cycles of a thunderstorms and tornados? What kind of conditions doeach 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 downdraftMulti-cell storms: multiple updrafts/downdraftsSuper-cell storms: one cell with rotating updraftsNEED: 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