AOSC 200 Fall 2011 Key Topics to Study for the Final Exam What is the carbon dioxide and hydrologic cycles What are the sources and sinks of each Carbon cycle exchange of carbon between the atmosphere biosphere and hydrosphere Sinks Plant photosynthesis oceans and carbonates Hydrogen cycle exchange of hydrogen throughout the atmosphere can leave earth Sinks drain soil What are the different ways energy is transferred in the atmosphere Conduction touching Convection by movement of mass usually in liquids Advection movement of air Transfer of radiation Latent heat of evaporation of water Why does the earth have seasons Why is it that the poles are cold and the equator is hot Why is daylight longer in summer than winter Seasons come from the rotation of the earth during the winter the north pole is facing away from the sun less solar radiation and vice versa The poles are cold and the equator is hot because of the latitudinal heat balance The incoming solar radiation has to equal the outgoing terrestrial radiation There is a surplus of energy at the equator more radiation in than out There is less en ergy at the poles more radiation out than in Heat is transported from the equa tor to the poles by ocean currents and by the atmosphere Day light is longer in the summer because of the tilt of the earth the north pole is facing the sun more di rectly leading to longer days in the summer and vice versa What is the greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a surface is ab sorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases and is re radiated in all directions Since part of this re radiation is back towards the surface energy is transferred to the sur face and the lower atmosphere As a result the temperature there is higher than it would be if direct heating by solar radiation were the only warming mechanism What factors control a region s annual daily temperature range Latitude Surface type Elevation and aspect Differential heating of land and water Ocean currents Cloud cover and albedo 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 Morning o o o Afternoon o o o Temperature low Saturation vapor pressure small Relative humidity large Temperature high Saturation vapor pressure high Relative humidity low These two variables have an inverse relationship as temp increases RH decreases The warmer air is able to hold much more humidity so the RH drops vice versa 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 A rising parcel of air always expands as the parcel expands it will cool no heat is gained or lost by the parcel Lapse rate rate at which the real atmosphere falls off with altitude environment lapse rate When the environmental lapse rate is less than 10 degrees Celsius atmosphere is stable vice versa How do clouds form How does precipitation from in the tropics versus the mid latitudes Collision Coalescence Only in Tropics Droplet grows by condensation of water vapor on its surface This process requires a lot of droplets As the cloud droplet is formed pulled down by gravity moved upward by rising air within the cloud Droplets move in all directions and can collide to form larger droplets by coalescing Once a drop grows to a size when its force of gravity exceeds the uplift from the rising air the drop moves downward through the cloud picking up other droplets as it falls Outside of the tropics there are not enough cloud droplets to form raindrops by the collision coalescence process What are the vertical temperature profiles for rain snow sleet and freezing rain What instruments do we use to observe the atmosphere What do these instruments measure and how do they work Thermometer temp using mercury and resistance Barometer pressure Psychrometer dew point hygrometer humidity Anemometer wind speed Wind vane wind direction Rain gauge precipitation How does an aneroid barometer work What does it measure What do the measurements indicate about the atmosphere It is a barometer that measures pressure looks like a compass when you tap it tells you if pressure is rising or dropping Made of metal and has a spring inside What forces act on air parcels How do these forces balance at the surface and aloft in giving us winds Gravitational force Directed downward normal to the ground Equal to mass of the air times the gravitational acceleration Pressure Gradient Force Coriolis Force Function of the pressure different and air density Always acts at right angles to the direction of motion Centrifugal force centripetal acceleration Force going outward in a circular motion What is geostrophic flow and gradient flow How does gradient flow affect winds and weather conditions for low and high pressure systems Eventually a balance is reached between the pressure gradient force and the coriolis force If there is no friction then this occurs when the parcel of air is parallel to the isobars At this point there is no net force on the air parcel no acceleration it now moves with constant velocity Under these idealized conditions the airflow is said to be in geostrophic balance
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