GEOG 111 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 11 20 Each test will consist of 40 multiple choice questions that are drawn from the lecture material weather quizzes and in class weather discussions These questions will be answered on a scantron sheet which can be obtained from the bookstore from Geography 111 syllabus Lecture 11 September 17 Lecture 12 September 22 Lecture 14 September 26 Temperature Temperature o Relationships Heat vs temperature Heat is a form of energy o Atmosphere s strong transmissivity absorbs radiation Three factors that control the relationship o Specific heat the amount of energy required to raise one gram of a material one degrees Celsius Takes more energy to warm water than land Heating and cooling rates are inversely related to specific heat Does Hatteras Island NC or Monterey CA have a more marine climate Monterey even though Hatteras has more water around it because of ocean currents and prevailing wind directions W E from the Pacific Ocean o Density the amount of mass of a material per volume mass unit volume Low density structures because there s less material to warm up will warm up more quickly than a high density structure but they also cool more quickly at night when Q 0 The urban heat island an island where temperatures are warmer than the surrounding areas retains heat better o Air temperature should be measured away from L sources that have been warmed radiatively warmed buildings cold ground hot asphalt etc Air must be ventilated allow air to flow freely o Apparent temperature what it feels like Contributing factors Heat index Wind speed wind chill o How does wind create a chill Heat moves from your body to the air a boundary layer of thin air with low conductivity forms around your skin surface and gets very warm when you move or when wind blows the boundary layers goes away and there s a cooling effect Relative humidity an expression of how close the air is to being saturated percent of water vapor in the atmosphere o Vertical temperature patterns Lapse rate the rate of change of temperature with height Average 5 6 F degrees of cooling per 1000 feet Inversion temperature profiles are inverted from the normal Temperatures rise with altitude rather than fall which is typical Takes place on relatively clear nights where wind is not blowing very much o Horizontal temperature patterns Controlling factors Differential warming of land and water water warms and cools more slowly than land o Water has a higher specific heat takes more energy to warm up o Surface mobility water is always circulating top layer exposed to solar radiation warms the most but as the water moves the heat is transmitted throughout the water o Water transparency o Evaporation Lecture 13 September 24 Most missed questions from Exam 1 that could appear on Exam 2 7 According to Wein s Law clouds at a high altitude above the Earth will radiate more infrared at a longer wavelength as compared to clouds at a low altitude 21 The solar elevation at the North Pole will be 0 degrees at 12 noon on March 22 23 Between October and March the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere experience lower solar elevations longer periods of daylight than regions of lower latitudes to the north 27 Net incoming shortwave radiation incoming K MINUS outgoing K is the most positive under which of the following conditions clear skies on May 21 34 28 During what period of the day is the net radiation the most negative Hint consider the hourly difference between the net incoming shortwave and net outgoing long wave radiation 5 pm 9 pm 30 In NC net radiation averaged out over the course of a year is highly negative in the atmosphere and positive at the surface 35 If life had not evolved on the earth the CO2 concentrations in its atmosphere would be much greater 40 What is the most challenging aspect of the earth atmosphere system in terms of explaining how greenhouse gases will change the climate Ascertaining the influence of clouds Lecture 15 September 29 Lecture 16 October 1 Air pressure and wind Air Pressure the pressure exerted by wind o P FORCE AREA o Basically air pressure is proportional to density of the air o Barometer instrument used to measure air pressure Ex Hurricanes are low pressure systems so as it comes closer there is less air and the mercury in a barometer goes down A bar b is a unit of pressure o Pressure changes with altitude Decreases most rapid at low elevations and gradually tapers off to 0 bar a greater altitudes o Isobar a line connecting points with equal atmospheric pressure at a given time Pressures are standardized to sea level Therefore they can see real patterns and identify where weather systems are located Moving perpendicular with isobars indicates changing pressure Winds blow parallel to isobar lines Pressure determines winds which determine weather o Vertical air pressure patterns Distribution of air molecules in the atmospheric column Atmosphere is extremely compressible and expandable Warming causes the column to expand o Molecules on the bottom of the column that are heated will convect upward to a higher place Conversely cooling causes the column to compress Halfway up is the 500 mb level o A warm column will have a higher 500 mb level while a cool column will have a lower 500 mb level o Trough elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure o Ridge elongated region of relatively high atmospheric pressure the opposite of a trough Examples of the negative relationship between surface temperature and pressure Thermal low atmospheric pressure is lowest because temperature is highest o Why is it so hot in the southwestern U S Absence of clouds and vegetation in the desert incoming shortwave radiation is extremely high virtually no evapotranspiration so all radiation goes into the sensible heat flux Arctic high cold area of high pressure Temperature isn t the only factor of pressure o The Bermuda High area of high pressure in a warm ocean Wind generated by pressure differences o Common wind systems Monsoon seasonal reversal of winds Ex In India Occurs due to thermal differences between land and water Winds blow in opposite direction at the changing of the seasons Land warms much quicker than water so we have higher pressures over water and lower pressure over land in the summer o Air wants to move from higher to lower pressure Summer hot land low pressure onshore flow of air starting at the end of May moisture lift rain o Warmest month is May because a