Intro to Meteorology Final Exam

Oxygen, nitrogen

In terms of percent (by volume), the earth’s atmosphere is made up of mostly ______ and ______.

Deforestation

Of the following processes, which does NOT put carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

Pressure, decreasing

Atmospheric ________ ALWAYS decreases with _______ height

Stratosphere, increasing

In the average profile of air temperature above the earth’s surface we see that in the _______ there is typically a temperature inversion indicating that atmospheric temperature is ________ with height

Ionosphere, AM

The ______ plays a major role in _______ radio communications

From, counterclockwise, inward toward

By convention in meteorology, the wind direction is the direction _______ which the wind is blowing. In the Northern Hemisphere, winds blow ______ and ________ the center of a low pressure system

Kinetic

The temperature of the air is a measure of the average _________ of energy of its molecules

Condensation

Of the following processes, the only phase change in which the heat energy is released to the environment is ________

warmer, cooler, convection

The heat transfer mechanism that represents the vertical movement of ______ air upward and ______ air downward is __________

cools, warms

Rising air expands and ________, sinking air is compressed and _________

AM radio waves, less

An example of a type of long wavelength radiation is _______ which carries _______ energy

infrared, colder

Without greenhouse gases (gases that are poor absorbers of ______ radiation), the earth’s mean surface temperature would be ________ than what it is today.

Solar angle, number of daylight hours

The amount of solar energy received at the earth’s surface is determined primarily by the ______ and the _______

at noon, between 3:00 and 5:00 PM

On a clear day, the incoming solar radiation intensity reaches its peak ______ and the maximum temperature reading occurs _______

cloudy sky

Which of the following conditions does not contribute to a strong radiation inversion?

wind speed

Which of the following is not one of the main controls of temperature

annual temperature range, greater

The _______ at Richmond, VA is _______ than that at San Fransisco, CA. Both cities are at the same latitude

heating degree days, two

The daily mean temperature in Asheville on October 10 is 63 ºF. The number of _______ in Asheville on this date would be equal to _____ indicating that people would be likely to use their furnace

faster, loss

When all other factors are the same, the ______ the wind blows, the greater the heat ______, and the colder we feel

minimum

The ________ thermometer has an index marker that looks like a dumbbell and is used in measured a specific type of temperature

Decreased annual cloud cover would result in increased shortwave radiation reaching the Earth's surface due to fewer clouds reflecting sunlight. This would lead to an increase in surface temperature, while the reduced longwave radiation emitted back to space could disrupt the Earth's energy balance, potentially contributing to warming.

Describe how decreased annual cloud cover might impact the earth’s annual energy balance in terms of the impact of fewer clouds on changing shortwave and longwave radiation to/from the earth + atms system

latitude, ocean currents, land and water distance, and elevation

What are the four main controls of temperature?

Week

The total mass of water vapor stored in the atmosphere at any moment adds up to about a one _______ supply of the world’s precipitation

cools, decreases

Condensation is more likely to happen as the air ______ and the speed of the vapor molecules ________

more, equal to

At higher air temperatures, it takes ________ water vapor to saturate the air. At saturation, the relative humidity is ________ 100%

dew-point, saturation

The _______ temperature represents the temperature to which air would have to be cooled (with no change in air pressure or moisture content) for _______ to occur

lighter, humid

At the same level in the atmosphere, hot, humid air is _______ than hot, dry air. If both types of air have the same temperature, the hot, _______ air would have the higher dew-point temperature

clear and calm, condense

Dew is more likely to form on nights that are ________ and forms when water vapor begins to _______ on cold surfaces

ground

Fog produced by earth’s radiational cooling is called _______ fog

cools, cooling, 10

As an air parcel rises, it expands and ________. If the air parcel is unsaturated (sub-saturated), the rate of ________ remains constant and is about ______ degrees Celcius for every 1000 meters of change in elevation

an influx of cold air aloft brought in by the wind

Which of the following mechanisms does not stabilize the atmosphere?

absolutely stable

A weather balloon is taken at the UNCA campus and the environmental temperature at four different elevations is given in the table above. The environment at the time of this sounding is _________

air parcels undergoing adiabatic compression

Which of the following mechanisms is not responsible for cloud development?

collision-coalescence, precipitations

The ________ process plays a significant role in producing _________ when a cloud is made up primarily of liquid water droplets

a liquid water, an ice, ice crystals, water droplets

The saturation vapor pressure just above ________ surface is greater than the saturation pressure just above ________ surface, hence, ________ grow at the expense of surrounding __________

sleet

If a snowflake melts as it is falling, changing into a raindrop, it will most likely fall as _______ at the ground if it falls through a deep subfreezing surface layer of air.

warmer, higher

The surface pressure is identical at Station A and Station B shown above. The air inside the atmospheric column above A is ______ than the air above B, while the air pressure aloft above A is _______ than the air pressure aloft above B

altitude, greater

________ corrections to surface pressure are normally adjusted to mean sea level. The sea level at Asheville, NC is always _____ than its station pressure

friction

Which of the following forces play a very minor role in determining the wind speed and direction far above the earth’s surface

Coriolis force, right

The ______ force causes the wind to deflect to the ________ of its intended path in the Northern Hemisphere

west, south

The winds aloft in the mid-latitudes generally blow from the ________ since high heights (or pressure) are generally found to the _______

Pressure gradient, hydrostatic

Air does not rush off into space because the upward-directed ________ force is nearly always exactly balanced by the downward force of gravity, a condition known as _______ equilibrium

Relative humidity decreases in the morning and increases in the evening. The amount of H2O vapor remains constant as every molecule that condenses is matched by another that evaporates. Humidity below 100% indicates subsaturation, while above 100% signifies supersaturation.

The chart above shows the air temperature (dashed) and relative humidity (solid) trace on a day in Asheville when the air’s water vapor content remains constant throughout the day. Explain the fluctuation in the relative humidity trace

Synoptic, 2000

______ scale (or weather map scale) circulations have an average size of ______ kms and can last for days and sometimes weeks

wind shear, Kelvin Helmholtz

Abrupt changes in wind speed and/or direction, with height is known as ________ and can create turbulent eddies that produce _______ waves

low, low

a sea breee has ______ pressure over the land near the ground and ______ pressure over the water far above the surface

southwestern, July

A monsoon-like circulation exists in the _______ US that typically experiences afternoon showers and thunderstorms in mid-______

bora, the former Yugoslavia

The ______ is a type of katabatic wind that reaches the northern Adriatic coast in _______

False

Dust devils form in the same way as tornadoes

Ferrel, west

the ____ cell in the three-cell model predicts winds blowing from the ______ at the surface in the mid-latitudes (between 30 and 60 degrees latitude

heating, July, January

In response to the seasonal shift of the zone of maximum ________, the major pressure systems, wind belts, and ITCZ shift toward the north in ______ and toward the south in ______

summer, greater, winter

The jet stream is most strongly developed in the _______ season due to the fact that the north-to-south temperature contrasts are ____ than in the ______ season

colder, upwelling

The average surface water temperature along the Pacific coast of the US in summer is nearly 18 ºF _____ than the average coastal water temperature found at the same latitude along the Atlantic coast. This is primarily due to ________

El Nino, Peru

Warmer than normal sea surface temperatures are experienced during _______ along the coast of ______

high, weak

air masses originate in source regions which are usually dominated by surface _______ pressure, typically accompanied by _____ surface winds

cP

The _____ air mass is often responsible for the bitter cold winter weather that can cover wide sections of North America

colder, shorter

Maritime polar air masses along the east coast of the US are usually ____ than those along the nation’s west coast due, partly, to the _______ distance traveled by the air mass over water

cT, southwestern

The ____ air mass is usually only found during the summer season in the _____ United States

front, trough

The transition zone between two air masses of different densities is known as a ______, which is located in a pressure _________

changes in wind speed

Which of the following is not a criterion for locating a front on a surface weather map?

Norway, mid-latitude

Scientists from _______ developed a model explaining the life cycle of a _______ cycle which became known as the polar front theory

greater, removed, brought in

For a surface low to develop into a major storm system, upper level divergence of air must be ______ than surface convergence of air; that is more air must be _______ above the storm than is ______ at the surface

high, rising, sinking

A jet streak, located at _______ altitudes in the troposphere, can contribute to _______ motion over a developing surface cyclone and ______ motion over its associated surface cyclone

West, because the sea breezes and land breezes are pointed towards the west.

If the sea breezes across a western short are stronger than those along the eastern shore and land breezes along the eastern shore of the peninsula are stronger than those along the western shore, which side of the Pacific High must the peninsula be located

Nitrogen

In terms of percent (by volume), the earth’s atmosphere is made up of mostly ______

pollutants, nitrogen dioxide

Two types of _____, emitted during the burning of oil, are carbon monoxide and _______

stratosphere, ozone

The reason for the temperature inversion in the _____ is that the gas _____ plays a major part in heating the air at this altitude

from, counterclockwise, inward toward

By convention in meteorology, the wind direction _____ which the wind is blowing. In the Northern Hemisphere, winds blow ______ and ______ the center of a low pressure system

Weather is more day-to-day and climate is the average over time

Explain weather vs climate

condensation

One of the only phases that change in which heat energy is released to the environment is _____

greater, hotter

The sun emits its peak radiation energy at shorter wavelengths than the earth and emits radiation at a ________ intensity than the earth since the temperature would be _______ than what it is today

infrared, visible solar, colder

Without greenhouse gases (gases that are strong absorbers of ________ radiation and poor absorbers of _______ radiation), the earth’s mean surface temperature would be _______ than what it is today

lesser, more

A location at higher latitudes (e.g. northern Canada) tends to gain energy from the sun than it loses to space each year. A location at lower latitudes (e.g. Colombia) tends to gain ______ energy from the sun than it loses to space each year

The angle of the sun due to whether the sun is at an angle or directly on the surface. Since the sun is out for a longer period of time, it affects how warm an area is.

Describe 2 reasons for why a place like Alaska is not warmer than the surface air in Charlotte NC

before, near

The time of maximum incoming solar energy occurs _______ the time of the daily temperature maximum under clear sky conditions. The warmest temperatures at 3:30 pm on a sunny day are found ______ the ground

cloudy sky

Which of the following conditions does not contribute to a strong radiation inversion

water, greater

Of water or land, _______ has a higher specific heat which means that it takes a _______ amount of heat to raise its temperature by one degree Celcius

minimum

The ________ thermometer has an index marker that looks like a dumbbell and is used in measuring a specific type of temperature

Clouds raise the minimum and lower the maximum temperature. When it is a clear day, the maximum and minimum temperature would be higher compared to a day with clouds because of the increase in water vapor during a cloudy day

Briefly describe the impact that clouds have on a daily maximum and minimum temperatures in Asheville when compared to the observed maximum and maximum temperatures on a clear day.

evaporating, equal to

The condition of saturation exists when the number of ______ liquid water molecules is ______ the number of condensing water vapor molecules

cool, warm, rising

Saturation is more likely to occur in _____ air than in _____ air, so air parcels that are ______ are more likely to be saturated.

desert, polar

A desert weather observation indicates a dew point of 50 degrees F and a relative humidity of 21%. A polar weather observation indicates a dew point of 28 degrees F and a relative humidity of 100%. The ____ air contains more water vapor and the ______ air is saturated

humid, dry, humid

At the same temperature and at the same level in the atmosphere, _______ air is less than _______ air. As a result, you’d expect to see the Asheville Tourists hit more home runs on a ______ day, without the influence of wind

Radiation, dryer, cool, warm

_______ fog forms on clear nights with a layer of moist air near the surface. _____ air lays on top of it. A surface inversion occurs due to the ground cooling, thus cooling the air above it, with _____ air near the surface and _____ air on top. When the nights are longer, it increases the possibility of fog. Fog is more likely to form where there is not a lot of air movement

Widespread ascent due to the flowing apart (divergence) of surface air

What is not one of the mechanisms responsible for the development of the majority of the clouds we observe?

warm- (t> -15ºC), different

Precipitation is most likely to happen in ______ topped clouds composed of droplets having ______ droplet sizes due to the collision and coalescence process

accretion, horizontal

Hail is produced when an embryo grows by ______ and grows to large sizes if its path is nearly ______ as it travels through cumulonimbus cloud

Clouds can be seeded naturally through the uplift sweeping up different particles and bringing them up to the clouds

Explain how clouds can be seeded naturally

colder, lower

The surface pressure is identical at Station A and B shown above. The air inside the atmospheric column above B is ______ than the air above A, while the air pressure aloft above B is ____ than the air pressure aloft above A

anticyclone, clockwise

Centers of high pressure, also called _______, have winds that blow outward from the center and _______ in the Northern Hemisphere

gradient, curved

Above the level of frictional influence, the ______ wind blows at constant speed parallel to _______ isobars and experiences an acceleration because of changes in its direction

diverge away from, descends

Surface winds ______ the center of a high pressure area. To replace this laterally spreading air, the air aloft converges and slowly

East because the air deflects right in the Northern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis Force

If the clouds overhead are moving from north to south, would the upper-level center of low pressure be to the east or west of you?

synoptic scale, mesoscale

A ______ weather feature is more likely to have a longer life span than a ________ weather feature

land, thermal

The winter monsoon circulation is similar to a large-scale version of the breeze, which is a type of _______ circulation

Ferrel, three

The general circulation cell located in the mid-latitudes is known as the ______ cell and is part of the _______-cell general location model

El Nino, Peru

Warmer than normal sea surface temperatures are experienced during _____ along the coast of _______

the temperature difference between the Arctic and mid-latitude regions is greatest during that season

Explain why the polar jet stream is more strongly developed in the winter season

mT

The warm (and humid) air masses that we often experience in Asheville before the passage of a cold front are most likely classified as ____

trough, direction

fronts are located in a pressure _____ which is why the wind ______ changes before and after frontal passage