Geo 3390 Final

Troy University

The deposition from water vapor to ice will result in heat release and local warming

True

Air with high 'relative humidity' generally means that the air has a large amount of water vapor within it

False

In general, the daily highest 'relative humidity' occurs at:

sunrise

Across the globe, the average annual precipitation is highest in the

 equatorial area

Across the globe, the average annual evaporation is highest in the

subtropical area

Precipitation in the tropics mainly occur through the ___process. Most precipitation occurring in the U.S. and Canada occur through the ___ process

collision-coalescence; ice-crystal

Which one below is NOT a common type of air masses?

mA

When two different air masses converge, they may produce _______ precipitation

frontal

Regarding frontal precipitation___ generally produce smaller zone but more intense rainfall than ____

cold front; warm front

In the _____ stage of a thunderstorm, both strong updrafts and downdrafts dominate the system

mature

Air mass thunderstorms are produced from ___  precipitation

convectional

____ precipitation is associated with the rain-shadow effect. The rain-shadow areas are generally on ___

orographic; the leeward side of a mountain range

The strongest winds and greatest precipitation in a hurricane are found ______

in the eye wall

The peak of the N. Atlantic hurricane season is in

September

The highest category for hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson Scale is  ____

5

What variable below is used to specify/determine hurricane's category?

 wind speed

The waves of ___ lead to the formation of mid-latitude cyclones.

upper-air jet stream

In a mature midlatitude cyclone, heavy rains and thunderstorms are found in the ___.

post cold front

Hurricanes do not form near the equator because

the lack of Coriolis force

A comma-shaped clouds are associated with ___ conveyor belt of a midlatitude cyclone.

cold

Climatic normal is ___ years' average of weather conditions in any place.

30

In ___ climate, the ocean comprises the largest percent of Earth's area.

Tropical

In  ___ climate, the ocean comprises the largest percent of that climate area.

polar

Which climate type is NOT found in the continental United States?

E

What are the six major climate types in the Köppen climate classification system?

Describe the criteria used to classify each of the six major climate types.

A: tropical-coolest month greater than 18°C

B: Dry-potential evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation on the average throughout the year

C: mild midlatitude-at least one month greater than 10°C. Coldest month between 18°C and 0°C

D: severe midlatitude-at least one month greater than 10°C. Coldest month less than 0°C

E: polar-no month above 10°C

H: highland-climates of great variability due to altitude and aspect variation

Where are the A, B, C, D, E, and H climates located in the global map? (Please refer to the lecture notes).

*Note: describe the major types only (e.g., A climate, B climate, etc.). There is no need to describe the subtypes (e.g., Af, Am, or Aw).

A: tropical-straddle the equator, extending to ~25° latitude in both Northern and Southern Hemisphere. In Americas, centered around equator on eastern coasts and islands, and about 20°N and S in western central and South America. African pattern similar south of equator but compressed in the North

B: Dry-Poleward of the A climates on the western side of continent. Stretches west to east across Northern Africa and curves northeastward through southwestern and central Asia. In North America, dryness of Western US and Canada caused by rain-shadow effect. 

C: Mild Midlatitude-situate in midlatitude. 25-45°N; interrupted by an arid climate. 40°S, pinched by the tapering model continent. C climates broken off on parts of continents but is a continuous belt in the ocean

D: Severe Midlatitude-occur exclusively in Northern Hemisphere with large landmasses in upper-middle and subpolar latitudes: occupy east-west belt between 45 and 65°N. No large landmasses between 50 and 70°S. Greatest east-west extents of both Eurasia and North America between 50 and 60°N. In Eurasia, it is found at a higher latitude.

E: In both hemispheres, land areas poleward of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles (66.5ºN and S, respectively) with deficits of net solar radiation exhibit polar (E) climates. Mostly oceanic. Found at high altitude areas of lower latitude. 

H: Highland climates that are found in high-altitude areas 

Anthropogenic climate change describes

human caused climate change

Ice-albedo feedback has a stabilizing effect on climate

False

Most computer models predict that the greatest warming will occur _______. 

in higher latitudes

Global Climate Models (GCMs) show that observed global warming is mainly due to ___.

anthropogenic activities

Global Climate Models indicate that with a low-use scenario (RCP2.6), by the year 2065, projected average global temperature is likely to decrease

False

Anthropogenic impacts on climate change probably began

8000 years ago with the spread of agriculture

Today, we are living in a(n) ___________ period of climate

interglacial

Viking exploration and colonization of Greenland and Vineland (North America) took place during a period called ___

medieval climatic anomaly

Most of the history of the Earth has been ice-free.

True

The Little Ice Age was a brief cold period in which Europe suffered from famine from about ___.

1400 to 1850

1. Describe the carbon dioxide–weathering feedback.

2. Is it a positive feedback or a negative feedback?

3. Does it have a stabilizing effect on climate or intensify climate change?

1. Warmer conditions lead to lower atmospheric CO2, which in turn causes cooling (and vice versa). Weathering breaks down rocks and CO2 dissolved in rainwater forms a weak acid that dissolves rock. A warming climate increases the amount of precipitation, which reduces the amount of atmospheric CO2 and increases CO2 burial, thereby we see the reduction of initial warming. A colder climate reduces the amount of precipitation which increase the amount of atmospheric CO2, which leads to the reduction of the initial cooling.

2. Carbon dioxide-weathering feedback is a negative feedback

3. This has a stabilizing effect on climate 

The largest pool of carbon in the carbon cycle is

Earth’s crust

The second largest pool of carbon is in _____, with most of that being ________.

ocean, dissolved carbon dioxide

Most of the plants in land and algae in ocean can use ammonium (NH4+) ions produced through the process of nitrogen fixation.

False

Industrial nitrogen fertilizers now add more nitrates to the land than is done naturally.

True

Which of the following is NOT a component of soil?

rocks

Parent material of soil is generally:

weathered bedrock

The process of illuviation adds particles in the ____ layer

B

Which of the following soil horizons when reading from left to right indicate the correct order from top to bottom?

O, A, E, B, C, R

Which layer best represents the weathered bedrock layer?

C

The soil formation process involving the introduction of dissolved and suspended particles from upper layers into lower ones is called:

translocation

A soil profile shows a sequence of layers called ___

horizons

The reddish-brown color in the B horizon of eastern U.S. forest soils are caused by

the addition of aluminum and iron oxides from above

Which soil below would have the highest permeability?

sandy loam

When the upper layers of soil are dark brown or black, this would indicate

the presence of organic matter

Which Köppen climate type is associated with aridisols?

BW

The ____ soil order is most common in permafrost regions of the subarctic

gelisols

The tall grasslands of North America produce rich, deep fertile soils of the ____soil order

mollisols

Because of high rainfall and warm temperatures, rainforests have highly productive soils for agriculture

False

Which soil order is associated with peat or muck and common in wetlands?

histosols

Heavy clay soils of the ____  order along the Red River of North Dakota grow sugar beets and often crack in dry weather.

vertisols

What types of plants are common in arid climates?

xerophytes

How many trophic levels higher are wolves from grass on the food chain?

two

The highest net primary productivity occurs:

in tropical rainforests

The replacement of one type of vegetation by another type of vegetation is known as plant ____.

succession

A species that has a wide range of tolerance to most environmental factors is

found in a wide geographic range

An invasion of exotic species to a region sometimes results in increased ___

competition

The total energy of an ecosystem decreases at higher trophic levels

True

What are the two most important factors determining the distribution of biome regions?

climate and topography

Large grazing animals and their predators are mostly found in _______ biomes.

tropical savanna

What soil order is associated with temperate grassland biomes?

mollisol

Redwood forests and Douglas fir are associated with the ____ biome.

temperate evergreen forest

The only zoogeographic realm with marsupials is

Australian

Why is Madagascar fauna so different from nearby areas?

it is an isolated island

According to the textbook, the ____ realm contains the Earth’s most varied fauna

Paleotrophic

A ____ is an environmental area within which a species operates most efficiently

niche

How is the size of an island related to its number of species?

it is a positive relation where the larger the island, the greater the number of species

What are the differences between minerals and rocks?

• Minerals are naturally-occuring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition. 

• Rocks are made up of one ore more minerals, mixed up through geological processes

Diamonds and graphite are composed of the exact same element (carbon), but why they differ significantly in hardness?

They differ in hardness due to their different crystalline structures. Diamond atoms are strongly bonded to each other, but graphite has weaker bonds. The bonds cause the graphite to easily split apart. 

The tendency of minerals to break along zones of weakness and produce bright plane surfaces is known as

cleavage

The most obvious, but most unreliable, property used to identify a mineral is

color

Generally, extrusive rocks are characterized by their _____ appearance.

fine grained

Another term used to describe a dark-colored igneous rock is

mafic

Igneous rocks tend to be more resistant to weathering and erosion than common sedimentary rocks

True

Anhydrite is ___ sedimentary rock

non-clastic

Rocks of one type cannot be transformed to another rock type

False

Which rocks are secondary rocks on Earth. Select all that apply.

• sedimentary rocks

• metamorphic rocks