Unit 5: Weather & Climate Study Guide Earth & the Environment

How is the amount of sunlight an area gets related to its weather and climate?

The more sunlight an area gets, the more heat energy it gets. Differences in heat energy cause differences in air pressure, wind, and weather patterns. Or:

Temp differences cause air pressure differences

Warm air is less dense = lower air pressure

Cool air is more dense = higher air pressure

Pressure difference cause wind, which move weather patterns and redistribute heat energy

How wind is formed

Convection currents due to differences in pressure caused by the uneven heating of the earth by the sun

How are weather and climate similar? How are they different?

Weather is the state or condition of the atmosphere at any given moment (short term). Climate is the long term weather patterns over a long period of time. Both have to do with the atmosphere, but weather is minute-to-minute (and therefore more variable) and climate is an average of weather (and therefore less variable). From the Cosmos episode: weather is the path of the dog, climate is the path of the man holding the leash.

How do different materials (eg, land and water) absorb heat differently? How does this affect climate?

Water heats and cools more slowly than land. This means that areas near a large body of water (the ocean, the Great Lakes, etc.) will have a warmer climate in the winter, and a cooler climate in the summer. (AKA, a milder climate overall).

What is the line where two air masses meet? What type of weather is usually found there?

Called a front. Produces unstable air - rain, snow, thunder, wind, tornadoes, etc.

Tornado

Violent, whirling column of air in contact with the ground.

Unstable air masses cause winds at different altitudes to blow at different speeds, causing wind shear. Updrafts from the storm can push one end of the rotating air upward, causing a funnel cloud. Rain and hail can cause the funnel to bend downward. If the funnel cloud touches the ground, it becomes a tornado.

Form when and where there is high wind speed, lots of wind shear (variations in wind speed at different altitudes), and unstable air masses/thunderstorms. Examples: spring and fall, afternoons, flat land of "tornado alley" in the US.

Hurricane

Spinning system of low pressure, clouds, high wind, and rain. Forms over tropical oceans - fueled by heat and moisture. In the US, found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Often hit coastal areas, but they run out of fuel (heat and moisture) soon after they run aground.

What is the Coriolis effect? How does it affect weather (especially extreme weather events)?

The Coriolis effect is the way that fluids like air (wind) and water (ocean) seem to curve as they move across Earth's surface. The curvature is due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis. This is what causes hurricanes to spin as they form.

What are hurricanes known as in other parts of the world? (Two terms)

Tropical cyclones and typhoons.

Forms over land

Forms NEAR equator

Name: continental tropical

Description:

Warm, dry

Forms FAR FROM equator

Name: continental polar

Description:

Cool, dry

Forms over water

Forms NEAR equator

Name: maritime tropical

Description:

Warm, moist (humid)

Forms FAR FROM equator

Name: maritime polar

Description:

Cool, moist (humid)

Eye

Calm weather and no clouds

Eye wall

Strongest winds, densest clouds

Outer edge

Lightest winds, fewest clouds

What is the most common cause of flooding during a hurricane?

NJ experienced this during Sandy.) Explain how it happens (in words or diagram).

Storm surge. Hurricane winds "pile up" the water in front of them, then that water floods the shoreline.

What is the other major cause of damage and injury during a hurricane?

High wind. It can blow trees and powerlines down, damaging other property, possibly injuring people, and leaving areas without electricity, access to functioning hospitals, etc.

What purpose do hurricanes serve in the atmosphere and hydrosphere? Explain how they do this.

Hurricanes help maintain balance by carrying heat away from tropical oceans and redistributing it around the globe. They keeps areas from getting too hot or cold

What are some (at least 2) ways to minimize damage done by hurricanes?

boarding, sandbags, and the staten island dam

Greenhouse gases affect global climate because they ________ heat from the sun.

trap

If the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the amount of heat leaving the Earth (Hout in the Gizmo) will ________. (increase, decrease, or stay the same?)

decrease

If the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the amount of heat entering Earth (Hin) will _________. (increase, decrease, or stay the same?)

stay the same

If the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the average global temperature will _______. (increase, decrease, or stay the same?)

increase

If the amount of heat leaving Earth (Hout) decreases, the average global temperature will _________. (increase, decrease, or stay the same?)

increase

What are some human activities that increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?

Burning fossil fuels (in cars/transportation, in electrical power plants, in factories, in heating/cooling homes, etc.), cutting down trees/forests, etc.

What are some things we can do to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?

Reduce fossil fuel use (drive less, walk more, bike more, carpool more, use public transportation, use less electricity, etc.), plant more trees, protect forests and rainforests, etc.

Leaving

"get lost dude"

Entering

"get estimates son"

Global Temperature Increase

"G.I"

Global Temperature Decrease

"G.I"