Climate Science Exam 1

weather

day-to-day variation in the atmosphere

climate

the statistical description of weather over some period of time (usually a few decades)

climate scientists tend to focus on:

temperature and precipitation

precipitation

all liquid or solid phase aqueous particles that originate in the atmosphere and fall to earths surface

name the 5 climate systems

atmosphere

hydrosphere

biosphere

lithosphere

cryosphere

atmosphere

the thin layer of gases that surround the planet

what are the three main gases in the atmosphere

nitrogen, oxygen, argon

what percentage of the air is nitrogen

78%

what percentage of the air is oxygen

21%

what percentage of the air is argon

1%

what is a variable gas

type of gas in the atmosphere whose concentration can change over time and space

what are the variable gases

water vapor

carbon dioxide

ozone

methane

nitrous oxide

the most variable gases are the _________ gases

greenhouse

Greenhouse gases are great at ________ heat

absorbing

temp profile:

change in temp with height, usually displayed as temp on the X-axis and height on the Y-axis

Lapse Rate:

how quickly temp changes with height. (C/km

temp inversion:

a negative lapse rate; temp increasing with height

what are the main layers of the atmosphere

troposphere

stratosphere

mesosphere

thermosphere

what layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur

troposphere

what layer of the atmosphere is the boundary layer

troposphere

in the troposphere, temp _________ with height

DECREASES

tropopause:

the boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere. (boundary for thunderstorms)

in the stratosphere, temp ___________ with height

INCREASES

what is it called when temp INCREASES with height

an inversion

which layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone layer

stratosphere

inversion exists in the stratosphere because of the

ozone layer

in the mesosphere, temp ________ with height

DECREASES

in the thermosphere, temp __________ with height

INCREASES

temp: the _________ of gas molecules

kinetic energy

density: __________ of gas molecules in a defined ____

amount/mass, volume

pressure: _______ of gas molecules

weight/force

pressure _______ exponentially with height

decreases

__________ movement of air can result in convergence or divergence

horizontal

convergence:

winds come together; colliding

divergence:

winds separating

areas of convergence are areas of _______ air

rising

areas of divergence are areas of ________ air

sinking

_______ air is needed to form clouds and precipitation

RISING

convergence associated with areas of ____ pressure at the surface

LOW

counterclockwise spin

areas of low pressure

counterclockwise spin→ low pressure→

converge

divergence is associated with areas of _____ pressure

HIGH

clockwise spin

areas of high pressure

clockwise→ high pressure→

diverge

wind blowing at 0 degrees, what direction is that?

north

winds blowing at 90 degrees, what direction is that?

east

wind is blowing at 180 degrees, what direction is that?

south

wind is blowing at 270 degrees, what direction is that?

west

Energy surplus at the equator and a deficit at the poles.

surplus= temp _______

deficit= temp ________

increase, decrease

the net imbalance btw the equator and poles drives ______ and ______________.

atmospheric and oceanic circulations

the sun drives atmospheric circulations, referred to as the ________________

general circulation model

what is the goal of the atmospheric and oceanic circulations?

to achieve balance (redistribute the heat from the equator

thermally direct:

transport heat from warmer regions to cooler regions

thermally indirect:

transport heat downward and equator-ward

what force causes the circulation model to have 3 cells on each hemisphere instead of 1 big cell

the Coriolis force

the Hadley cell circulated air btw the ______ and __________

tropics and subtropics

Intertropical convergent zone: zone of low pressure (rising air) at/near the equator

this region is characterized by heavy rain falls and relatively light winds (Koppen A)

its position varies seasonally: closer to 10 degrees in july and south of the equator in january

1. Rising Branch of the Hadley cell at the Equator: ITCZ

Intertropical convergent zone: zone of ____ pressure (rising air) at/ near the equator

low

as the air moves north from the equator; two things happen

1. the flow moves to the RIGHT

2. the flow ACCELERATES

This branch includes the subtropical jet stream

2. The pole-ward upper air branch of the Hadley cell

subtropical jet stream:

a fast, eastward, moving ribbon of air located around 30° latitude in both hemispheres

• air traveling pole-ward merges w/ thee subtropical jet

• this merger creates convergence in the upper atmosphere

• this means there must be sinking air and diverges at the surface

• subtropical high

  • all of this sinking air at 20-30 degrees latitude creates high pressure at the surface, the sinking air warms adiabatically

  • all of this combines to produce warm, dry conditions (most of the world’s deserts are found at this latitude)

3. Descending branch at 30 degrees latitude

• remember, air travels away from HIGH pressure in a CLOCKWISE motion, so some air is sent back to the equator

• once again, we have factor Coriolis

• The result is a belt of Northeasterly winds called trade winds.

4. Equator-ward branch at the surface

the convergence of the NE Trade winds in the N. Hemisphere and the SE Trade winds in the S. Hemisphere contribute to the __________ at the ITCZ

convergence

the Ferrel cell circulates air btw the __________ and the __________

subtropical highs and the subpolar lows

which of the 3 cells are responsible for most of our weather?

ferrel cell

in the Ferrel cell, air traveling north from the subtropical high is deflected to the right by Coriolis. the result is a belt of

westerly winds across the mid-latitudes bringing warm air pole-ward.

which cell is not based on temp differences and is purely mechanical → indirect circulation

ferrel cell

the polar cell, circulates air between the cold ___________ and the ____________

polar high pressure, subpolar low pressure

in the polar cell, air diverging from high pressure travels south, Coriolis deflects it to the right, the result is

polar easterlies: bringing polar air south

the cold polar easterlies meet the warm(ish) midlatitude westerlies around 60 degrees latitude. this zone is know as the

polar front

the strong temp gradient between the two air masses (polar easterlies and midlatitude westerlies, i.e the polar front) creates another important feature in this region called the

polar jet

the subtropical jet is formed by mainly earths rotation and the temperature contrast between the tropical and subtropical regions. but the polar jet is formed by

the temperature gradient between the polar and mid-latitudes regions, closely related to the polar front

in the winter the polar jet is found further south (responsible for cold air outbreaks) and the jet winds are faster bc of

greater temp contrast

true or false, subtropical jet and polar jet flow directly west-to-east

false, they do flow west-to-east but are organized in patterns of troughs and ridges

due to the trough and ridge patterns of the subtropical and polar jet, cold air moves

equator-ward

due to the trough and ridge patterns of the subtropical and polar jet, warm air moves

pole-ward

the trough and ridges of the polar jet stream that move cold air equator-ward and warm air pole-ward to try to fix the energy imbalance, the N. hemisphere is encircles by several of these waves and they are called

Rossby or longwaves

Rossby waves have 3 distinct flow patterns which are:

zonal, meridional, and split flow

zonal flow:

small amplitude waves result in a west-to-east flow pattern. the flow is nearly parallel to the lines of latitude. cold air tends to remain pole-ward

meridional flow:

highly amplified troughs and ridges. in this patten, cold air flows toward the equator and warm air floes pole-ward

Split flow:

occurs when you have zonal flow near the poles and meridional patterns further south.

variation in temp indicates an ______ in energy

imbalance

if energy received is greater than energy released, temp ________

increases

if energy received is less than energy released, temp _______

decreases

Which heats and cools quicker: barren land or water

barren land

barren land will heat and cool quicker than water, why?

specific heat!

specific heat:

the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 g of a substance by 1 degree C

Aspect:

the direction that a mountain slope faces

south facing aspect will be

warmer, drier and have less vegetation in the N. Hemisphere

clouds _____ solar energy above the cloud and _____ warming below the cloud during the day

reflect, reduce

seasonality in the midlatitudes defined more by ________

temperature

seasonality in the tropics more sharply defined by _______

precipitation

teleconnection:

a linkage between weather changes occurring in widely separated regions of the globe

ex: ENSO, NAO, PDO, AMO, MJO, AO

what does ENSO stand for?

El Nino- Southern Oscillation

El Nino:

an ocean / atmosphere connection marked by the warming of the ocean off the western coast of South America. resulting in warmer than avg global temperatures.

La Nina:

an ocean / atmosphere connection marked by the strong cooling of the ocean off the western cost of South America. resulting in cooler than avg global temperatures.

what does ONI stand for?

Oceanic Nino Index

El Nino conditions officially present when

The ONI has been more than 0.5 C for more than 5 consecutive months

La Nina conditions officially present when

The ONI has been less than 0.5 C for 5 consecutive months

what does NAO stand for?

North Atlantic Oscillation