ESCI 1101 - Exam 4

Suppose a midlatitude cyclonic storm develops over eastern Colorado. Which state should most anticipate heavy rain and winds in their forecast?

Kansas

Potential evapotranspiration is the maximum evapotranspiration that would take place with:

an unlimited supply of water

The phrase "rain shadow" is associated with which type of precipitation?

orographic

Imagine you are in South Dakota in spring and the weather report on the radio warns that cumulonimbus clouds with strong updrafts are heading your way. What type of precipitation should you expect?

hail

If an area in the upper atmosphere is undergoing convergence, ______ is most likely occurring at Earth's surface below.

divergence

The amount of water vapor in the air at a time and place is called:

humidity**

The formation, disappearance, or movement of landmasses over geologic time has altered oceanic and atmospheric circulation.

True**

Pollen in sediment can be an indicator of past climates.

True**

Which factor creates a major problem for scientists studying a particular cycle of glaciation?

Subsequent glacial advances disrupt sedimentary evidence.

Which of the following best explains why weather forecasts cannot always be 100 percent accurate?

Too many different factors are involved in the production of precipitation.

Thunderstorms are most common:

warm, moist air and unstable atmospheric conditions**

Latitude has a strong impact on precipitation distribution. For example, because colder air can hold more water vapor than warmer air, there is a general increase of precipitation from the equator to the poles.

false**

Working as an insurance claims adjuster, you receive weather reports from a midwestern town suffering a tornado ranked EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. What types of damages will your customers most likely report?

roofs coming off buildings**

Imagine you walk outside and encounter sleet. What can you conclude from this about the atmospheric conditions?

A warmer layer of humid air sits atop a thick layer of subfreezing air.

Clouds with “nimbo” or “nimbus” in their name are associated with:

precipitation**

Melting ice sheets exposing lower-albedo land that absorbs more insolation would be an example of a negative feedback.

false**

Tornado intensities are determined by the:

Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale**

The precipitation that falls at a warm front comes from the colder air.

true/false**

The factors that can drive climates toward either warming or cooling are also referred to by the IPCC as:

climate forcings.

A cyclone is generally much larger than an anticyclone.

false**

What makes blizzards so dangerous?

whiteouts**

Although climate greatly influences the natural vegetation of a region, it has little impact upon the soils of a region.

false**

Oxygen-isotope analysis is a measurement technique that has been used in climate studies to determine the temperature of seawater by analyzing:

tiny seashells of plankton.

The ______ of a parcel of air can change as the parcel of air rises, simply because the volume of the parcel of air increases.

specific humidity

A professor at your UC Los Angeles campus complains about the microclimate on campus. What microclimactic effect would the professor be referring to?

the urban heat-island effect

The only substance on Earth that occurs naturally as a liquid, a solid, and a gas is:

water**

A front is a boundary where air masses of different temperature and moisture characteristics meet.

true**

If all glaciers were to melt into the oceans of Earth, what share of our non-ocean hydrosphere (freshwater) would turn into saltwater?

two percent

The modern climate epoch, which is characterized by relatively stable, warm temperatures compared to most of the last 2.6 million years, is known as the:

holocene

An example of a region not located in the rain shadows of mountain ranges would be:

the piedmont region of virginia

Air descends through the eye of a hurricane.

true**

As the temperature of a parcel of air increases, its capacity for water vapor:

increases**

Which of the following is a major contributing factor to increasing hurricane intensities?

climate change**

In a cyclone:

pressure decreases toward the center.

In winter, an mT air mass, moving from the Gulf of Mexico into the southern United States, would tend to become:

more stable

If an unsaturated parcel of air is cooled, it will eventually reach a temperature where the air will become saturated. This temperature is known as the:

lifting condensation level

Which climate class is an example of an arid climate in the Köppen classification?

low-latitude steppe

The amount of water vapor in the air compared to the greatest amount of water the air can hold at a given temperature is known as the:

relative humidity**

The hydrologic cycle for the Earth system as a whole can be considered a closed system because there is no gain or loss of water.

true**

An unusual and important property of water is that its volume expands when it:

freezes**

The circulation of water from one part of the general Earth system to another is known as the:

hydrologic cycle**

The air mass that originates over Mexico and the American Southwest is identified as:

cT

What is the shape of the boundary between the two air masses that interact at a cold front?

a steeply sloping surface

The two most common indicators for describing climate are:

precipitation and temperature**

The last glacial advance peaked in North America about ____ years ago.

18,000

Which type of atmospheric disturbance has different sectors of strongly contrasting temperature producing separate fronts?

midlatitude cyclone