AMTS: Unit 1 Part 2

What is D

direction of Coriolis Force

What is B

Direction of Pressure Gradient force

What is C

direction of wind in NH

What is A

direction of wind in SH

True or False: Cold air is denser then warm air

True

True or False: Friction acts to slow down the wind and is a significant force throughout the entire troposphere.

False

Hydrostatic balance is achieved when which two forces are balanced?

vertical pressure gradient force and gravity

________ is is strongest for fast moving objects and zero for stationary objects.

CF

________causes air parcels to deviate to the right of their direction of motion in the Northern Hemisphere

CF

_______is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles.

CF

True or False: The CF is only important within the boundary layer.

False

________can cause air to accelerate horizontally from rest.

PGF

Gradient wind balance is achieved in the ________ when air flows parallel to ________ isobars.

upper atmosphere; curved

Where is the pressure gradient force directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure?

at all places on earth

True or False: The Coriolis force is an apparent force due to the rotation of the earth.

True

A _______is an elongated area of high pressure.

ridge

The assumption that air is in geostrophic balance in a circularly symmetric flow field is ________. There is always a net inward-directed force.

incorrect

What term is used to describe the net-inward directed force found in symmetrically curved flow in the upper atmosphere?

centripetal acceleration

Centripetal vs Centrifugal

Centripetal force acts towards the center of the circle,

Centrifugal force acts away from the center

When the Coriolis force balances the _________ the air is in geostrophic balance.

horizontal pressure gradient force

What force counteracts (prevents) the vertical pressure gradient?

gravitational force

Friction ________ surface wind speeds, ultimately leading to air spiraling ________ surface high-pressure centers.

increases; away from

If only atmospheric _______ were occurring in an air column, the pressure at the base of the air column would always _______.

divergence; decrease

Jetstreams in the upper troposphere are found above ________ in the lower troposphere.

fronts

What is the term used to describe the net inflow of air molecules into a region of the atmosphere with the result of increasing the surface pressure?

convergence

It is May on the Great Plains. A cold front is advancing toward you. What type of weather conditions would you expect to find if the cold front is advancing into warm, moist, stable air?

clear skies

It is May on the Great Plains. A cold front is advancing toward you. What type of weather conditions would you expect to find if the cold front is advancing into warm, moist, conditionally unstable air?

thunderstorms

An airmass is defined as a body of air with:

slowly varying values of surface temperature and moisture content.

The boundary between two different airmasses is called a ______.

front

lists the layers of the atmosphere from lowest altitude to highest altitude?

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

What information do wind barbs provide?

wind speed