Chapter 7: Circulation Of The Atmosphere

Front 1

The Bermuda High transports dust from Africa to South America

Back 1

FALSE

Front 2

land/sea breezes and mountain/valley breezes are both daily winds that develop due to localized unequal heating of Earth' s surface

Back 2

TRUE

Front 3

South Dakota receives ____ inches of precipitation annually

Back 3

20-39

Front 4

flow aloft is primarily from the west in the multitudes EXCEPT for the following reason: ___

Back 4

friction deflects flow

Front 5

___ are the long-wavelength patterns apparent on upper-level charts

Back 5

Rossby Waves

Front 6

Do Niño events are characterized by ___

Back 6

pooling of unusually warm water in the eastern tropical Pacific

Front 7

the ____ is not a subtropical gyre

Back 7

Rossby Grye

Front 8

regions that are dry throughout the year are dominated by high pressure

Back 8

TRUE

Front 9

The Santa Anna winds increase the risk of ____ in Southern California

Back 9

Fire

Front 10

____ are the pressure systems associated with subtropical deserts

Back 10

Subtropical highs

Front 11

*list the three major categories of atmospheric circulation and give at least one example of each*

Back 11

1. microscale winds - dust-devils

2. mesoscale winds - tornadoes

3. microscale winds (planetary-scale winds - westerlies / synoptic-scale winds - multitude cyclones and anticyclones)

Front 12

how long does a dust devil last?

how long does a hurricane last?

Back 12

1. seconds to minutes

2. days to weeks

Front 13

midlatitude cyclones are ___ phenomena

Back 13

macroscale (synoptic-scale) winds

Front 14

global winds are a composite of winds of which scale? (micro, meso, macro?)

Back 14

all (hurricane example)

Front 15

name the local wind that lasts from minutes to hours, is 1-1,000 km in size, and develops due to temperature and pressure differences from variations in topography or local surface heating?

Back 15

mesoscale wind

Front 16

1. From which direction is the wind blowing?

2. What is the speed of the wind?

Back 16

1. West to East

2. 75 miles per hour

Front 17

1. From which direction is the wind blowing?

2. How fast is the wind traveling?

Back 17

1. Northeast

2. 65 miles per hour

Front 18

A type of local wind that develops as cooler air over water (high pressure) moves landward (low pressure) / (begins before noon and blows into the afrternoon)

Back 18

Sea breeze

Front 19

What type of local wind is demonstrated here? Why?

Back 19

Sea breeze - cooler denser air moves onto the land

Front 20

A type of local breeze that develops as cooler, night air over land (higher pressure) moves seaward (lower pressure)

Back 20

Land breeze

Front 21

What type of local breeze is shown here? Why?

Back 21

Land Breeze - at night the land cools more rapidly than the sea, and moves to the an area of lower pressure

Front 22

*What conditions produce the most intense sea breezes?*

Back 22

A big temperature gap between the surface of the land and surface of the water (i.e. a hot land surface and cold ocean surface)

Front 23

Type of local wind produced by the glide of warmer air generated up a mountain slope during the day: ___

Back 23

Valley breeze

Front 24

A type of local breeze caused by cool air gliding down valley slopes at night

Back 24

Mountain breeze

Front 25

Are land/sea and valley/mountain breezes more intense during summer or winter? Why?

Back 25

Summer because they are caused by differential heating which is stronger in summer.

Front 26

A type of local wind that is warm and dry, and and moves down leeward mountain slopes in the US (related to orographic lifting)?

Back 26

Chinook

Front 27

Type of local wind that originates when cold dense air begins to move under the influence of gravity ("falls" off a cold highland)?

Back 27

Katabatic

Front 28

A type of local breeze that blows into large urban centers, concentrating pollution in urban areas?

Back 28

Country breeze

Front 29

On a non-rotating, water-covered Earth, A boat at 60° N latitude would drift ____ with the current

Back 29

South (No corioulus force)

Front 30

What is missing from the Hadley model of global circulation?

Back 30

Curiolus force (states that there is one large convention cell in each hemisphere - warm equatorial air rises to top of troposphere and is directed to poles - air then descends at cold poles and surface flow returns to equator)

Front 31

What are cloudless blue skies associated with?

Back 31

High pressure systems

Front 32

*Name two factors that cause air to subside between 20° to 35° latitude (Hadley Cell).*

Back 32

1. Radiative cooling

2. Convergence with Ferrell cell

Front 33

Describe the flow of the Hadley cell.

Back 33

1. Warm moist air rises at Equator, creating an equatorial low

2. Air aloft moves poleward

3. Converges with Ferrell cell, subsiding due to radiative cooling and convergence

4. Air descends and is warm and dry

Front 34

*In the three-cell circulation model, most of the US is in which belt of prevailing winds?*

Back 34

The Ferrel cell (30°-60°) which contains the prevailing westerlies

Front 35

What does this illustrate?

Back 35

The three cell circulation model

Front 36

What happens when the polar easterlies of the polar cell encounter the warmer westerlies of the Ferrell cell?

Back 36

Polar front

Front 37

*Which winds are found between the equator and 30° latitude?*

Back 37

1.Trade winds (Northeast and Southeast)

2. Doldrums

Front 38

What are the trade winds? From which direction do they blow?

Back 38

1. Two belts of winds between the subtropical highs and equatorial low (Hadley cell)

2. Blow almost constantly from east to equator

Front 39

What are the doldrums?

Back 39

Equatorial belt of calm or light winds between the trade winds

Front 40

Label accordingly

Back 40

1. Polar Cell

2. Ferrel Cell

3. Hadley Cell

4. Equatorial low / Doldrums

5. Subtropical High / Trade Winds

6. Polar Front / meeting of easterlies and westerlies

Front 41

Weather in each zone (equatorial 0°, Subtropical highs 20-35, subpolar lows 50-60, and polar highs 90)

Back 41

1. Equatorial - low pressure, ascending moist air - MUCH PRECIPITATION

2. Subtropical highs - warm, dry weather (subsiding air)

3. Subpolar lows - stormy weather (convergence of westerlies and easterlies)

4. Polar highs - cold, dense air

Front 42

What is the ITCZ?

Back 42

Intertropical Convergence Zone - region of ascending moist air marked by much precipitation

Front 43

*during what season is the Siberian High strongest? Why?*

Back 43

Winter because it cools the land surface temperatures most

Front 44

*During what season is the Bermuda/Azores high strongest?*

Back 44

Summer

Front 45

Which two pressure systems disappear in July?

Back 45

1. Aleutian low (over N. Pacific)

2. Icelandic low (over N. Atlantic)

Front 46

What is a seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents called?

Back 46

Monsoon

Summer winds blow from ocean (H) to land (L) and bring rainy weather

Front 47

*explain the cause of the Asia monsoon. Is summer or winter the rainy season?*

Back 47

1. Driven by pressure differences due to unequal heating of earth's surface

2. Siberian High develops in cold winter months (Land breeze)

3. Summer warms Asia and low pressure forms (Sea breeze)

4. Moist air lifted by Himalayas producing rain

(Summer is the rainy season, when a low pressure system is centered over Asia)

Front 48

*what areas of North America experience a pronounced monsoon circulation?*

Back 48

Southwestern US and Northwestern Mexico (summer)

Front 49

The zine of high precipitation near the Equator is associated with

Back 49

1. ITCZ

2. Ascending air in Hadley Cell

3. Doldrums

Hint 49

There are three parts

Front 50

*Why is flow aloft in midlatitudes predominantly westerly?*

Back 50

Corioulus force deflects flow from east to west

Front 51

*What name is given to the long-wavelength flow that is apparent on upper-level charts?*

Back 51

Rossby Waves (middle to upper troposphere of midlatitudes that follow wavy paths)

Front 52

A swift geographic airstream in the upper troposphere that meanders in relatively narrow belts

Back 52

Jet stream

Hint 52

Fastest in winter due to greatest pressure differences

Front 53

Jet found along the polar front between the Ferrel and Polar cells thst flows west to east in a meandering path?

Back 53

Polar jet stream

Hint 53

100-500 km wide, speeds of 100-400 km/hr

Front 54

Jet between the Hadley and Ferrel cells

Back 54

Subtropical jets

Hint 54

Wintertime feature, semipermanent, 13 km high, slower than the polar jet

Front 55

How are jet streams generated?

Back 55

Large surface temperature differences that produce steep pressure gradients aloft

Front 56

Jet streams are embedded in which prevailing wind pattern?

Back 56

Westerlies - pilots can increase speed when flying west to east

Front 57

*why is the polar jet sometimes referred to as the midlatitide jet?*

Back 57

1.They are commonly located in the midlatitudes (especially in winter)

2. They correspond to the polar front

Front 58

*describe expected winter temperatures in the north-central states when polar jet stream is located over central Florida*

Back 58

North of jet - colder drier air

South of jet - warmer minister ait

If polar jet is over Florida in January, SD will be very cold

Front 59

*how does the wavy flow centered on a jet stream help balance Earth' S heat budget?*

Back 59

Allows warm air to penetrate to the poles and cold air to penetrate towards the Equator

Front 60

A polar jet stream is ____ in summer

Back 60

Slower, closer to the pole

Front 61

*What is the primary driving force of surface-ocean currents? How does Coriolus force influence ocean currents?*

Back 61

1. Friction - energy passed from moving air to surface of ocean

And Gyres

2. Corioulus deflects currents poleward

Front 62

*name the five subtropical gyres*

Back 62

1. North Pacific Gyre

2. North Atlantic Gyre

3. South Pacific Gyre

4. South Atlantic Gyre

5. Indian Ocean Gyre

Front 63

*How do ocean currents influence climate?*

Back 63

Winds (75%) And Currents (25%)

Hint 63

Example: Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift

Front 64

How do ocean currents influence climate?

Back 64

1. Cool adjacent coasts, stabilize air masses, generate advection fog (California and Benguela Current)

2. Cool adjacent coasts stabilize ait masses and inhibit lifting tbet would produce precipitation (Peru current on Atacama Desert)

Front 65

*describe the upwelling process. Why is ah abundance of marine life associated with these areas?*

Back 65

1. Upwelling - rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water

2. Brings nutrients that fuel marine food web

Hint 65

Happens where wind blows parallel to coasts toward Equator

Front 66

A periodic warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface waters is known as ____.

Back 66

El Niño

Hint 66

Weakens the trade winds

Front 67

A periodic cooling of the central nd eastern Pacific Ocean surface waters is known as ____.

Back 67

La Niña

Hint 67

Strengthens the trade winds

Front 68

*Describe how an El Niño event tends to affect the weather in Peru and Chile compared to Indonesia and Australia*

Back 68

Peru and Ecuador - dry areas get wet

Indonesia and Australia - drought occurs

Front 69

*Describe the sea-surface temperatures on both sides of the tropical Pacific during a La Niña event*

Back 69

Cooler temperature and increased upwelling near South America

Warmer temperatures near Asia and Australia

Front 70

*How does a major La Niña event influence the hurricane season in the North Atlantic?*

Back 70

Tends to increase the frequency and/or intensity of hurricanes

Front 71

*briefly describe the Southern Oscillation and how it is related to El Niño and La Niña*

Back 71

1. Seesaw pattern changes of atmospheric pressure changes between eastern and western Pacific

2. - El Niño - H Asia and L Peru

- La Niña - L Asia and H Peru

Front 72

*How does El Niño and La Niña affect N American winter climate?*

Back 72

El Niño - Warmer than usual

La Niña - cooler than usual

Front 73

Describe the Zonal Distribution of Precipitation in each

Back 73

Equatorial low - abundant precipitation all year

Subtropical High - dry all seasons

Subpolar low - ample precipitation all year (due to fronts)

Polar highs - sparse precipitation all year

Front 74

*Describe the precipitation patterns for locations near the Equator and nesr the poles*

Back 74

Equatorial low - ascending moist air produces lots if year-round rainfall

Polar high - descending cold air means little precipitation all year

Front 75

*List two reasons that explain why polar regions experience meager precipitation*

Back 75

1. Cold air holds little moisture

2. Higher pressure discourages rising air cloud formation

Front 76

Midlatitide precipitation comes from traveling ____.

Back 76

Cyclonic systems (convergent surface flow)

Front 77

*List 5 subtropical deserts, where they are, and why they are there*

Back 77

1. Sahara, Namib, Atacama, Sonoran, and Great Sandy

2. West side of continents

3. Centered at subtropical high pressure system

Front 78

*Why are subtropical deserts located on the western side of continents?*

Back 78

Subsidence on east side produces stable air and arid conditions

Front 79

*what factors, in addition to global wind and pressure systems, influence global distribution if precipitation?*

Back 79

1. Mountain barriers

2. Size of continent

3. Ocean currents